So its Biden

Despite work being kind of crazy, vacations, medical stuff and the rest, I have been following the political scene pretty regularly.

Watched a lot of TV yesterday about Obama's selection of Joe Biden for Vice President. I think it's a good choice for a lot of reasons. For those of you who don't watch C-SPAN or don't exclaim "Oh excellent!" when NPR provides wall to wall coverage of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearings like me, I have observed a bit of Joe Biden in action.

On the bad side, to say the dude is verbose is an extreme understatement. I've listened to him on radio and said "Get to the point already!" he hardly leaves time for the the hearing's witnesses to give any information. On the flip side, he usually can be very sharp and cutting with all the crap that Bushco. has been peddling. I find him to be incredibly smart, and usually completely spot-on in his analysis of foreign relations.

In the early Democratic debates this year, he was one of or if not the sharpest debaters- witty, smart and clearly got the message about his verbosity and used the perception to have a few clever comebacks.

I was extremely pleased it was not Hillary. Man! I'm sick of the Clintons. I voted for Bill both times and in many ways he was a very good president. I admit I was suffering from Clinton fatigue in 2000. Something about them really bothers me. I can't put my finger on it. Is it A: They are completely emblematic of the Boomer generation's selfish sense of entitlement, and the sense that they, not their truly deserving parents, are "The Greatest Generation" and their rapacious selfishness and self-aggrandizement- or is it B: Hillary's sense of entitlement - she did not have a campaign plan for after Iowa - and again, back to the Boomer thing- message to Boomer feminists like Hillary- you can't have it both ways- you can't play the Helen Ready card ("I am woman hear me roar!") and then tout your experience as First Lady, the nation's hostess, as "government experience." I wouldn't want to detract from Hillary's genuine smarts and accomplishments, but it earns her top dog in a law firm or CEO of a major company, but no political life without Bill. She was completely lacking in that area.

Plus, I'm glad Obama didn't even vet her for the job. It seemed like the Clinton people were bullying him and he would have looked weak if he caved in. Plus, its time for the Clintons to move on- the torch has been passed.

The Biden pick I think was driven by the crisis between Russia and Georgia. Obama does not have much foreign policy experience. Obama gained early traction with the message that the architects for the Iraq war were full of foreign policy experience but bungled it terribly, and his early opposition to the war demonstrated his good judgment.

As a student of history, I think good judgment is important, but one other factor, much less discussed is also important: humility. The leaders, historically, who tend to drag nations into horrific foreign policy decisions tend to be hyper-arrogant jerk-offs. They know everything and don't listen to anything that doesn't confirm their already formed opinion or course of action. (Sound like our current president?)

I do think Obama has good judgment and humility.

The Republicans are already howling about how Biden should be at the top of the ticket since he has all this foreign policy experience. Goodness, how one wishes the Republicans had all this concern about foreign policy experience when they nominated a small-minded, vacuous, Governor with no foreign policy experience and exactly five years experience in elective office. You may remember this man-child who spent his first forty years in a drunken stupor leaning on Daddy's connections to get him out of the Vietnam war, and get him in to jobs and finally into politics. He was the Republican nominee in 2000- George W. Bush. But of course, it was Jim Dandy with the Republicans because he had Dick Cheney, with his many years of foreign policy experience as Vice President- so great, he could get little Georgie to remember a few simple platitudes about "foreigners" and it was all good.

And, it really makes me sad to say this- it was important for Obama to pick a white man. With the economy, Iraq, housing crisis and nearly 80% of Americans saying the country is headed the wrong direction the Dems should be running away with this thing, but its a dead heat. Why? I really think bigotry is a factor- just think it was 45 - 50 years ago when many Americans would not share a lunch counter or a bathroom with a black person, and there was essentially an American apartheid in the South, where blacks were oppressed and marginalized.

Of course, today no one will say they won't vote for Obama because he's black. The highly refined bigots confine their objections to political reasons, the no foreign policy experience, (though I'm sure they confidently voted for Bush in 2000) or his youth.

The less sophistocated bigots give weight to the internet rumors that Obama is a "secret Muslim" and he and his wife are "black radicals."

Okay, here's a funny/sad clip from back in May from the "Daily Show" and the West VA. primary- I know they stack the deck for comedic purposes, but still it's telling (the end of the clip isn't very funny, but it gives you a taste, in case you've been missing it, of Hillary's awful stilted speaking style) Also, it is the Daily Show, so I warn you of some off color, yet hilarious juvenile humor: