The Biden Choice

There is lots being written about the choice of Senator Joe Biden by Senator Obama.

I have three comments.

First, this is a very conventional choice. Obama clearly has a weak spot on experience and another, as he demonstrated in the Georgia crisis, on foreign policy. Biden could help to shore those weaknesses up. The splash on the Obama website may have a tendency to up the level of parody about Obama as the Messiah - Barrack has Chosen?

Second, this is a very conventional choice. For a candidate who claims to be an agent of change - this looks like a denial of that theme. Biden is in his sixth term as a senator so he is a quintessential insider in Washington. BIden also ran for president twice - neither time particularly successfully. Richard Cohen, the WP columnist, argued that one of Biden's failings was "manic-obsessive running of the mouth." In October of 2007 one observer commented about Biden's responses an experienced candidate, he "stumbled through a discourse on race and education, leaving the impression that he believes one reason that so many District of Columbia schools fail is the city's high minority population." In October 2007 BIden said to a presumed Indian supporter "In Delaware, you cannot go to a 7-11 or a Dunkin' Donuts, unless you have a slight Indian accent." The Video of that event can be seen by clicking the link. The choice is unconventional in one sense. It is unclear what he will add to the ticket in terms of electoral heft. It is not as if Delaware or the mid-atlantic region was ever in play.

There is one contrary indicator for the choice. One could make a case that Joe Biden is the Democrat's Strom Thurmond. Thurmond was a senator for almost 60 years. But when you look at his record of leadership he was an insider's insider. None of the positions that Thurmond held came to him except by seniority. That is also true of Biden. His roles on Foreign Relations and Judiciary came about because of time in seat. To my knowledge he has never sought or been considered for leadership positions in the Senate like Whip, or Majority Leader.

Third, this choice puts a lot more emphasis on Obama. Early in this campaign I believed that the choice of VP for both candidates would be very important. While Biden is not a negative choice (except for his tendency to make gaffes) he also does not offer much of a boost. If McCain is able to pull off a truly unconventional choice, the Biden choice will be a mistake. McCain has an opportunity he did not have yesterday, if he chooses someone who is not a Washington insider but has some executive experience. I don't think that describes Romney but he has a couple of other interesting choices. If McCain sticks with a conventional choice, then the focus will be on whether the American people trust an inexperienced guy over, in Paris Hilton's words, an old guy. With the perceptions of Bush and the economy, that might be enough. But as I move around the country, I am increasingly convinced that the American people are growing skeptical of mantras that don't actually represent change.