How is Joseph Biden doing so far for Barack Obama?
If you watch national television, he is an utter disaster according to the talking heads (Talkheads).
He’s not Hillary Clinton and Hillary was not vetted or asked permission so Barack Obama has a big hill to climb to garner the Clinton supporters.
Biden said nice things about Obama’s opponent, John McCain, with whom he shared the US Senate for years, so the Talkheads feel he can’t be the traditional attack dog which is the delegated role for the vice president candidate.
Biden also said some nasties about Obama implying he was not ready for prime time as a President while they were campaigning so the Talkheads say he can’t be an effective advocate.
Then Biden’s strong suit (foreign policy) is not so strong.The Talkheads feel it shows how little foreign policy experience the possible next US President will be should he inherit the Commander In Chief role.
Of course, the Talkheads also say that Washington insider cannot stand for “change” which has been Obama’s strong suit.
Obama wanted to get a big boost out of has vice president nominee but according to many of the Talkheads, the women don’t like Biden and overall, he might be a negative more than a positive.
Once some polls come out to really gauge the Biden halo effect on the Obama campaign, should it look like the Veep choice is a neutral or negative then Hillary Clinton and hubby Bill could play a dominant role at the convention.
If the numbers are flat against Biden as the Talkheads think they will be, Hillary Clinton might have some real opportunity to exact some influence over the Democratic Presidential candidate.
So far, according to some, Obama has gotten a gift from the Talkheads enroute to the nomination and the convention, but perhaps that heady talk might be tailing off.
So goes the risk of picking a VP.John McCain can learn some lessons as he finishes his decision-making process.For sure, McCain will want to head off the Talkheads before they do some plain talking about the Republican’s ultimate pick.We shall see as the Olympics head into some Olympic-size politics made for TV and the fate of the Talkheads setting policy.
Well, I am glad to see the democrats have the second piece to their Political Leader Bobble Head collection..... Now maybe those two cheeseheads can explain to us a plan that is going to retire our deficit, and get back the 1.2 Trillion Dollars the Chinese have sitting in a bank while we have none....... It won't work, but I'm listening.... Written by
on 8/25/2008
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As someone who used to watch C-Span and C-Span 2 religiously, I can say that occasionally Joe Biden really loses it - that is, he goes on rants that makes him sound crazy. Truly I am surprised at Obama picking him as V.P. Sam Nunn - among others - would have been a better choice, IMHO. Written by kpf
on 8/25/2008
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I read the Biden history and found out the details of his first wife. Personal tragedy and how a person overcomes it can define a person. Biden appears to bring some substance to the ticket, but the straw man still leads the ticket and there is no substance. Written by Sid
on 8/24/2008
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Forgive me, I was sleeping under my rock on this rainy day. What happened to Biden's first wife. Guess i will go find out for myself. Oh, Get over GW Bush. He is not running in this election. History will define his Presidency not liberal rants. Written by Sid
on 8/24/2008
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Sharon... have some de-caf. You'll be happy to know Sen.McCain will win Louisiana easily. Written by KjunLady
on 8/24/2008
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Sorry, Let me try again. I was trying to answer each point but hit the wrong key. Oops.
McCain does differ with Bush on some issues. He spoke out when he thought that Bush needed to change the leadership in the Pentagon and called for a surge. If you remember the Generals at the time wanted a "small footprint". Bush listened. McCain called for a surge. Petreus took over. The Surge went forward and has been highly successful. He voted against the Bush tax cuts because they were not accompanied by spending cuts. He has seen that tax cuts work but spending must be cut as well. He is against redundant and failed programs. He is against earmarks. Spending cuts especially in entitlement programs will bring down the debt. He is not for staying in Iraq for 100 years. His statement was that he didn't know how long it would take but that even if it took 100 years it still had to be finished. Anyone who owns a 401K or pension fund benefits from the cuts in capital gains. Anyone who owns a small business or who has saved should be able to leave that to their children tax free. The government should never get half of any amount rich or not. Are you for bringing back the marriage tax that punished people (especially those who stayed in school) if they married? The top 10% of wage earners pay over 70% of the taxes. The bottom 40% pay none. Why do you want to punish success? Obama thinks if you make $200,000 a year you are rich. Heck that could be a doctor and a teacher. Obama says that he is for change but what kind. The more I read the more I hear SOCIALISM. I agree the "task for Obama is to show that he can look and feel like a real president". I thought that was what the European tour was all about. Problem is it is hard sometime to decide if he is running for POTUS or President of the world. So far Obama has shown that he is an attractive, articulate, and clever politician. But where is the substance? What has he done to prove that he can lead or administrate? He has no experience. His choices of friends and mentors is very suspect. How can someone just say after 25 years that he did not know his pastor had the beliefs that he does. There are years of tapes of his sermons to disprove that or is it that Obama never attended church there at all. The President makes the decisions; not the VP. Finally, McCain is not Bush. There will be change if he is elected. But our National Security will be in good hands. With Obama we don't really know what his "change is all about" except that he wants to redistribute the wealth of this country and talk to our enemies to see how we can get along better. Teddy Kennedy has wanted this country to be socialist all his life. He has always said that socialism has failed everywhere it was tried because it did not have the right leader. Since he himself cannot be that leader, he has found someone who believes as he does in Obama. I say be careful of the change you seek.
Written by Sharon
on 8/24/2008
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McCain does differ with Bush on some issues. He spoke out when he thought that Bush needed to change the leadership in the Pentagon and called for a surge. If you remember the Generals at the time wanted a "small footprint". Bush listened. McCain called for a surge. Petreus took over. The Surge went forward and has been highly successful. He voted against the Bush tax cuts because they were not accompanied by spending cuts. He has seen that tax cuts work but spending must be cut as well. He is against redundant and failed programs. He is against earmarks. Spending cuts especially in entitlement programs will bring down the debt. He is not for staying in Iraq for 100 years. His statement was that he didn't know how long it would take but that even if it took 100 years it still had to be finished. Anyone who owns a 401K or pension fund benefits from the cuts in capital gains. Anyone who owns a small business or who has saved should be able to leave that to their children tax free. The government should never get half of any amount rich or not. Are you for bringing back the marriage tax that punished peopld (especially those who stayed in school) if they married? The top 10% of wage earners pay over 70% of the taxes. The bottom 40% pay none. Why do you want to punish success? Obama thinks if you make $200,000 a year you are rich. Heck that could be a doctor and a teacher. Obama says that he is for change but what kind. The more I read the more I hear SOCIALISM One thing this election is all about is change. The nation is definitely crying for it and the GOP knows it. If McCain wins it will be in spite of that national mood. The task for Obama is to show that he can look and feel like a real president (as if the people have seen that lately with the Bush the son administration) while the GOP will be trying to make Obama look "scary." If Obama can get people to acquire a certain comfort level with the notion of an Obama administration as far as the look and feel of it then he win the election easily and the GOP knows it. If McCain's message is "elect me because I'm another old war hawk and I will make the Bush tax cuts permanent" he will lose badly, thus their only choice is to make Obama into something people can't abide. Bush the father at least had the popularity of the Reagan administration going for him. McCain will have no such asset. But back to Obama selecting Biden as his running mate, it should not and probably won't have a major effect on the election -- people vote on the basis of who's on the top of the ticket -- but if his goal was as he said, to find someone who could help him govern and be a strong independent voice, he accomplished that.
Written by Sharon
on 8/24/2008
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I remember when Reagan came to the GOP convention in 1988 and promised "you ain't seen nothing yet..." much to the right-wingers' glee. What's this? Bush the son isn't going to do the same, is he? OK, but where is McCain differing with Bush on a policy matter of significance, pray tell? He's talked the talk of being a maverick but when it comes down to it he's strongly supported Bush on everything of substance. He's talked of making Bush's tax cuts for the very wealthy permanent (continuing with the long-time GOP record of adding to and piling up federal debt) and also of staying in Iraq for 100 years (even as the Iraqi government is negotiating terms of a U.S. withdrawal). One thing this election is all about is change. The nation is definitely crying for it and the GOP knows it. If McCain wins it will be in spite of that national mood. The task for Obama is to show that he can look and feel like a real president (as if the people have seen that lately with the Bush the son administration) while the GOP will be trying to make Obama look "scary." If Obama can get people to acquire a certain comfort level with the notion of an Obama administration as far as the look and feel of it then he win the election easily and the GOP knows it. If McCain's message is "elect me because I'm another old war hawk and I will make the Bush tax cuts permanent" he will lose badly, thus their only choice is to make Obama into something people can't abide. Bush the father at least had the popularity of the Reagan administration going for him. McCain will have no such asset. But back to Obama selecting Biden as his running mate, it should not and probably won't have a major effect on the election -- people vote on the basis of who's on the top of the ticket -- but if his goal was as he said, to find someone who could help him govern and be a strong independent voice, he accomplished that. Written by Richard P.
on 8/24/2008
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"What happened to Biden's fist wife? Divorce? Death?".. Oh, Sid!! Did you just crawl out from under a rock? The story of Joe Biden's first wife and family is all over the news....a very sad one too... His survival is so admirable... I'm surprised we didn't hear as much about this earlier. But, commuting by train btwn Delaware and Wash DC everyday for many years - instead of hanging around "with the good ole boys"..... (or patronizing a brothel)... is the kind of leader I believe in. Written by KjunLady
on 8/24/2008
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To add to what Sid & PoBoy has said I will quote Hillary Clinton in saying that She has years of experience in Government. McCain has years of experience in Government. Obama has a speech he made........... Bush is not running in this election. McCain is hardly a Bush. At least Bush was a Governor, had business experience in the oil business and also in baseball. Obama's claim of experience is as a "community organizer" and a stint in the Illinois legislature that has him casting more "present" votes than anything else and of course the 140+ days he served in the US Senate. Real leadership there. Biden put it very well in the primary season when he said that this time in our history is not a time for on the job training. Written by Sharon
on 8/24/2008
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Tee Dub and Richard. Hey guys,hate to burst your little election year bubble,but..... IT AIN"T ABOUT BUSH ANYMORE. Gee whiz, are you that paranoid about Republicans? No evidence exists that McCain will be a Bush clone as much as you Dems would like to sell that line of BS to the American people. Obama is behind 18 points in Louisiana and close to the same in the South. Maybe the two of you should try to say positive things about your "man" (as tough as that would be) rather than beating a dead horse. Obama/Biden looks like a loser to me. Written by poboy1
on 8/24/2008
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Bush's record, also, in business was anything but impressive. Face it, if not for his last name, the man would have been nowhere near turning very many heads circa the late 1990's as potential U.S. president material. Moreover, his actual job performance as president, in the eyes of all but the most strident right-wingers, has not borne out that he came into office really well prepared, i.e. it's been rotten. The economy is in the tank, again, even after all of the tax cuts for the very wealthy set and abroad the Taliban is re-emerging in Afghanistan, demonstrating the overall failure of the no. 1 foreign policy/national security item for the whole Bush the son regime. Mission not accomplished. He's depended on his vice-president to govern more than any other president in history and while at first Cheney seemed like a reasonable choice as a wise, experienced government veteran who could step in and easily fulfill the "a heartbeat away..." role no one foresaw what a rabid hard-liner and war hawk he has turned out to be. The Bush the son administration has been almost as if it had been "Quayle-Bush" in 1988. Written by Ricard P.
on 8/24/2008
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Yes and Louisiana was one of the largest most corrupt third world countries for years. Granted Texas guvs do not have the appointtive powers as does the Louisiana governor. Nevertheless, being a governor is better training to be President than anything Obama has done. But Jimmy Carter was a governor and he ranks near the top of the worst President ever list. Obama has no history no record and no experience running a major state or corporation. He went to a church for 20+ years and finally caught on to what the preacher was saying "after" the press exposed this strange religious event. Written by Sid
on 8/24/2008
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Sid, Texas is indeed a big state - both in terms of geography and population, but there remains one major problem with your argument - unlike here in Louisiana, the Texas governorship is weak (c.f., http://www.capolicycenter.org/texas/texas2.html). So Bush's résumé prior to 2001 remains slim. TW Written by Tee Dub
on 8/24/2008
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Like him or hate him, GW was governor of a state that is much larger than most countries. It's like being the General manager of a multi Bazillion dollar corporation. That's more experience than being a community activist who took some international studies classes in college. Mr. O has no management experience, no experience except he gives a good speech and he knows how to play the political game. He has no background. But he likes to talk and so does Biden. maybe we can harness the hot air and use it to power a few houses in Denver during the convention. What happened to Bidens fist wife? Divorce? Death? Written by Sid
on 8/24/2008
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"but according to many of the Talkheads, the women don’t like Biden and overall, he might be a negative more than a positive.".....LOL.. watabuncha ca-ca.... Da ladeez love Joe Biden...He should've won first time out... As a Hillary supporter, I'm more than happy with the Democratic Presidential ticket. No way McCain can drum up the excitement an anticipation that Obama did... Let's watch and see.
Written by KjunLady
on 8/24/2008
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Mais, pray tell, what was George W. Bush's life experience that made him prepared for the Oval Office back in 2000? I'd bet quite a large sum of money that 8 years ago Sharon wasn't parroting the same lame tripe that she is now. TW Written by Tee Dub
on 8/24/2008
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The "Talkheads" have given Obama a pass. Joe Biden was/is correct when he said that the Presidency is not "on the job training". Obama has no life experience to bring to the Presidency. We know almost nothing about him and what we do know is troubling to most. His stand on abortion is extreme. The Church he attended for more than 20 years is extreme. His associates are extreme. His approach to National Security is passive at best. Facts about his family and early life are finally coming to light after almost 2 years and what we see is strange. He talks of "Change" but does not refine it except to say that all will be taken care of, that the rich will have to share with the poor, and that he and the Democrats will decide which industries will be allowed to make a profit and how much. His definition of "rich" goes down the scale by the day. Doesn't sound very much like the country I was born in. He picked Biden as his VP choice. How does Biden define Obama's "Change"? Both men love the sound of their voices. Both have a problem being "off script". Obama clings to his TelePrompTer and written speeches. Biden if he talks long enough (which he does often) will make some sort of gaff. Obama all but introduced Biden as "the next President of the United States. Biden returned the favor by renaming Obama Obama America. And that was just the first day........................ Written by Sharon
on 8/24/2008
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