As party loyalists gather in Denver, tonight should have been a night of unmitigated delight for us as we revel in a once in a generation opportunity for dramatic gains both Congressionally and Presidentially thanks to a ticket that inspires enthusiasm in our supporters and fear in our enemies.
Alas instead we are bedward bound with talk of Biden.
As one clued-in DNC-er put it: "this is a clear declaration to the electorate that Barack is under foriegn-policy adult supervision." And that's only the start of the backlash against the senior senator from Delaware. Complaints continue citing: his failure to help the ticket electorally (Biden will not flip a single EV); his emphasis on foreign policy for an economy-oriented electorate; his predilection for personal grandstanding.
This is the first major decision of Barack Obama, Nominee and there is a real fear amongst Democrats that he has screwed up picking a media-friendly Veep who supposedly helps him with the next 70 days but helps little with the 8 years thereafter.
There's still time for us all to be surprised with a last-minute 'fooled-ya!' from Team Obama but the odds are looking bleak this evening. I head to bed lighting a candle for Kathy. And for change I can believe in.
---
On a happier note I can heartily recommend Vesta Dipping Grill in downtown Denver. Their venison is particularly exquisite and their Zinfandels are excellent for washing away the taste of Iraq-war authorising Washingtonians.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
I am also a bit disappointed with the choice of Biden, it is far too defensive. Still he polls well with older, especially working(middle?), class voters, although whether his inclusion on the ticket will actually be decisive for many voters is open to question. He will also make a good 'attack dog' and will hopefully turn in a commanding performance in vice-presidential debate provided he can refrain from any further gaffes. Overall however I cannot help but feel that this is a missed opportunity for Obama.
Observing US elections from afar, I tend to get the impression that campaigns get completely lost in details - this kind of "he is doing 3.5% better than his opponent with unemployed hispanic homosexual mothers in Minnesota but he he needs to improve with catholic scizophrenic native american used-car sellers in the rust belt". Now, coming from a country where you often vote for (or almost as often against) people, because you personally know and like or dialike them, this appears very strange to me. I believe (and hope) that also in the US, people will in the end elect the guy they like and trust more, even if they disagree with him on some issues (of course there is the issue of the electoral college, which is a deeply flawed system, about which I might rant in depth in another comment).
So Obama has the image of being inexperienced in foreign policy (as if this would have stopped earlier presidents from being elected...) and because of all this detail-mongery, he picks Biden and his experience in foreign policy. Now on one hand, I do not value legisaltive foreign policy very highly and on the other hand this does nothing to change Obamas experience.
If I were McCain, I would now definitely pick the guy I like most, regardless where exactly he is from and in which states he need how many percents. McCain can then present himself as choosing the best for the country and not necessarily his campaign. One of the things that won Obama the primaries is that he is less of a typical politician than Clinton. Biden and a good choice by McCain might loose him this advantage in the general election.
AND an "Obama-Biden" ticket looks too eerily like a jumbled-up version of "Osama bin Laden"--just what the Republicans needed to be convinced the antichrist really is among us.
Post a Comment