Garling Gauge

The Ticket! With Biden, Obama Can Make Real Change

Biden FTW! We couldn’t be happier.

After a titillating rollout of vice-presidential proportions, CNN reported on Larry King Live at 1AM that ‘reliable sources’ have confirmed that Sen. Joe Biden is Sen. Barack Obama’s choice for his vice presidential candidate.

Thank Goodness.

Can you imagine the Saturday morning yawns over cereal and cartoons after learning Evan Byah was Obama’s veep choice? Luckily, you don’t have to. With Biden, Obama displays wisdom, practicality, humility and political savvy.

Loyal readers know that I’ve been pulling for Biden since the beginning, seeing him as the best Democrat suited to take on the Republicans this year (See past articles at the bottom of this post). By far, Biden was the most presidential of candidates with respect to his foreign policy experience, bi-partisan legislation, Washington know-how, personal gravitas, and passion for the issues and his constituents. Biden brings much to Obama as a running mate, filling in the perceived (and real) gaps Obama has in his resume’.

When choosing a vice presidential running mate, there are several ways to go. Conventional wisdom dictates one of two methods: you choose someone who reinforces your message–such as Clinton choosing Gore, both as Washington outsiders–or you choose someone who fills in your weaknesses with strengths. As the latter, Biden is a pragmatic choice for Obama, overflowing the Democratic ticket with foreign policy and Washington experience. Biden rounds out the ticket.

Presidential candidates also have to be careful not to choose a running mate that will overshadow the top of the ticket. As a doyen elder in the Democratic party, one might think Biden has this potential, but as the Delaware senator stated on the June 22, 2008 edition of Meet the Press:

SEN. BIDEN: Of course it would, because the–if the president–if the presidential nominee thought I could help him win, am I going to say to the first African-American candidate about to make history in the world that, “No, I will not help you out like you want me to”? Of course, I’m–I’ll say yes.

Biden has shown himself to be a true statesman throughout the entire Democratic primary, and will clearly do whatever it takes to help Obama become president, including playing the role of an attack dog while reinforcing Obama’s judgment and readiness to be president. While it is easy to see the ticket as Biden/Obama, Biden will be an outstanding #2.

As Biden showed in the debates, he can clearly attack an opponent with a dash of humor, a serious plus in politics:

[flv]http://garlinggauge.com/videos/bidengiuliani1.flv[/flv]
Biden showed his skill taking on Giuliani in the early debates

Biden might be known for his verbal gaffes, but he has accrued great respect from his colleagues during his time in the senate and during the 2008 primary, both points demonstrated in the following debate video:

[flv]http://garlinggauge.com/videos/obamabiden.flv[/flv]
Biden and Obama speak about Biden’s heart and qualifications

Biden is also known for being accused of plagiarizing a speech during an earlier campaign. The current entry in Wikipedia on Joe Biden explains this falsehood succinctly:

Then in September 1987, the campaign ran into serious trouble when he was accused of plagiarizing a speech by Neil Kinnock, then-leader of the British Labour Party. Though Biden had correctly credited the original author in all speeches but one, the one where he failed to make mention of the originator was caught on video

But what would make a Biden veep truly useful to an Obama administration is his ability to guide Obama in making the ‘change we can believe in’, the changes Obama proposes for Washington. If elected, Biden’s peerless knowledge of the inner workings of Washington can help Obama’s theoretical vision of Washington become a reality. Biden knows how government works and how to get things done in a bi-partisan way. While Obama might seem to have his head in the clouds, Biden’s feet are firmly grounded on terra firma - the perfect balance of vision and feasibility.

Now admittedly, I was rooting for Sen. Clinton after Biden dropped out, but the reasons for my interest in a Clinton presidency went beyond her health care plan and her historic ascendancy as the first woman nominee. In many ways she appeared to be the perfect antidote to the atrocious policies of George Bush’s administration, the opposite of him in policy but similar in tactics. For a long time I’ve believed that the Democratic party needed to run for office like Republicans, solely because Republicans won, even when most voters disagreed with their policies. Hillary Clinton has demonstrated that she can certainly run that way, but she was bested by Obama’s ‘change’ movement, with him demonstrating that a ‘new kind of politics’ can actually work.

So now, after Kucinich’s UFO sighting, Clinton’s crying, Richardson’s rambling, Edwards’s echoing son of a mill worker story, Dodd’s glowing hair, and Gravel’s splashing rocks, we finally have not only a nominee, but a ticket. And funny enough, it mirrors that of the Bush’s 2000 ticket: A Washington outsider and newcomer at the top of the ticket, with the erudite adviser rounding out the bottom.

In many ways, Obama/Biden compensates and satisfies my desire for a President Hillary Clinton. Like a reverse mirror image of Bush/Cheney, Obama/Biden appear as the good side of the Force, counteracting the dark and evil years of the Bush administration. But instead of a stubborn, intellectual neophyte running the country, easily swayed by myopic neocons, we have a thoughtful visionary counselled by a steady, worldly hand. And that is progress, folks.

Thank Goodness. Biden FTW!

Image: http://z.about.com/d/usliberals/1/0/t/3/ObamaBidenChrisGannon.jpg

Read articles about Biden from the primary:

• High Praise for Joe Biden
• ABC Constructs Controversy: Obama vs. Biden
• Joe Biden Leads the Newspaper Pack
• Biden Vs. Giuliani: Round III
• Another Iowan For Joe Biden
• ‘08 Ode to Biden & Dodd

Stumble it!