|
Presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama chose the smartest guy in the room to be – possibly – the next vice president of the United States.
But that wasn’t necessarily the smartest decision he could make.
Before you get your vice president, Barry, you've got to become president first.
It’s been said, but it deserves repeating. Regardless of his chairmanship on the Senate Foreign Relations committee, three decades in the Senate and a wealth of foreign policy experience, Delaware Sen. Joe Biden doesn’t bring much to the Democratic ticket.
No excitement. No constituency. No electoral votes.
By choosing [Delaware Sen. Joe] Biden, one must conclude that [Barack] Obama really thinks he’s going to win.Understand, as the nominee, you’re not really choosing who you think would be the best president should anything happen to you, if you ever really became president. You’re choosing someone who will help you win – or at least, do you, or your candidacy, no harm.
Biden doesn’t do much for the former. And it’s arguable that he – or rather, his mouth – may be an albatross in regard to the latter, despite the foreign policy credentials he brings to the table.
Keep in mind, though, the key issue in this election is not going to be foreign policy. The Iraq War will wind down regardless of who is president. Despite Russia’s action in its old Soviet empire, most Americans still can’t find Georgia on a map – and they don’t care to. And, for the most part, Darfur is just a buzzword for those who want to feign an interest in Africa. ... [W]hy is [Barack] Obama playing defense on foreign policy in an economy-dominated election year? As the renowned – or the infamous, depending on your ideological bent – political strategist James Carville said during then presidential candidate Bill Clinton’s 1992 campaign, “It’s the economy – stupid.”
This election will be about the economy, and there, Biden doesn’t help.
A late August Quinnipiac University poll confirmed what has been a truth of this campaign for months: The economy is the No. 1 issue for voters, Staten Island Today reports.
Knowing this, why is Obama playing defense on foreign policy in an economy-dominated election year?
By choosing Biden, one must conclude that Obama really thinks he’s going to win. (And that’s not meant as a pejorative.) Obama must really think he has this election in the bag, and so now, he surmises, it’s time to pick the best people for the job regardless of any political concerns.
It’s all good and well to promote the politics of change, but understand, the word “politics” is still a part of the mix.
Again, Biden is a smart pick. He just wasn’t a smart pick politically.
[SiLive.com]
Dwayne Robinson is TheSequitur.com's executive editor and a journalist in south Florida.
|
Morning Coffee 
