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Saturday, Jul 4, 2009
Ding-dong, thick right wingers will say, "Okay, W. Bush tortured, but Biden Plagiarized!
This idiocy might swing the election. Bad choice.
Since Biden was my original choice for President before the Barack / Hillary show, I couldn't be more pleased.
Biden has that rare quality of being a hardworking insider, but retaining his outsider appeal. I thought Obama did a very good job of answering the Rovian attacks quickly, but with Biden on his team the responses will not only be quicker, but the Republicans will be playing quite a bit of defense.
Great job on your first big decision Barack!
Do average voters even know what the word "plagiarized" means? And if so, can they cite the correct name, spelling, nationality and party of the person whose words Senator Biden borrowed more than 20 years ago? And finally, does ANY of that matter to Americans who right now are worried about losing their homes, paying for gas, affording health care, planning for retirement, saving the planet, and sending their kids to college? Methinks not. The Rovian attackmeisters to whom McCain has sold his campaign and his soul — not to mention the inside-the-Beltway media crowd that so merrily parrots their talking points — have nothing else to fall back on but character assassination and "vote Republican or you'll die." Sad, silly, and so woefully yesterday.
Democrats are done Biden their time. Let's kick some ass.
Definitely Senator Obama needs someone with great experience like Joe Biden. As the pygmies of the equatorial forest of Congo say,"The old elephant knows where to find water."
http://guyblaise.com/
Joe Biden brings a wealth of experience to the Democratic Ticket. As the former head of the Judiciary Committe he will be invaluable in veting judicial appointees. His Foreign Relatons background will stand him in good stead in a world where there are multiple and complex situations that require the attention of more than one man.
Voters can have confidence that there will be intellegent change, as opposed to four more years of the same, and a continuued loss of personal rights for all of us.
White America is not binary racist/non-racist. There is a broad spectrum ranging from white supremacists on the far right to the truly colorblind. But in the middle of this spectrum are large numbers of people who WANT to be non-racist but can't help viewing things through long-ingrained stereotypes. Those people are generally tired of America's PC culture and worry about non-whites who seem to embrace it. They often feel as if they are constantly being tested to determine if they can meet some standard of anti-racist purity.
Despite Obama's long-forgotten joking about Clinton's dancing ability, most of these people see Obama as part of that hyper-PC culture. Choosing Hillary would not have helped, because she's absolutely part of it.
But Biden? He's a guy just like them. He talks a lot, so he occasionally says stupid things. Racist things. Does that mean he is a racist? It depends on who's administering the purity test. Some would say he's just observant and honest. (Let's see those statistics about doughnut shop ownership...)
The great thing is, Obama already has PC America's support locked up. But he needs to appeal to all those whites whose attitudes on race don't fit into simple racist/non-racist categories. By choosing Biden, he shows them that he understands that world-view. (Consider Tiger Woods. One reason he is so popular is that he's shown these whites that he, too, can joke about fried chicken and watermelon.) Finally, there's absolutely no way that the Obama/Biden ticket can be attacked for Biden's screw-ups by the Republicans; that would contradict the Obama-is-an-elitist (read PC fanatic) plot line than they have based their campaign on.
Of course, that all depends on Democratic voters keeping their eye on the ball, which recent history has shown they do rather poorly. So, to all you angry, betrayed absolutists way out there on the left edge of the spectrum: Stop. Breathe deeply. Remember that it's not about your narrow beliefs. It's about building a strong enough coalition to win. White Americans who have fears and failures about race are not the enemy. Learn to distinguish between the virulent racist and the guy who just doesn't care that much. Stop trying to fix them, and start trying to see what you can do together.
(Of course, all that's easy to say living in the good ol' ROK.)
is there a statute of limitations on errors....he wasn't involved in the keating 5. arguably Biden has learned something since he was caught all those years ago. I think Biden is an inspired choice because he was the young, hot *thing* in 1988 and he knows what it's like to crash and to burn...and maybe how to avoid getting too ahead of one's self politically. Maybe he can help guide Obama away from too much puffery?
Further, regarding plagiarism, there are allegations that are more recent:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/03/27/mccain-plagiarized-foreig_n_93769.html
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/8/17/173543/323/111/569427
and here's more on Biden's story....
http://mediamatters.org/items/200808230003
p.s. forgot to say two more reasons biden a good choice: he helps with generation gap in obama's appeal as a well known politician who older voters might "trust"....also he has existing relationships with people in different nations around the globe...which in terms of world stability and aiding US relations is invaluable...
If the worst thing people can find to say about Joe Biden is that he plagiarized a paper 43 years ago and that he gave a stump speech which in all instances but one he credited to Neil Kinnock, that's a pretty weak case.
Teddy Kennedy was expelled twice from Harvard for cheating on tests, Martin Luther King was accused of plagiarizing part of his doctoral dissertation and Barack Obama gave a speech very similar to one given by Massachusetts Gov. Duval Patrick.
Do any of those instances matter to average people worried about losing their homes, their jobs, their health care or their family members in Iraq and Afghanistan? Not in my neighborhood.
The Bible says "By their deeds you shall know them" and Joe Biden has one hell of a lot of good deeds one can point to.
I am a Clinton supporter but I don't think the veep job would be a good fit for her.
If somebody wants to argue that there was a better vice presidential candidate, why not talk about that person's strengths instead of what you perceive as Biden's weaknesses. What name would you have been happy to hear?
The Wasilla soap opera just gets weirder as Palin complains critics are "picking apart a good point guard"
The media outlet's use of Bush euphemisms sparks a much-needed debate on journalistic standards.
And so are his Fox News pals, who lambasted Sen. Al Franken's "stolen election"
An inflexible right wing is allowing the Golden State to drown in debt. But it's not alone
Thanks for sharing, Governor. Now please take a cue from Norm Coleman, and go away
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