Barack Obama Chooses Joseph Biden as VP Candidate

The Barack Obama 2008 Presidential ticket finally got some credibility. Today at 1000 hours, the Obama campaign is scheduled to send text messages out to the media confirming Joseph Biden as the VP selection.

The process unraveled similar to an American Idol selection. As the evening progressed names were announced, "Tim Kaine is not the VP choice." About an hour later the campaign released; "Evan Bayh, Chet Edwards is notthe next VP choice" By Midnight, the campaign announced Senator Joseph Biden as the VP candidate.

Not only is Biden the smartest selection for Barack Obama, but the timing of the announcement was also cunning. The campaign informed the media that they will send out the official announcement Saturday 10:00 am. This gives the Obama campaign ten hours to test the winds and monitor the sound waves.

What about Hillary? The rumors were consistent that she may be the one, but not logical. There was no way Hillary could have been properly vetted before November. Hillary still had too much financial and marital baggage to handle. She was popular but not viable.

Days earlier anonymous information was released from the Obama campaign that Mrs. Obama did not want Joe Biden as the VP candidate. The reasoning was that Joe Biden is an aggressive pol. with strong opinions and may overshadow Barack Obama. The Obama/Biden ticket is certainly an upside down ticket. Joe Biden's experience certainly towers above Barack Obama. Actually, anyone with 131 days in the Senate has more experience than Barack Obama.

Senator Joseph Biden may give the rookie senator some street cred, but his selection still represents potential problems. The nation is fully aware of Obama's stance against the war in Iraq. Biden supported and voted for the war effort. It will be interesting to see the Obama campaign resolve that glaring contrast.

Another issue maybe the credible charges of plagiarism leveled against Joe Biden during his first presidential run in 1987. Wikipedia has the meat and potatoes of the story, read it fast before it is scrubbed by the Internet trolls.

It is reported that during a 1987 campaign speech Joe Biden plagiarized a speech by Neil Kinnock, leader of the British Labour Party. The Dukakis campaign had secretly made a video highlighting the Biden/Kinnock comparison. As a student, Joe Biden plagiarized a law review article in a class paper he wrote. On the campaign trail, he was caught lying about his grades and the amount of degrees he obtained. The damaged Joe Biden was forced to drop out of the race.

During Joe Biden's 2008 presidential campaign he stoked the racial flames with comments about Barack Obama; "I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy, I mean, that's a storybook, man."

Shortly after Biden's uh, description Barack Obama responded in a written comment; "I didn't take Sen. Biden's comments personally, but obviously they were historically inaccurate. African-American presidential candidates like Jesse Jackson, Shirley Chisholm, Carol Moseley Braun and Al Sharpton gave a voice to many important issues through their campaigns, and no one would call them inarticulate."

Jesse Jackson? The most articulate I ever heard Jesse speak is when he stated he wanted to cut Barack's boys off. All may be forgiven but we are certainly in for an interesting run to the White House.

Joe Biden also stated, "Barack Obama is not ready to be president" and cited Obama's "poor foreign policy judgment." In a 2007, ABC interview Biden stated he stands by his remarks.

What could have made Obama go against the alleged advice from his wife, after all, he recently stated she is one of the top three wisest people he would heavily rely on during his administration? The foreign policy experience or lack thereof, that Senator Joseph Biden mentioned.

Recent events such as Russia's invasion of Georgia, the recent and sudden relinquishing of power by Pervez Musharraf, former president of Pakistan have caused foreign policy issues to take center stage. Joe Biden's 35-year experience is very attractive to an Obama candidacy.

Remember that folks in November, the volatility of world events demands that we have a qualified commander-in-chief.

Biden dropped out of the 2008 race and had this to say, "I am not running for vice president," he said in a Fox interview. "I would not accept it if anyone offered it to me. The fact of the matter is I'd rather stay as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee than be vice president."

Who was it that said words matter? Oh yeah, that was plagiarized also. Maybe an Obama/Biden ticket is a better fit than I thought.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Biden

http://m.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080823/NEWS0107/80823004/-1/WAP&template=wapart

http://www.santafenewmexican.com/National%20News/23-obama-2ndld-writethru