August 24, 2008 9:21 AM

And now, the oral sex...uh, I mean the sales job....

vp_splash_wlp.jpg

(cross-posted to The Agonist)

If you'd told me three or four days ago that Joe Biden would be Barack Obama's choice for VP, I would have been terribly disappointed. I've got to tell you, though, after watching yesterday's unveiling in Springfield, IL, I'm convinced that Obama made, if not the right choice, then certainly a very good one. There are are arguments that could be made for a number of different politicians, and none of these choices would be the "wrong" one. The truly important aspect of the VP choice is the necessity that, once the choice is made, the campaign hits the ground running at full speed. After watching and listening to the speeches of both Obama and Biden, I think they hit exactly the right note.

Joe Biden certainly does have a compelling story, and it's one that, if told to enough people, should stand the Democratic ticket in good stead. Biden is not a wealthy man by Senate standards. He didn't marry a beer heiress, though he did score points with his wife by descriibing her during his speech as "drop-dead gorgeous"...which she certainly is. Biden doesn't even live in Washington, taking the 80-minute train ride home to Wilmington, DE every night to be with his family. Joe Biden is not a creature of Washington, though is comfortable and at ease wielding the levers of power in Washington.

Yes, Biden without a doubt certainly has his less-appealing qualities. He's never met a microphone he couldn't talk to. He loves to be interviewed, and he has a reputation as being something of a loose cannon. To look on the bright side, though, these qualities are indicative of his self-confidence and his passion. He's been in the Senate for what seems like half of forever- as he pointed out yesterday, he may be fourth in seniority, but there are 44 Senators older than he is. Joe Biden is a man who gives a damn, and he's not afraid to let you know about it. He got into public service for the right reasons, and he's never forgotten that being in the Senate is about serving the public (et tu, Ted Stevens??). So the man has an ego; it would be difficult to function effectively in the Senate without an outsized ego. The Senate is hardly a place for shrinking violets, and no one has ever accused Joe Biden of being a wallflower.

Prior to endorsing Barack Obama in August, 2007, I seriously considered Joe Biden. The man may not have a personality that meshes with my own, but I've never doubted his commitment, his passion, or his love for this country. I don't know that Joe Biden is the best person that Barack Obama could have chosen as his Vice President, but he's certainly an excellent choice, and one that I can get behind wholeheartedly. Biden recognizes that it's not about him or about massaging his massive ego and sense of noblesse oblige (et tu, Hillary Clinton?). It's about doing anything and everything he can to get Barack Obama elected on November 4th. It's about taking our country back from the thugs who stole this country out from under us eight years ago. It's about convincing the American Sheeple to start thinking instead of merely reacting. It's about making a difference.

Ultimately, I really believe that the combination of Barack Obama and Joe Biden can be every bit as successful and make even more of a difference than Bill Clinton and Al Gore did. Democrats have a golden opportunity to make the case for a new start and a commitment to public service that's been conspicuous by it's absence during the past eight years. And we have ten weeks to do it.

Can we do it? YES WE CAN, because WE DESERVE BETTER.

By they way, I never did get my text message...OR the email. What's up with that??

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This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on August 24, 2008 9:21 AM.

Rejected Obama/Biden campaign ad #1 was the previous entry in this blog.

"(&^% Fox News"? I couldn't have said it better myself.... is the next entry in this blog.

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