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Aug
24
This post consolidates a number of prior comments I’ve made about the selection of Joe Biden as Barack Obama’s VP choice:
To read the swing state of Ohio, listen to its delegates in Denver on the choice of Joe Biden as Barack Obama’s running mate (h/t Ohio Daily Blog,):
Attorney Jan Roller of Cleveland, a Clinton delegate, said Biden “adds great strength for the experience he brings to the ticket, especially in foreign policy.” Justin Zollars, a college instructor from Bowling Green, said he’s happy with what he called “a smart pick” because Biden is experienced with foreign policy.
Sonny Nardi, a Teamsters leader and a superdelegate pledged to Obama, is also happy with Biden but more due to his appeal to workers and the middle class. Biden has middle class Irish Catholic roots in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and Nardi believes Biden’s story and personality are a good fit in Ohio.
Leslye Huff, a probate attorney in East Cleveland pledged to Clinton, had an interesting philosophical take on the Obama-Biden pairing. “It’s very clear that the American public is asking for two things – change, the kind of change that supports and protects, and they are also asking for stability,” she said. She illustrated the desire for stability by pointing out that Americans “don’t want strange and odd debacles like Hurricane Katrina, where people certainly needed support and assistance and didn’t get it.” Given that the party’s platform calls for constructive change and the party has a “change agent” as a presidential candidate, “it was wise to make sure there was a complementary force for stability, a force based on tremendous knowledge and experience. The seasoned quality of Joe Biden I think is something that nobody can question.”
Steve Lieber of University Heights, also a Clinton delegate, was a shade more qualified in his praise:
Well, out of all the selections he had, Biden is probably a good pick. I think he has a lot of experience, he balances Obama well, he was a good choice out of all the people Obama had out there to pick. I’m a Hillary delegate, I like Hillary, but Biden was probably the best one he could pick. My personal feeling is Hillary probably wouldn’t have wanted to run for vice president.
Some of the delegates are public officals who issued public statements about Biden today. Sen. Sherrod Brown, an unpledged superdelegate, said:
Joe Biden is a dedicated public servant and a devoted family man. He has spent his career working to protect American families and will be invaluable in helping Senator Obama fight for the middle class. It has been my pleasure to call Joe a friend and colleague. I look forward to working with him as part of an Obama White House in charting a new course for middle class families and for our nation.
UPDATE: Here’s the statement from Gov. Ted Strickland:
Joe Biden is an outstanding choice for vice president. His foreign policy knowledge is unparalleled, and his humble Pennsylvania roots give him a deep understanding of the challenges facing Ohio families. Ohioans will have a clear choice this Fall —- four more years of failed Bush economic policies under John McCain, or a new direction that will bring the the real change we need to Washington with an Obama-Biden ticket.
Lesley Huff’s analysis nails what I’ve been writing at places like BlogHer (which has a fantastic back and forth with debate and opinion and analysis from all perspectives) and The Point and in person – I was at three different social events yesterday and at all three, people wanted to talk about the Joe Biden pick.
Here are the highlights of why I posted my support of Obama’s decision within minutes of learning about the selection:
1. I’ve met him, I’ve heard him live, I loved his debate performances. I’m not forgetting his gaffes or that he’s a white male, but I was never a Hillary supporter and I’ve had my issues with the Obama campaign (more than with Obama himself I should add). I analogize this pick to Ohio Governor Ted Strickland’s pick of Lee Fisher, who had run and lost in the Ohio governor race the previous election cycle against Bob Taft who went on to have even more dismal ratings than Bush: a balance of personalities and appeals.
2. I understand people’s complaints about Biden not being new, Biden not being a governor, Biden being male and white and from a small state. But if there are lessons we’ve learned already, that we might not have had the advantage of learning until Obama became the candidate he now is (think back to a year ago when he was sparkling, but how much more did we see beyond that sparkle compared to what we’ve seen in 12-15 mos?), those lessons include trusting the people Obama trusts. Not all of them, and not all of them on every decision. But there’s no doubt that the team he’s assembled and relied on, by and large, over the last two years have some serious mojo and instincts and smarts. He had a VP selection committee – most people liked the people Obama named to help him. If we can’t trust this pick, if anyone who supported Obama can’t trust this pick, you’re going to have serious problems with him as a president, no?
3. I fell for this choice immediately because Biden has what Obama lacks: the double-edged sword of entrenchment. For all the ways in which it was used as a negative against HRC, entrenchment also carries with it many goodies for people who are elected to be in D.C. One of my concerns with Obama has involved the length of time it takes to build connections that can help you get what you want done actually done. My concerns included confidence that Obama and his people, as new and fresh as many, though not all of them, are, could and would find the literally thousands of people they’ll need to get done what they and we want them to get done. These are the realities of governing a federal government. It’s not sexy, it’s not Utopian – it’s what we have.
4. This is a Democracy. Obama was not and has never been my pick for president, but I’m a Democrat and by the system we have in place, he’s getting the nod to be the candidate. I don’t have to love it but I do feel that I have to want to vote for him. To expect that Obama would pick someone as emblematic as he is of change ignores the fact that we have more than 100 million people who will be voting and WANT to vote and to whom the Democratic ticket MUST appeal in order to win (well, half of that and then some for good measure).
Just as a unitary president or a single-party federal government is dangerous, so would a ticket that is change and change. We simply do not have an electorate that wants that – they will not vote for it. Change freaks out a LOT of people – even when they really sincerely believe they want it and know they need it – they can still get freaked out and pull back.
Biden is a hedge against that urge.
5. The female myth. I’m 46 – I want to break that ceiling too – but it never was Hillary for me – I don’t care how feminine or what she is/was. Yeah, I voted for her over Obama but I’ve always said I’d vote for whomever was the eventual nominee. Obama has many things going for him – no question. But not several of the things I prioritized in terms of governing.
6. Biden is definitive where Obama is deliberative. Deliberative is a thing I like – I love process. But in times of crises, when you must act quickly, decisiveness with less info and input than you might prefer is necessary – and this is where Biden v. Obama’s years in service matter to me.
7. There are other good choices, I happen to have lucked out that Obama chose the one I really like. If it had been pretty much any of the others- with the exception of US Senator Jim Webb of Virginia – I would be fine too. I just happen to really like Biden, Dodd and Richardson.
8. Again – we live in an enormous country. Coming off of two weeks in a country of 6 million (Israel), really – unless you’ve lived under such a small national government with such a small and tight population – Arabs absolutely included (I’ll be writing more about that this week), I know – it can be really difficult to realize just how many people half the electorate comprises. And how varied.
9. This choice is about shoring up governing and concerns about governing. If we can make that case – that this is the team that can and will govern this nation to a position of strenth on so many levels where we’ve become weak or weakened, the White House will be Obama and Biden. Independents want stability and improvement just as much as the next voter. I believe this ticket has great potential to appeal to them.
10. What about the wives: What does a female pick for VP look like next to a vibrant and capable woman like Michelle Obama? How will any even minimally competent woman as McCain’s choice make not only McCain look but Cindy McCain? Those are image problems for the 100 million+ people in the voting population. If I believed that holding on to the disappointment and belief in the correctness of Clinton being the nominee (to put as some voters are) would actually impact future actions by other individuals who do not share the same level of those emotions, I wouldn’t be so sold on feeling positive now about the ticket. But I do not foresee that position as being one that actually helps women, or this country.
Obama himself made gaffes related to sexism as did his campaign. But the real offenders aren’t the ones who will suffer if that position isn’t held by HRC or a different woman in this cycle. We suffer – our elders and our kids. And in exchange for what?
The number of programs that work to life women and help them lift themselves far outnumbers the groups that have formed to motivate people with spite. IMO, rightly so and hopefully with more successes (Stephanie Howse who just replaced Fannie Lewis in Cleveland City Council did WHP Go Run among other experiences).
The media and the perceptions of people watching and listening to the media is what needs to be impacted – withholding or switching a vote because of perceived wrongs against women by the media won’t affect the media one iota. It only affects us.
Finally, and most importantly, I want a Democrat in the house and in the majority in the Congress. This ticket has the best odds at achieving at least the first if not help the latter. That’s what the pick is about.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 9:17 am August 24th, 2008 in Barack Obama, Democrats, Elections, Joe Biden, Ohio, Politics, Vice President, Voting, WH2008, Women
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13 Responses to “The Wisdom of Choosing Joe Biden”
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Hey Jill! Just stopping by to say congrats on getting the VP of your dreams! He and Barack look good together, and as we know, that counts way too much. I’m hoping for a McCain/Romney double flip flopper ticket.
I have not talked to one person yet who was happy with Biden off blog, not one call or email felt it he was the right candidate for VP.
Even at the Obama House Party I attended today every single person expressed disappointment with the Biden selection, and they were not all former Clinton supporters. One was a Republican who had switched to Democrat to vote for Clinton, and now? Was on the fence. Infact if I had to use one sentence to sum up the majority of those there? They were on the fence, and selecting Biden seemed to make most of them less sure of voting for Obama. Though a few did say that they felt he was probably the lessor of two evils, no one was hopeful or excited about the Obama/Biden ticket.
Since I was there as a person and not a blogger, I did my best to be quiet and to listen because I didn’t want to interject too much though at times that was difficult…My husband kept poking me to make sure I didn’t say too much.
Yet, I felt for the first time that I was really not alone, all too often in the blogosphere it’s been one extreme of the Obama fan club or the other – PUMA’s. These are every day people of a variety of backgrounds, some who had no idea who I was or had ever read my blog or any blog for that matter.
The concerns they expressed about Obama and about Biden are the same ones I’ve had and not all of them are convinced with them feeling very unmotivated as to this campaign and the reality that they are once again faced with a lessor of two evils scenario. After several hours of Obama talking points? It did not appear anyone felt any different after it ended than they did when it started…
Interesting – really interesting. Thanks for taking the time to share – I know what time is right now with the start of school for us.
Yeah – I’ve heard the opposite – many people I know – have spoken with – most recently last night at a social event (primarily Jewish folks btw) are absolutely thrilled that it’s Biden – these were people our age and older, men and women.
Frankly, I’d be surprised if there was not a gamut of feelings about the pick. That doesn’t seem unusual to me. I guess I’m in the camp that believes that the VP choice isn’t so critical and that there was no way to pick another change agent type – the electorate is just too full of folks who can’t handle that much change in concept.
Well, one of the first reasons why you stated you were happy it was Biden was because of Israel, the differences in reactions could be directly related to the social environment.
I think it’s strange that no one so far that I’ve talked with has been happy that it’s Biden, I think in the past the VP was more of a bow on the package type thing, for both Obama and McCain it’s become more than that. Which I think directly relates to the choices we have minus VP’s. Many appeared to have been waiting for some type of signal from the VP pick.
Some Clinton supporters, naively perhaps, felt that Obama would demonstrate the worth of their candidate by selecting her as VP. A great number of political pundits stated that Clinton would make it easier for Obama to win. So to my way of thinking, it’s not surprising that Biden has not been received with that much enthusiasm, especially working class neighborhoods.
[...] Jill Miller – The Wisdom of Choosing Joe Biden [...]
Lisa Renee, you wrote, “the differences in reactions could be directly related to the social environment.” I was at a bar mitzvah party in a English pub so…I don’t know about that! Plus, Jews are all over the place and the guests at this event, with the exception of out of towners, are from the Josh Mandel-area – he’s endorsed McCain and I know the hosts of the party themselves were leaning to McCain last time we talked. All the materials I’ve read indicate that Jews are quite split – the individuals I spoke with who were happy about Biden included a 40+year educator, a dentist and a guy who does something in finance.
I’m not sure if the VP choice has been made out to be more than it usually is made out to be, but for sure the media loves to harp on it – my sense was that it’s always this way re: harping on it at this point – because what else is there to harp on – but that in the end, the voters show time and again that the VP doesn’t matter.
Could just be us junkies too though – we care – or I do – and I’m guessing by your comments that you do too.
That would be very consistent with blogging – I am pretty sure that I haven’t read any bloggers who didn’t care about the pick much.
Darn bloggers.
What is going on with count all votes for Voices Across America ? American’s have no idea what half credit for a vote is! Do we have all voices counted yet in full ?Is the media reporting on that ? No ! Biden is a qualified choice but I’m blown away, it wasn’t Hilary Clinton. Delegates place your votes and let’s fair and square up !That’s what a convention is all about ! Roosevelt walked in behind in delegates and won. The media is not objective ad totaly bias!Lou Dobbs mentioned ast night he thought the media should wear name tags on who they support so the general public will know who they’re supporting as they report the news and it’s a great idea ! Hillary Clinton isn’t to blame and that’s absurd. Hillary Clinton’s primary responsibility in ths close race is to the voices across this country that supported her and she has been very supportive of Obama. This is up to delegates and we’ll see how they’re going rally around the people. Clinton won the popular vote ! Allow the delegates without threats to place their votes !Did Biden recieve 18 million votes and we all know the pimary was so close it could have gone either way. The media has elected Obama before we’ve allowed the delegates to place their votes at the convention ? Before we’ve allowed all voices to be heard and what is half credit for a vote in America for democracy ? Go Hillary Clinton and Bill Clinton’s going to be ticked and don’t blame him! Are we getting half credit for votes in America ? When donkey’s fly ! Fair and square up ! Delegates place your votes ! This is supposed to be why we believe in democracy and what the convention is all about or it use to be ! Have we got full credit for votes in America yet ? That was a leadership to the people comunications total screw-up and don’t blame the people that went to vote. Go Clinton and she’s a class act for the democratic party and the people!Do they realize and does Obama ? Have my questions concerning in all fairness !Thank-you Hillary Clinton !
Keys are sticking on Go Clinton and call edit but fair and square up ! It’s all a twister !
By social environment I meant the differences in who we are interacting with, you mentioned Israel, you mentioned your religion. It’s a given that those who were concerned about Israel would have more of a tendency to agree with your position.
Here in an environment where people are facing financial situations where going to a pub would be out of the question, their primary concerns and motivations would tend to be different. This is a struggling working class neighborhood where the concerns and the day to day decisions are much different than those in power. These are the people that don’t have a voice, or at least didn’t have much of a voice, not that I can do much but? I listen and when I can I help, it’s impossible to not have this have an impact on me.
Take this week as an example, part of my focus off blog was helping a parent who did not have dental insurance get hooked up with a non-profit dental clinic because one of their children was in pain and they did not have the money to go to a regular dentist. Another person faced having their electricity shut off, two others had no food in their home. Another had their phone shut off and needed a way to contact a relative long distance. School starts here tomorrow, a good number of these kids don’t have what they need to start the school year. Donations are down at the social service organizations and through the food bank.
My own family has been hard hit by the economy, my son is out of work, my ex-husband is out of work, I’ve been interviewing since it’s clear that I need to re-enter the “real workforce”. Fact or Fiction, some of these people felt a connection to Clinton that they don’t feel from Obama or Biden. Then there is the other issue that many don’t touch on. It was more than Hillary for some, she was a symbol of what they have struggled with and they are tired of seeing women get screwed over.
Fact or Fiction, they view Obama as more of an elitist than they do McCain or Clinton.
And as we both know? Perception is everything…
Fair and understood but I don’t understand why not Biden – he is far more working-class, struggle, labor-oriented in his real life and life story than Clinton – what is the difference in your opinion?
Bidden has been the biggest critics of the Neo-cons, why does the Jewish community support the selection? It’s because this man knows global politics.
Regardless of whether Bidden was on the ticket or not, he is the democratic go to for global political issues, I would also like to point out that president Clinton relied on him in such capacity. Obama’s position are derived from Bidden’s as are Clintons.
Read his book… IBSN 1400065364…then say Oh I did not know!
Half the people that did not like the selection of VP do not even really no anything about him…oh you can bet on that, this is still America isn’t it?
People don’t see Biden the way you do, they view his support of the bankruptcy bill, his nickname of MNBA Biden because of his known ties to the financial institutions of Delaware and do you realize which state in the US is one the easiest to set up sham corporations? Delaware…
He’s not seen as a champion of the working class, though that’s being touted as a theme.
The bankruptcy legislation is grossly misrepresented.
US Senators have no role in state legislation governing corporations.
The media links Bidden’s son with MBNA and the vote in 2005, his son worked as an Internet banking consultant for MBNA.
The American consumer and the credit card industry are inexplicitly connected. The media grossly misrepresented the changes and affects of bankruptcy reform.
Bankruptcy still exist as it did prior to the changes in 2005 for the below average income. They can file Chapter 7 just as before. Guess who added that to the Bill? When a democrat votes with the other side it is because they are influencing the bill, rather than covering their ears and refusing to make it happen. We needed bankruptcy reform and the democrats that voted for it incorporated items that protected the lowest income earners and that would have been Bidden.