I Have Just Been Biden My Time

Not to toot my own horn -- oh, why not? Over the past few weeks, every time I was asked who I think Obama will pick as his VP (and I must have been asked 200 times) I've said Joe Biden. I was even interviewed by KCBS Radio in San Francisco last Saturday and answered Joe Biden. Am I just psychic or just a talented swami? No way. Yes, I may be just a little astute, but in truth, Barack's choice for VP seemed to be clearly leading him toward Joe Biden.

I have always liked Joe Biden. Yes, he shoots from the hip, but his candor is just what Barack Obama needs at this point. The VP slot has traditionally been seen as an attack dog role during the time leading up to the election, but Obama needs someone strong and glib to bolster his populist and progressive message. Although Barack does a spectacular job of delineating his strengths and the bold agenda that he is laying out, his weakness has been getting any accurate representatiions of John McCain's weaknesses and negatives to resonate with the American people. I do believe that Biden will make them stick.

Tom Lantos was my Congressman and I knew him and respected him, so his memorial service that was held in Washington meant a lot to me. During the service, Joe Biden spoke so warmly and eloquently, and his off-the-cuff words were so incredibly moving and touching. His ability to move a crowd, speak from the heart and say it like it is is exactly what will bring additional substance, weight and yes, credibility to the Obama campaign.

This is still an uphill battle. The Obama-Biden ticket is not just running against John McCain and whoever he selects as his running mate, most likely Mitt Romney. They are also running against the Bush-Cheney White House, who still controls much of the spotlight when they demand it, but much more critically, they are truly up against Fox News and the corporate-driven Right Wing media and pundits who will do and say anything to try to prevent a president who will put the American people first and not continue the benefit-rich playing field that has been the stalwart of the Bush-Cheney regime.

Not shockingly, the McCain campaign was ready with a negative Obama-Biden ad this morning, and it is just a sad way to continue to operate a campaign. A candidate can only push the negative attack button so many times, and McCain is really pushing his luck right now. The American people are bright enough to recognize that Biden, who at one time was running for president himself, said some provocative things about Obama in the heat of the battle, but those things were relatively benign, and certainly don't concern me. McCain will also pick on a couple of minor gaffes that plagued Biden over twenty years ago, but the presumed attacks that will stem from that will just be hollow, similar to McCain's overall message.

The selection of Joe Biden shows a tremendous amount about Barack Obama. Instead of feeling threatened by the deep resume and the strong and boisterous personality of a Joe Biden, Obama can instead absorb the strengths and varied positive attributes of Biden and incorporate them into his own long list of accomplishments, and together they make a very formidable team. I am absolutely thrilled with Barack's choice of Joe Biden, and it doesn't bother me at all that I was correct on at least one prediction.