Joe Biden A Good Choice?
Most Democrats (except those still pouting about Hillary’s primary loss) seem really pleased about the choice of Joe Biden for Vice President. The McCain camp tried to paint the choice as highlighting Obama’s lack of experience in Biden’s areas of strength. However, most people recognize it as the kind of choice made by smart people who choose to surround themselves with experienced experts in both the areas of their weaknesses and their strengths.
McCain on the other hand chooses to surround himself with lobbyists, especially those who work for oil companies. So what does that say about who will be advising and influencing his decisions if we elect Bush, oops, that two of a kind, peas in a pod, resemblance got me again, I mean, if we elect McCain?
Getting back to Biden, Arianna Huffington made an excellent point in her August 28 Huffington Post. Comparing the foreign policy experience of Joe Biden with that of John McCain, she reminded us that “not all foreign policy experience is created equal.” And she goes on to show that it is important to look at examples of the kind of foreign policy experience we have had in our government and the results.
Bush’s choices for foreign policy experience were Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld. We have seen the results of their experience. Just to name a few, there is the Iraq war, a world wide loss of status for America, escalating problems with Iran, and declining relations with Russia.
McCain’s foreign policy experience has led to his attitude, as expressed in a 2000 debate moderated by Larry King that military solutions are front and center whatever and where ever the problems may be. According to McCain his policy would be to “overthrow the governments and install free and democratically-elected governments…” That sounds more like an Emperor than a President doesn’t it? And it also sounds like a state of perpetual war. In other words, McCain, like our current King, oops, I mean President, is a believer in “…democracy at the end of a loaded gun.”
Biden, on the other hand, “favors diplomacy and engagement – backed up by a toughness…” Biden’s handling of Yugoslavian leader Slobodan Milosevic during the1993 Serbian attack on Bosnia is proof of the effectiveness of his approach. Biden told Milosevic, to his face, that he was a war criminal and should be tried as one and that is exactly what happened. This is the kind of foreign policy experience we need to deal with the problems facing us in today’s world.
Not only does Joe Biden’s foreign policy experience equal John McCain’s it trumps it in value and quality. No wonder McCain tried to disparage Obama’s choice of Biden for Vice President. It would seem that McCain’s strategy is, if you can’t dazzle them with brilliance, you should baffle them with bull!
Comments
In my opinion Joe Biden is an excellent choice! I was beginning to worry about who Obama would pick, and I’m worrying no longer. It is the perfect person for just the right spot.
With the exception of the right wing wacko political spin that we are going to unfortunately be subjected to ad nauseam Biden is liked and respected by both sides of the aisle. I also like that he is not filthy rich like so many in Congress. To be a member of Congress for almost 30 years and not have been bought and owned by special interests is indeed exceptional.
And of course Obama is the kind of person that surrounds himself with intelligent, independent people, so unlike the company that the present occupants of the White House, Elmer Fudd and Rasputin, keep. Any real leader, one capable of actually leading would not do otherwise. Bush's first pick as Secretary of Defense would accept the advise of no one else, and we sure paid for that, as did the people of Iraq.
As for John McCain, his idea that because he was a POW for 5 1/2 years he is a military genius who in his own words knows how to win a war is a total crock. He sure didn’t win the war in Vietnam, and he’s lucky that the surge he so loves, at least temporarily slowed down the violence in Iraq. Why wouldn’t the addition of 30,000 troops do that? The real question is whether or not the government in Iraq will get their act together (the real reason for the surge), and what will occur when US troops do start leaving. I might mention there would have been no need for a surge if we hadn't so recklessly and irresponsibly invaded a nation that had neither attacked nor threatened us in the first place.
The fact that McCain and the GOP like to talk about the continued US military presence in Japan and Germany and equate that with the Middle East is asinine. Middle Easterners don’t want the West in their nations; they never have, and most likely never will. If McCain thinks we could stay there for 100 years, it is a display of his ignorance of the region and its history.
I love your reference to McCain’s policy – to “overthrow the governments and install free and democratically-elected governments…” This not only sounds “more like an Emperor than a President,” but sounds like an idiotic Emperor as well. Bush and Cheney’s idea that you can force democracy on a people has always been laughable, especially since they have been busy eroding the democracy in their own nation to “make us safe." Do they honestly believe the Founding Fathers, as well as the American people, would for long condone the loss of our freedom in order to be safe? We know the Founding Fathers didn’t subscribe to that, which was what the American Revolution was all about, and I have a lot more faith in present day Americans than to believe they are all a bunch of sniveling cowards willing to allow their nation to go fascist in order to be safer. Certainly there are those types among us, but I do not believe they come anywhere close to representing a majority. Funny how so many of them are actually Republicans!
I totally agree with your take on Biden, and his experience. I also believe Obama is a smart, focused thinker and leader who certainly has leadership experience already, and will not only surround himself and listen to the right people, but will be a very fast learner (unlike President Duh).
It is life experience that makes a true leader, not necessarily any particular job. McCain is a case in point. He has plenty of experience as well, but I do not see him as a true leader in any way, shape or form. A true leader doesn’t shamelessly pander and change his mind to fit in with each and every audience he finds himself facing. Sure, both candidates will have to move a bit toward the center during the campaign, but there are degrees of such movement. While Obama makes some concessions, McCain totally transforms like a chameleon and tells an audience everything they want to hear, whether he believes it or not. The so-called “debate” at Saddleback was just such an example. People should take heed of such pandering, because obviously the person doing so will not be able to ultimately fulfill the promises made to divergent and opposite thinking groups.
Posted by: Stephen Rose | August 27, 2008 05:06 PM
Stephen, you are so right about McCain's chameleon behavior.
I watched some of the Democratic convention tonight and even though John Kerry is usually less than a gifted speaker, he gave a darn good speech tonight. In particular he pointed out the differences between Senator McCain and Candidate McCain.
He gave, I think it was three examples, where Senator McCain supported, or actually introduced bills on issues that Candidate McCain now opposes. It was a riot! He ended by suggesting that before Candidate McCain debates Obama he should probably debate Senator McCain.
That is the kind of thing that should be repeated over and over in the next few months. There is no need to make negative personal attacks as McCain does. All Obama’s campaign has to do is point out the contradictions in what McCain says and does. If they do it with humor it is even more effective because it shows McCain’s foolishness.
Posted by: Trish | August 27, 2008 08:54 PM
Trish, I couldn't agree more that McCain's relentless changes of opinion, based on which group he talks to, and not him actually having changed his mind, is something that should be consistently thrown in front of the voters from now until election time.
As we agree, there will be those only interested in hearing what they want to hear, and for some reason believing that makes it genuine (very puzzling). Yet there might also be those convinced to look more closely and observe not only the insincerity, but the reality that he can't possibly meet all the promises made to opposite minded people. If they can do that, they just might realize they are being lied to, and hopefully resent it and not trust the man. One can only hope!
Posted by: Stephen Rose | August 28, 2008 12:41 PM