Obama Replacing Biden: A Rumor Gone Wild

The Internet's political blogs are filled with speculation that Democratic Presidential nominee Barack Obama is soon going to replace vice presidential running mate Joe Biden with Senator Hillary Clinton. Biden, the rumors go, will drop out of the race for health reasons, opening up the possibility of what many Democrats have labeled a dream ticket: Obama - Clinton.

The reason: Biden is becoming too much of a joke, and a liability, on the campaign trail. Since his selection, Biden has provided critics with lots of juicy material. His gaffes have become almost comical, and are happening with startling regularity.

Here's a quick recap of some of Biden's most notable screw ups. He called for a state senator at a campaign rally to stand up and be recognized, not realizing the man he was referring to was in a wheelchair. He demonstrated his ability to quickly recover, though, by saying, "God love ya, what am I talking about." He then called on the rest of the audience to "stand up for Chuck."

He said not too long ago that Hillary Clinton was eminently qualified to be president or vice president, and would probably have been a better pick than he was. He got a bit of history wrong when he talked about how President Roosevelt discussed the stock market crash on television in 1929 (it was then pointed out that Roosevelt was not president in 1929 and that there was no television as of that date).

He called an Obama - Biden campaign ad "terrible" during an interview. He opposed the bailout of AIG before Obama took a stance on the issue. That gaffe prompted Obama to say that Biden had spoken too soon. He has contradicted Obama on support for coal plants in the United States. And my personal favorite: Biden called his wife gorgeous (nothing wrong with that) but then said she had a doctorate degree, which was a problem. What exactly did he mean by that?

So, as Joe Biden's mouth continues to get him in trouble, the rumor mill has started to work overtime. Dropping out for health reasons seems plausible enough. Biden has a history of brain aneurysms and that could be cited as a reason for his departure. But does this rumor have any merit? Is it really possible?

I don't think so, and here's why. First, a shakeup on the ticket now would open Obama up to charges that he didn't properly vet Biden. In reality, Biden is a known entity. He's been in Washington for 36 years and Obama knew just what he was getting. Second, replacing Biden could make Obama look indecisive, which is not exactly the image a presidential candidate wants to portray to the voting public. And third, absentee and mail-in ballots have already gone out in some states, and those ballots say Obama - Biden. Changing the ticket now could open up the possibility of legal challenges based on those ballots.

So, in the end, I think this rumor is just that: unfounded speculation based on a desire to see Hillary included on the ticket.