Obama Picks Joe BIden

http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-08-23-biden-analysis_N.htm

Thoughts?

Certainly makes the decision more difficult for me.

I personally think it is a good choice for a couple of reasons. Not only does Biden bolster Obamas less than extensive foreign policy experience, he is a far less polarizing VP candidate than some of the others Obama may have chosen.

makes it more difficult how?

He's a good, solid, choice from what I know of the others who were in the running (according to media at least - there may have been others).

R

I was leaning more and more to McCain as Obama was seeming to lose his direction. Biden is, in my opinion a solid choice who covers the bases I thought Obama was lacking in. A lot remains to be seen when McCain makes his announcement at the end of the week.

oh, I didn't think any sane person would be voting for McCain

McCain: experience
Obama: pretty little momma's boy lawyer

no point in having experienceif you're prepared to listen and act on the advice of a bunch of neo con hawks

saying that Obama is black on the outside and that will not be over looked at the polls

Too right. Koob forgot to mention what he spent ages doing for a job - which perhaps makes him lean towards McCain out of commonality.

Koob - how's jumping?

R

I know what koob did for a job. But still, o_O

I read somewhere that ~60% of americans are evangelistic(evangelical?) Christians... which might explain why you dont get some fairly wierd politicians in the US.

Good pick and unsurprising. I'll be voting for Obama regardless of his VP pick, but I'm really happy with this.

Funny how they're already playing up the fact that he was born in Pennsylvania. Ah well, whatever helps!

I dunno bob I reckon they have some fucking looons in US politics - their odd religious views make the extreme muslims look moderate

the US is weird

hrm - i meant to say 'why you get', no idea where the dont come from.

*blames flu*

Jumping is fine, the landing is the bitch.

Problem is that neither of the major candidates are particularly promising. One is a good idea fairy with little in the way of implementation or experience and the other is stuck in the old ways and appears happy with the status quo. More emphasis is placed on the shortcomings of the other than on their own policies. Only makes the decision harder in that I can't really complain after the fact unless I have voted, which means one of them has to get my vote and neither one nor the other are the lesser of two evils, they both kinda suck.

PS - cheers for the ousting Rob

the rhetoric of both Mcain and Obama over Georgia recently has shwon neither has the smarts nor advisors to be a good or even average leader



http://www.antiwar.com/pat/?articleid=13323

Their responses are targeted at white 30+ americans, not you.

if I was American they would be talking to me.... or at me *cringes*

a potential conflict with russia over election points seems a little high stakes don't you think?

I was hoping he'd pick Biden. I've listened to quite a few Biden speeches and he definitely knows his FP shit He sounds more authoritive on FP than any other US politician I've seen speak.

Obama just OWNED that acceptance-of-the-nomination speech.

And did you see the crowd?! Jeebus.

preaching to the converted?

Just a bit, not a bad convention though, screwed up traffic here all week though.

NO
FUCKING
EXPERIENCE

FOR
FUCK'S SAKE

I just mean the size, not their rapture.

I read the transcript before watching it - I disagree with his protectionism etc but that was such a well balanced speech that preempted all kinds of Republican attack, actually laid out a policy approach (big thing for him) and while he overtalked the "cusp of an historical moment" stuff he really came at a very positive manner.

Even CNN thinks he's awesome now

YEAH LETS VOTE FOR WINSTON FUCKING PETERS CAUSE HE'S BEEN AROUND SO LONG. CHENEY AND RUMSFELD HAVE BEEN AROUND FOR EVER TOO! HOORAY!

Obama offers nothing but platitudes.

Change blah blah blah

can you not understand that the American collective may be ready for a new leader-archetype - not a conservative man of age and experience - but someone who is seen as youthful, idealistic, tolerant, humanitarian, a revolutionary or bringer of change.

these things sometimes need to be understood on a mass psychological level, or an archetypal level.

Can you understand that despite all the hyperbole to that effect, the country is still in the hands of rich, old, white guys and unless there is a RECORD voter turnout among minorities, women and youth Obama isn't going to make it. Sad, yes, but the US just isn't ready.

JH, sometimes you astound me with your intelligence. You make things much clearer than the people who share your opinions.

Cheers, this is a brilliant post.

well, cheers, thanks.

I should also point out though, that it doesn't mean Obama is a BETTER choice - because undoubtedly, McCain has much more experience to bring to the table.

It's just that Obama may be the inevitable choice, because the archetype he represents fits with the current mood of the nation.

you could be right, we'll see. we don't yet know how this election will turn out.

but that's a chicken and egg argument.

if you take that approach, the US will NEVER be ready - and it will forever stay in the hands of the "rich, old, white guys."

The rich, old, white guys have done a fucking fantastic job.

Diversity is not valuable IN AND OF ITSELF. It is valuable because it LEADS TO GOOD THINGS. I.e. diverse representation in Parliament = good outcomes for ethnic groups within the country.

BTW with a woman, McCain just snatched 18 million Hillary Clinton votes. I'd have LOVED a McCain/Hillary ticket. Fucking epic.

Agree..

I will be extremely surprised if Obama wins.

I know nothing about Palin, but the fact that she is both young and a woman covers a lot of bases for the McCain camp. Time to do some research on her me thinks.



I'm not saying they will never be ready, just at the moment they are not. Think of it this way, African American Males were given the vote by constitutional amendment in 1870, yet it wasn't actually till the Civil Rights movement that they got a chance to use that. Likewise women got the vote in 1920 but didn't actually impact an election until Clinton.

Lets face it, the demographic that has the higher voter turnout is the rich white guy, at least until recently. Maybe that will change this year, I kinda hope it does as how is someone who is elected by only 1/2 of the 50% of the population who vote representative of the people.

yeh you may well be right.

it will all depend on voter apathy/voter turnout.

really, it's up to Obama to inspire the American black population to come to the polling booths in record numbers ...

that's at least theoretically possible, isn't it? he should be promoting a "now or never" message to his potential voters.

Voter turnout is a huge issue.

That being said they are predicting a record turnout amongst youth and they are one of Obama's better demographics.

Kinda sad that a country like Iraq can have a turnout of over 90% whereas the US can barely break 50%

That's a simple case of you don't know what you've got until it's gone.

That alone won't do it - he's already got that sewn up but the analysis shows it won't make anything like the difference it needs by itself. He'll still need well into the 40%s of the white vote to clinch it...

lasttime the voters turned out for the democrats what was the net result?(Congressional elections)

a sell out of the very reasons the voters voted them in on

I imagine many voters in the US remember this - voters whommay choose to keep their heads in the sand rather than face another 'betrayal'

well, if those figures are correct he's in trouble - cos he sure ain't getting the sizeable white conservative vote.

not when they have McCain plus gun-toting, bible bashing, anti-abortionist soccer-mum-of-five Palin on offer.

The biggest problem Obama's going to have is winning those "swing states". Most (all?) of these were won by Hilary in the primaries.