I'm gradually changing my short list of candidates for the Democratic nomination. I started the season with my short list being Obama, Edwards and Richardson. After the debates, I'm pretty sure that Edwards is off my list and positive that Richardson is.
I'm thinking more and more seriously about Biden. I've got Meet the Press on in the background right now and Biden is very impressive. Russert was trying to press him on inconsistencies with past comments and Biden was very good. It became clear quickly that Biden actually remembers an enormous amount of detail about what he said on Meet the Press and other shows 3, 4 and 5 years ago! If we are looking for the complete opposite of George W. Bush, Biden could be it. He's very intelligent, thinks of the big picture while having a good memory for detail.
So far however, most of his public statements have been about the war in Iraq. That's not necessarily a bad thing. It's looking more and more like Bush is going to insist that our troops still be in Iraq at the time of election so the war will be THE MAJOR ISSUE.
His other positions are much like his positions on Iraq. He has a very pragmatic approach to traditional Democratic positions. He seeks to make the case that investment in things like health care and good police actually save us money in the long run. That's the kind of pitch is the winning combination. So many liberals don't seem to understand clearly WHY they have the positions they have. They seem to support this program or that just for sake of doing so. Biden is actually capable of explaining to people why we need these programs.
What's more, he is willing to "put everything on the table" with regards to budgets and reform. The combination of those two approaches is key. If you understand WHY you want the programs in the first place, you may be able to acknowledge that other people may have valid ideas for taking a new approach to solving a particular problem. The traditional state run welfare state may not be the best way to solve problems of poverty etc. Democrats need to get past their support for the programs and remember what the goals were in the first place.
Biden is moving in that direction for that reason, I'm considering him more seriously than I have before.
It's a shame the media goes for money (Clinton, Obama) and looks (Obama, Edwards) first and foremost. I'd like to see the issues get more coverage.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
A Note On Biden
Posted by Raised By Republicans at 7:18 AM
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2 comments:
RBR,
One of the hardest qualities to discern is how a candidate will form a Cabinet and a cadre of advisors. Yet that arguably is the way that a president most influences the country during his/her time in office.
I think I need a scorecard across the democratic candidates to see who is advising who.
With regard to advisors, Clinton is likely to bring along the most experienced and impressive bunch. But she has such high negatives and is so polarizing I doubt she can win the general.
Biden seems like he go turn out to be like Carter - very smart, very up-to-date on the policy but too unwilling to delegate and thus prone to overmanaging.
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