Thursday, September 11, 2008

Joe Biden's Moment Of Truth Will Not Help Obama

I woke up this morning to another Joe Biden moment. What is a Joe Biden moment? Historically, a Joe Biden moment is when voters just shake their head in wonder and ask why an otherwise intelligent politician would say such a dubious thing.

The truth is that Joe Biden has a history of these moments and as a result is a politician that has often shot himself in the foot during his long political career.

So far, in election 2008, while Sarah Palin has dramatically energized the Republican campaign, Joe Biden has not been much of an asset to the Democratic ticket . However, yesterday, Democratic Vice Presidential nominee Joe Biden became a political liability to Barack Obama.

At a rally in Nashua, N.H., a man in the audience told Biden how glad he was that Obama picked him over Hillary, "not because she's a woman, but because, look at the things she did in the past."

Here is how Biden responded: "Make no mistake about this, Hillary Clinton is as qualified or more qualified than I am to be Vice President of the United States of America. Let’s get that straight. She’s a truly close personal friend, she is qualified to be President of the United States of America, she’s easily qualified to be Vice President of the United States of America, and quite frankly, it might have been a better pick than me. But she’s first rate, I mean that sincerely, she’s first rate, so let’s get that straight."

It sure sounds like Joe Biden is questioning Barack Obama's selection of himself as the Democratic Vice Presidential nominee. It highlights once again the lack of a proper explanation of why Hillary Clinton was not selected by Barack Obama for the number two spot on the ticket.

Of course, the McCain camp was quick to respond: McCain Spokesman Ben Porritt: "Barack Obama’s most important decision of this election, and Biden, the candidate he selects, suggests, himself, that he wasn’t the right man for the job, and that Hillary Clinton would have been a better choice. Biden certainly has a credible viewpoint on this."

Look for the Republican attack ads questioning Obama's judgement again in the days ahead. Certainly, Joe Biden's moment of truth will not help Obama but it was not the only Joe Biden moment on display yesterday.

At the start of his speech in Missouri he pointed out several state lawmakers in the audience for praise. When he got to Chuck Graham, a state senator from Green Meadows, Biden urged the lawmaker to “stand up Chuck, let ‘em see ya.”

The problem for Joe Biden is that Chuck is wheelchair bound and can not stand up. Here is Biden's response when he found out: “God love ya, what am I talking about. “You can tell I’m new,” he then asked the audience to stand up for Graham instead.

The problem for Obama is that Biden is not new and too often people don't know what he is talking about. The political reality in this campaign is that Joe Biden is fast becoming an anchor around Obama's neck as big as the anchor of George Bush that hangs from John McCain's.

For More on Election 2008 see: Presidential Election Day 2008 In My Dream on eworldvu.com

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