Is Joe Biden Looking Forward To His New Job?

A thought occurred to me: does Joe Biden know what the duties of the Vice President are? The vice president is supposed to preside over the Senate (though normally they are not involved in the day-to-day activities). The other main duty is to cast tiebreaking votes.

When the Vice-President is in the Senate he is the Presiding Officer of the Senate but is not allowed to participate in debate. John Adams, our second President and first Vice-President and a man known to enjoy a boisterous debate, once remarked that "My country has in its wisdom contrived for me the most insignificant office that ever the invention of man contrived or his imagination conceived."

Given how much Joe Biden seems to enjoy hearing himself talk something tells me he won't be spending any more time in the Senate as Vice-President than absolutely necessary.

Loose Lips Sink Ships

Senator Barack Obama was meeting in Richmond, Virginia today with his national security advisors. In the press conference following the Senator's meeting, he was asked about his running mate's comments over the weekend about challenges Obama would face if elected President. Senator Obama's response was “You know I think that Joe sometimes engages in rhetorical flourishes.”

Now, I don't have any idea what Senator Obama meant by "rhetorical flourishes" but this much is clear: his running mate has a propensity to put his foot in his mouth. The campaign seems to finally realize this is the case and that's why he hasn't spoken to the press in about six weeks.

Senator Biden should remember the old wartime adage that "loose lips sink ships." In fact, he should review the guidelines given to soldiers about writing home. Notice rule #6 which says "Don't mention plans and forecasts or orders for future operations, whether known or just your guess. "

The senator, in speaking the truth about the actions our enemies are likely to take if Senator Obama is elected may have sunk their chances of winning on November 4.

UPDATE: My lovely bride reminded me that Senator Biden has been receiving intelligence briefings (he would have received some given his position on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee). This makes the Senator's gaffe even more colossal as he was probably thinking about specific intelligence he has received on possible terrorist threats when he made his remarks. We can't afford to elect a Vice President who doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut.

Grandiose Joe Gives A History Lesson

Democratic vice-presidential nominee Joe Biden caused quite a stir last weekend when he had this to say about the challenges his running mate will face early on in his administration if elected:

"Mark my words," the Democratic vice presidential nominee warned at the second of his two Seattle fundraisers Sunday. "It will not be six months before the world tests Barack Obama like they did John Kennedy. The world is looking. We're about to elect a brilliant 47-year-old senator president of the United States of America. Remember I said it standing here if you don't remember anything else I said. Watch, we're gonna have an international crisis, a generated crisis, to test the mettle of this guy."

For those who are not familiar with their history, Senator Biden was referring to how Soviet Premier Nikita Kruschev treated President John F. Kennedy during the initial months of Kennedy's administration. Two major crises: the Berlin Wall and the Cuban Missle Crisis arose following a disasterous (for Kennedy) summit meeting in June 1961 in Vienna. As this article published in the New York Times in May of this year pointed out, Kruschev correctly perceived Kennedy as weak and used that to his advantage:

Kennedy’s aides convinced the press at the time that behind closed doors the president was performing well, but American diplomats in attendance, including the ambassador to the Soviet Union, later said they were shocked that Kennedy had taken so much abuse. Paul Nitze, the assistant secretary of defense, said the meeting was “just a disaster.” Khrushchev’s aide, after the first day, said the American president seemed “very inexperienced, even immature.” Khrushchev agreed, noting that the youthful Kennedy was “too intelligent and too weak.” The Soviet leader left Vienna elated — and with a very low opinion of the leader of the free world.

Kennedy’s assessment of his own performance was no less severe. Only a few minutes after parting with Khrushchev, Kennedy, a World War II veteran, told
James Reston of The New York Times that the summit meeting had been the roughest thing in my life.” Kennedy went on: “He just beat the hell out of me. I’ve got a terrible problem if he thinks I’m inexperienced and have no guts. Until we remove those ideas we won’t get anywhere with him.”

A little more than two months later, Khrushchev gave the go-ahead to begin erecting what would become the Berlin Wall. Kennedy had resigned himself to it, telling his aides in private that “a wall is a hell of a lot better than a war.” The following spring, Khrushchev made plans to “throw a hedgehog at Uncle Sam’s pants”: nuclear missiles in Cuba. And while there were many factors that led to the missile crisis, it is no exaggeration to say that the impression Khrushchev formed at Vienna — of Kennedy as ineffective — was among them.

The article also goes on to note that Kennedy went forward with the Vienna summit without first setting out preconditions for negotiations over the objections of his aides and his own Secretary of State Dean Rusk.

Senator Biden, who has boasted that he has "forgotten more about foreign policy than most of my colleagues know" has made a revealing admission by making the comparison to Kennedy: Barack Obama is not equipped to be President of the United States.

I'd be willing to wager that if Putin, Ahmadinejad, Chavez, or Castro were to sit down at a summit across the table from a President Obama they are likely to come away with the same impression that Kruschev had of Kennedy: too intelligent and too weak.

We live in dangerous times and we face numerous threats as a nation. The Democratic presidential ticket has told us that if we elect them we are inviting more attacks from those who are bent on destroying us. That is a risk that America can't afford to take.

The Veep Debate

For ninety minutes tonight, Governor Sarah Palin and Senator Joe Biden will square off in the one and only vice-presidential debate of this campaign season. While there's been lots of hangwringing over how Governor Palin will do in the debate, I think the worry is unnecessary. In fact, the debate may actually work in Governor Palin's (and ultimately Senator John McCain's) favor.

Here's how I got there: the debate will allow the voters to see both candidates completely unfiltered. There's no spin, no helpful media covering up one candidate's gaffes, no exploitative media blowing the other candidate's gaffes way out of proportion. People will get to see them both as they really are and be able to make up their minds about which one they like better.

In the end, I don't think that who wins the debate will matter all that much. As Rich Galen points out, Dan Quayle had a horrible debate in 1988 and it didn't stop George H. W. Bush from being elected.

Just as an aside, I think his over-under of three and a half is on the low side.

Back to my original point: voters will get to see the candidates as they really are without the influence of any media spin (positive or negative). That's the real value in having a debate.

Governor Palin, when she is relaxed, comes across as very real. For many voters that's incredibly appealing.

Senator Biden, while being very intelligent and experienced, has one major flaw: he talks too much.

Governor Palin has to have the same kind of performance she did during her acceptance speech at the Republican convention.

Senator Biden has to tread carefully so that he doesn't (a) say something really stupid and ultimately damaging to the campaign and (b) doesn't come across as condescending towards Governor Palin.

On balance, I think Senator Biden is the one who is under more pressure going into this debate.

There's also the issue of moderator Gwen Ifill. I don't watch PBS as a rule so I can't speak with any confidence as to how well she's going to do. The consensus of opinion I have heard is that she will do a fine job.

But I don't think she should have ever accepted the job in the first place. Her book deal has what lawyers like to refer to as the "appearance of impropriety". It's not that you can say with certainty that it's wrong for her to moderate the debate but it certainly looks bad. Her credibility will no doubt be damaged. However, this little controversy is likely to drive up ratings for the debate even further as viewers will be curious to see how she handles the questioning of the two candidates.

Regardless of the actual outcome of the debate, the media will declare Joe Biden the winner as they are making no secret of the fact they are in the tank for Senator Barack Obama. They did their best to declare Senator Obama the winner of the first debate even though it was clear to just about anyone who watched the entire thing that Senator McCain had the better night.

While I don't expect the debate tonight to make that much of a difference in the outcome of the election the two candidates' performance will say something about the men who selected them as their running mates. As it should.

Quick Takes - 9-12-08

Some random thoughts for the weekend. Sorry to make it mostly political but that's the kind of week it has been.

It's not secret that MSNBC is basically the cable news home of the Angry Left. But apparently the management is beginning to get the clue as they remove their leading shouters, Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann as anchors from their election coverage. Instead, they'll be analysts which I guess is where they should have been all along. Then again, it appears the network is doubling down on being the official news network of the Left by adding Air America talker Rachel Maddow to the lineup. Maybe the network couldn't find any conservative voices to join the sinking ship.

Sometimes the foreign press has keen insights into American politics. Case in point.

More great analysis from across the pond: Underestimate Governor Sarah Palin at your own peril.

Still more: Governor Palin is not so small town after all.

Somehow I don't think it would be wise for Senator Obama to bring up earmarks.

Comparing Senator Obama to former Enron CEO Ken Lay. An very interesting comparison.

Then again, maybe Senator Obama's biggest problem is his pride. (Via Hot Air)

I have one question for Joe Biden: What were you thinking?

Congress is back in session but apparently in no hurry to deal with our pressing energy issues or anything else important. Just a side note, that post's author, Mrs. Michelle Bachman, is a mother of five who also happens to be a Representative from Minnesota.

Something lighter: dressing domestic rodents in Bavarian attire. Oh the scandal!

This gets me thinking about the congressional races and what the effects will be downstream if Senator McCain and Governor Palin manage to pull out a big win. Could it be possible that the Democrats will actually lose seats instead of making the big gains that were originally predicted?

Why I am not surprised? The man who developed Astroturfing is Senator Obama's campaign manager. Anyone starting to see a pattern?

Unreal. Absolutely unreal.

News in one of the oldest espionage cases in American history. And an interesting take from Glenn Reynolds.

One of the reasons we homeschool our kids is so that we don't have to deal with garbage like this.
Oops. The headline on the original post makes it even funnier.

There's a reason that actors should stick to acting.

Abortion and Down Syndrome. An interesting observation on eugenics.

The end of the Associated Press? Could be.

Have a great weekend.

Unforced Errors

If Barack Obama loses the election this November (and at this point it's impossible to say whether he will - it's too close to call) it will be because of a series of unforced errors. They are missteps in the campaign that when taken individually don't seem like a huge issue but when combined have the effect of totally derailing what would have otherwise been a hugely successful campaign.

1. The Berlin Speech

It's a speech notable not so much for what he said but where he gave it - surrounded by 200,000 or more European fans. It was Obama trying to act presidential. Some pundits compared it to John F. Kennedy's 1963 speech in Berlin. Obama was already the presumptive Democratic nominee but seemed to be acting like the presumptive president. The most memorable thing about the speech is it was fodder for one of the most effective commercials created by Senator John McCain's campaign.

2. Russia Invades Georgia, Obama Goes on Vacation

As the Beijing Olympics get started, Russia invades neighboring Georgia in a move that brings to mind the early days of the Cold War. Coincidentally, the invasion occurs on the same day that Barack Obama heads to Hawaii for a week long vacation. John McCain stays on the campaign trail and immediately comes out on the side of the Georgians. Obama is left to issue statements for the week that first offer a very confusing response to the crisis. He eventually gets around to blaming Russia but then naively suggests the UN Security Council should take action. Apparently the Senator was not aware of Russia's veto power in the Security Council. By the end of the week Obama has completely changed his position. His response appears weak in a time of crisis and he's rightly criticized for staying on vacation while Eastern Europe is in turmoil.

3. Says answer on abortion is "above his pay grade".

On August 16, Barack Obama and John McCain appear at the Saddleback Leadership and Compassion Forum hosted by the church's pastor Rick Warren. Each candidate is asked separately the same questions but the results couldn't have been more strikingly different. Senator McCain's answers were direct and concise while Senator Obama's answers tended to be more rambling. But the most telling moment of the entire debate was when Pastor Warren asked Senator Obama at what point a baby gets human rights. The Senator's response was, in part, "Well, I think that whether you are looking at it from a theological perspective or a scientific perspective, answering that question with specificity, you know, is above my pay grade." As soon as he said that, it was clear that would be the kind of verbal gaffe that would dog him for the remainder of the campaign because it showed a complete unwilingness to take a firm position on a very divisive issue.

4. Joe Biden nominated for Vice President

In order to negate criticism that he is weak on foreign affairs (see item #2 above), Obama selects Joe Biden, the six-term Senator from Delaware as his running mate. The selection is not a huge surprise as he was considered on the short list for some time. However, the rollout of the nomination was a fiasco. He had promised to announce it first to supporters via text message. The media got wind of the pick before the announcement and the official word didn't come from the campaign until 3 A.M. Eastern time. At least cell phone companies benefitted. The other consequence is he forfeits his greatest campaign advantage: the idea that he is a relative outsider ready to change Washington by selecting a running mate who has been part of the establishment almost as long as he's been alive.

5. Hillary Clinton Not Picked for VP and Not Even Considered

Just prior to the opening of the Democratic National Convention in Denver came word that Hillary Clinton, who garnered the support of some 18 million primary voters, had not even been vetted for VP. Obama's failure to nominate Hillary as VP caused great anger throughout Democratic circles giving rise to various protest groups that got a lot of coverage both before and during the convention. As a result, the public gestures of unity seemed awkward and forced.

6. Obama Accepts Nomination At Invesco, or Berlin Part Deux

Obama moves the final night of the Democratic Convention to Invesco Field, home of the Denver Broncos, to accept his nomination in front of over 80,000 cheering fans. Though the campaign tries to downplay the speech, it reminds some of the Berlin Speech. Some Democrats privately worry that the speech may be over the top. At least he solidifies support in that all-imporant constiuency: the media.

If Obama loses, the media will likely focus mostly on item #5. That, to me, is the biggest mistake he made throughout the whole campaign. But it's the combination of all these factors that will ultimately sink his candidacy.