The Joe Biden Vice President Hoax

CNN got the scoop on everybody just after midnight on August 23 when John King reported from Denver, the site of the 2008 Democratic National Convention, that Barack Obama had called Senator Joe Biden and offered him the job as vice president. John King went on to say that the Secret Service had been dispatched to Senator Biden's home.

Of course, some Senator Obama supporters are going to be a little miffed because CNN preempted the advance e-mail or text message that was to give them the edge over reporters and news services. Instead, many of them woke up on Saturday morning, turned on their radio or television or sat down to their newspaper or computer and found the Senator Joseph Biden's name everywhere.

It has since been confirmed by e-mail, text message, and posted on Barack Obama's official website.

And no doubt Senator Hillary Clinton supporters are a bit miffed as well. Many of them believe that picking Senator Clinton as the Democratic vice presidential running mate is the only way Senator Obama can win the general election in November. Senator Clinton, for her part, has been campaigning for Senator Obama since she announced the suspension of her candidacy.

But What If Nominating Joe Biden Was A Ruse, A Hoax?

Not to give the Clinton supporters more hope or rope to hang themselves with, but what if the Joe Biden "leak" is just a ruse? What if Senator Obama is actually going to nominate someone else at the convention? What if this is all a bit of misdirection, theatre for the masses? And what if Senator Biden is in on it?

It is not beyond the realm of possibility. Campaign organizations are known for their melodrama and theatrics during a campaign. And what better way to get the Republicans to commit millions of dollars to attack ads and commercials that would squander their coffers and be worthless?

Why would the Obama camp do something like this? Simple. It would catch the Republicans off guard. It would hit them where they are most vulnerable -- their war chest. And choosing Senator Clinton at the convention would more or less reunite the Democratic Pary, which suffered somewhat of a fracture during the internecine battling between Obama and the former First Lady. Record voter turnout for the two candidates in the Democratic primaries is something difficult to turn one's back on, and Senator Obama seems to be a pretty astute fellow.

Besides,polls indicate that choosing Senator Biden as his running mate would not increase the likelihood of anyone voting for him (75%). Only 13% said they would be more likely to vote for Obama as president if Biden was on the ticket. On the other hand, not choosing Clinton will definitely cost him some votes. CNN polls show that over half of Clinton supporters will either vote for McCain on Election Day, are undecided or will not vote at all. If you consider that 18 million people voted for Senator Clinton during the primaries, that's over nine million voters. Senator John Kerry lost the 2004 presidential election by over three million votes and he did not have a divided party.

Revealing The Joe Biden Vice President Hoax

Can you imagine the shock that would go through the nation if Senator Obama, just minutes after Senator Joe Biden officially dismissed himself from consideration (this is for plausible deniability that the entire thing was staged), stood before the world in Denver and nominated Senator Hillary Clinton as his vice president? Can you imagine the the roof coming off of the Pepsi Center in Denver? Can you imagine the Republicans first registering dismay, then anger, then wondering just what the hell they're going to do with those millions of dollars of attack ads that have suddenly become meaningless?

Cheap theatrics? Sneaky and conniving? Certainly. But this is American politics. And Obama wants to win. Winning seems to involve Hillary Clinton.

Senator Biden adds credibility to Obama's campaign and gives him leverage in the foreign affairs department and the experience department. But the McCain camp is already saying that Obama is just admitting that he is inexperienced with the Biden nomination. And they have dug out all the tapes of the Democratic primaries, including debate footage, where Senator Biden says that Senator Obama is too young and inexperienced. Just hours after his nomination and the Republicans have begun their media onslaught.

Not an announcement of a nomination of their own. Attack ads.

And it could work. Negative ads work. Ugly but true.

So how to combat it? Pull the rug out from under the elephant.