Obama-Biden '08

This was Obama earlier this week talking about the VP dynamic he is going for, which he starts out with some well-placed jabs against Cheney:

Let me tell you first what I won't do.  I won't hand over my energy policy to my vice president, without knowing necessarily what he's doing.  I wont have my vice president engineering my foreign policy for me. The buck will stop with me, because I will be the president. My vice president, also by the way my vice president also will be a member of the executive branch, he won't be one of these 4th branches of government where he thinks he's above the law. But here's what I do want from my vice president, I want somebody who has integrity, who's in politics for the right reasons, I want somebody who is independent. Somebody who is able to say to me, 'you know what, Mr. President, I think you're wrong on this and here's why' and will give me (applause) who will help me think through major issues and consult with me, would be a key advisor. I want somebody who is capable of being president and who I would trust to be president. That's the first criteria for vice president.  And the final thing is I want a [vice] president who shares with me a passion to make the lives of the American people better than they are right now.  I want someone who is not in it just because they want to have their name up in lights or end up being president. I want somebody who is mad right now, that people are losing their jobs. And is mad right now that people have seen their incomes decline, and want to rebuild the middle class in this country. That's the kind of person that I want; somebody who in their gut knows where they came from and believes that we have to grow this country from the bottom up.

Today, it's official, Sen. Joe Biden is Obama's running mate! (Thank god the f-ing 24/7 mindless VP speculation can END now! YOU SUCK MEDIA!!) I'm happy with his choice. Is Biden perfect? Well, no, he voted for the Iraq war, which is unfortunate, but he did work to slow the drumbeat for war, and he has been one of the war's biggest opponents for quite some time, so, we can overlook that. We all make mistakes, what matters most is what you do moving forward. You can either acknowledge your mistake and work to fix it, or you can go the McCain route and just double down on your mistakes. Dig, dig deeper, that's McCain's platform.

Obviously the big plus is that Biden has a ton of foreign policy experience, in fact quite a bit more than McCain. Of course Obama didn't have a weakness here, but apparently American voters, at least according to the polling, seem to think Obama has a weakness here, despite the fact that he was right on Iraq, right of Afghanistan, right on Pakistan, and has kicked McCain's ass on all of these during the campaign. Apparently Americans aren't that quick on the draw though, so settling it once and for all with Biden is probably a good move. But I'll reiterate that he certainly didn't need someone with more foreign policy experience.

Another plus is that Biden is witty and good on the attack. I don't mean the nasty, childish, lying kind of attacks that come from McCain, I mean the factual, common sense attacks that expose how wrong McCain is for the job. He does it like no one else can. Probably the most memorable quote from the primaries was not from Obama or Hillary, it was from Joe Biden, with his famous description of Rudy "9/11" Giuliani:



THAT is what I can't wait for in the general election, because people respond to that. Hell, his first order of business is simple: John McCain: Noun, Verb, POW!

Update: GOP Senator Chuck Hagel had some strong words of support for Obama-Biden, which once again shows he is the only decent Republican. I think McCain can cross Hagel off the list of senators to expect endorsements from:

Joe Biden is the right partner for Barack Obama. His many years of distinguished service to America, his seasoned judgment and his vast experience in foreign policy and national security will match up well with the unique challenges of the 21st Century. An Obama-Biden ticket is a very impressive and strong team. Biden's selection is good news for Obama and America.

Good for America? Is it just me or is Hagel pretty much assuming Biden will be the next VP?

Update #2: Obama's introduction of Senator Joe Biden, his VP:


Transcript Available Here.Favorite quote:

"Joe Biden is what so many others pretend to be – a statesman with sound judgment who doesn’t have to hide behind bluster to keep America strong."

Update #3: Senator Biden's speech:


Transcript Available Here.
There were many great quotes, but I want to highlight this one, because there really is a striking difference in character between the two candidates in this election, just as striking as any policy difference, and I think "we" never really stop and acknowledge how huge, and important, this difference is:

"I must tell you, frankly, I’ve been disappointed in my friend, John McCain, who gave in to the right wing of his party and yielded to the very swiftboat politics that he so -- once so deplored. And folks, campaigns for presidents are a test of character and leadership. And in this campaign, one candidate, one candidate has passed that test."