Biden picked as Obama VP

CNN: http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/08/23/biden.democrat.vp.candidate/index.html
NYT: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/24/us/politics/24biden.html?_r=1&hp&oref=...
Fox: http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/08/23/obama-picks-joe-biden-for-veep/

That's all I could find so far. I hit it 51 seconds after CNN posted it... :)

"Word of Mr. Obama’s decision leaked out hours before his campaign was scheduled to inform supporters via text and e-mail messages"

So much for new media!

3:26am Update: Obama website now has it—http://www.barackobama.com/index.php

It's kind of been the strongest speculation so it's probably right. I don't know if it's as earth shattering an event (maybe for some Clintonista's who still are holding out hope) as it's been made out--speculation as well that Romney will be McCain's choice.

I find the choice...curious. Not wrong, per se, but, I just don't know.

I said before that I still think it's going to come down to a swing state--a Florida, a Virginia, a Pennsylvania, an Ohio. I wonder what Biden brings to that, but I'm convinced that Obama thought it out like a chess player. I just wonder if it's the right move.

I too find it curious. Clearly he was picked as a safe choice—a tacit admission that the "change" meme had run its course—but Biden has some very un-safe tendencies. He's a gaffe machine. That undermines attacks on McCain, another gaffe machine. It does bode well for news-hounds, however, as gaffes are good fun. Let's hope McCain picks another one. (Quayle is tanned, rested and ready!)

Meanwhile, Bush seems to have really started something by picking Cheney—a VP who would never become president. If Obama served two terms and was succeded by Biden, Biden would begin his presidency at 74. I can't imagine Democrats are going to argue for that eventuality while implicitly or explicitly arguing against McCain's age.

Although URL hacking didn't get me far—you can't replace "biden" with "kaine" in images and get Obama with Kaine, alas—there is some fun in the images used/available on the Obama website. 1-4 are from August 15, 5 is from 3:31 this morning.



Notice that image 2 and 5 are the same image, slightly resized*. But Obama has somehow acquired gray hair.

This image was a large version of #5, showing the gray hair isn't just pixelation and with prominent suit stripes that wouldnt' work in the smaller image, and then was changed to a Biden-centered image.

http://www.barackobama.com/images/feature/08/08/23_vp.jpg

Is it just me or does the image #5 "Biden" need kerning?

*I divine Photoshop layers here, particularly with the lower-right white gradient, shared between all images.

Muahahahaha. This is going to be a fun race.

Biden's mouth is like an old car I once owned. It would keep running for several minutes after I turned it off. Quite uncomfortable, standing and watching and wondering what was going to happen next.

The guy can't shut up, but maybe he was chosen (in addition to foreign policy experience) because he might be an effective attack dog.

I love it: attack dog and good on foreign policy. Leaves Obama the nice guy interested in the homefront. Perfect. (a little sarcasm is detected in my tone of voice, which you guys can't hear)

I had Biden as either VP or Secretary of State because of his Foreign Policy experience. I think, the occassional gaffe aside, he is a great choice to help lead us forward in these times of peril. McCain wants to lead us back to the future of Cold Wars and, like a dowager Empress, throwing our weight around making the world an increasingly dangerous place from several directions. While we have our hands full with those recalcitrant Arabs we don't need the Russkies paranoid about our intentions. As I hope we have learned acting arrogantly in the world is a sign of weakness, not strength.

By the way, I'm going to go off topic here a bit, so if OT posts just get your back up, stop reading here.

After all the palaver about personality in the MB thread, does anyone beside me think that people who tend toward the Republican party have a serious problem with the concept of irony. Is it possible to be born without a sense of irony? John McCain is quick to remind the Rooskies that countries just don't attack other countries in the 21st century without provocation. WTF!?!?!

Along this same line, is it equally possible that people who tend toward the Republican side of things are born without a sense of empathy. Is empathy an effectively empty word with no real meaning beyond some namby-pamby dictionary meaning? I really believe many of the Republicans (just for the record I still prefer Republics for this group, but no one else saw the irony, so I'll let it go for now, but I warn you, it may be back) are devoid of any sense of empathy. I don't blame them for these shortcomings any more than I blame a Jew for being Jewish or a homosexual for being homosexual (another major source of irony in the Republican ranks). I do think a lack of empathy should be a showstopper for President. This lack leads to boneheaded at best, and dangerous at worst, foreign and domestic policy. Empathy is a key requirement to moving the world forward. We MUST understand that democracy doesn't mean "Friend of the US", it means carrying forward a program of democratic self determination. As we see in Iraq, being an ally of America doesn't always mean being a vassal state to the US. It does not mean turning over your own natural resources and self-determination to the will of the US. Without empathy this concept is impossible to understand.

Any thoughts? I would be happy to take this to a different thread if there is enough interest in pursuing it.

attack dog

The VP is oftent he hatchet man, but is Biden known for being good at that? As one of the news articles said, he has a rather extensive set of quotations in praise of McCain, and some rather strong dismissals of Obama.

dowager empress

That is surely an odd comparison, although fun to contemplate.

is it equally possible that people who tend toward the Republican side of things are born without a sense of empathy

If you think you have a "mental" explanation for any political philosophy, well, I think might need your head checked... :)

I think each of us is more tied to our genes than any of us wish to admit. How do you explain the apparent lack of irony and empathy evident in Republican thinking? What other explanation can you give for this difference if not mental? One thing that makes this a generally civil forum is all the players understand that what is readily apparent to one may not be so to others and all the shouting and flames in the world are not going to change this perception, so we each say what we have to say and move on. Our chances of changing someone else's worldview is slightly south of none. Why is that? We're all intelligent, thoughtful people here. If all that was required was a sound, logical argument more people would be swayed one way or another. That just doesn't happen. Why not? I don't think people intellectually choose between one or another political philosophy. (Except possibly Doug, but I see him as an elitist interested in power more than the morality of a situation, who has the power is immaterial, it's the elitism that counts. With power one can impose what's best for everyone else, whether they know it or not.) I think a persons political worldview is an extension of their personality and they find the arguments that reinforce their own proclivities.

A perfect example is the story about giving a man a fish vs. teaching him to fish. Teaching a man to fish is pointless if they don't have access to the pond. Republicans are great at teaching people how to fish, but not so good at opening the pond. Empathy not only teaches the man to fish but opens the pond as well. The Republicans are busy draining all but a few ponds around the county clubs.

I see this lack of empathy as the primary source of our problems with the world right now.

How do you explain the apparent lack of irony and empathy evident in Republican thinking?

With the same lack of empathy that makes you unable to see another's political philosophy as anything other than a mental problem?

I'll extend geneg's thought somewhat: has anyone noticed that most people are either "for" Obama or "against" Obama? There's very little talk from anyone about being "for" McCain. Sure, there are buzzwords like "experience" that get tossed around, but few seem to have anything good to say about McCain himself (except the ads ABOUT McCain)

I'm not saying there's nothing good about McCain, I'm just wondering when we're going to start hearing it. Has our fear-based culture gotten so bad that it doesn't matter what you're FOR provided you know what you're AGAINST?

I've moved the thread for discussion of Irony and Empathy here.

5

Means nothing. When I had kids, my hair turned gray overnight. I imagine Biden could have the same effect.

13

That's abolutely right. The airwaves aren't exactly full of McCain supporters. (Not that I've seen, but I only get to watch cable at the gym, and FOX is usually concentrating on missing white women these days.)