Re: Obama picks Senator Joe Biden as VP
[QUOTE=Miroslav;639203]You both hit upon an interesting point... Obama has run under a campaign of change - changing Washington, changing insider-dominated politics, etc. His choice in Biden, while very reasonable to me, also seems an admission that:
- A push for change from the outside only goes so far; then you need real [I]influence[/I].
And that probably means ultimately relying on the very Washington insiders you deride. In other words, those who expect Obama to achieve the levels of change he's been promising are likely to end up sorely disappointed.
- Obama flat out lacks the experience to get elected on his own merit.
And [I]he knows[/I] that it's a real liability with the public - especially in foreign policy. Just look at the recent poll numbers that pretty much all show McCain closing the gap - and [I]fast[/I]. His ability to deepen the bench with varsity players like Biden is particularly crucial to his election.[/QUOTE]
I hear what you're saying, but:
On your first point, Biden [B]is[/B] a Washington insider, but I don't really view him as dirty and/or beholden to special interests, which is really the focus of Obama's call for change (at least when he's talking about the need for fresh blood in Washington). Obama's platform calls for increased transparency in government, the reduction of the influence of lobbyists and special interests, and a heightened focus upon ethics. Biden is certainly not new to Washington, but I don't think of him being on the wrong side of any of those issues. Accordingly, although there's a certain obvious disconnect between calling for "change" while tapping one of the most senior members of the Senate, when you look at the underlying rationale behind Obama's opposition to Washington insiders, there are people that are a lot less senior who would have made him look like much more of a hypocrite (e.g., Hillary Clinton).
On the second point, I think it overstates the importance of a VP as an affirmative basis for voting for someone. Everything I've ever seen suggests that while a bad VP choice can hurt you, people tend to vote for the top of the ticket, so a great VP choice isn't likely to seriously raise your stock. It does reflect a pragmatism on Obama's part in recognizing that having a guy that is extremely experienced and a known commodity will likely allay the concerns that some voters might have about him, but I think it is an overstatement to say that "Obama flat out lacks the experience to get elected on his own merit." He's still going to rise and fall on his own abilities.
My opinion, FWIW.