by Will Johnston at 6:50 PM on August 25th, 2008 in Politics - Comment
A couple of days ago John McCain released an ad which states that Hillary Clinton is not Obama’s running mate because she spoke hard truths about Obama.
The ad is beyond absurd. McCain is essentially invoking Hillary Clinton’s expertise in judging character and competency. For years conservatives have blasted Hillary Clinton. At one McCain campaign event, a supporter calls Hillary a b****, and McCain simply laughs about it. McCain once chided Senator Clinton for supporting a museum dedicated to Woodstock. Until now he seemed to have no great respect for Mrs. Clinton, but when it suits him he treats her like an expert on Obama’s qualifications to be President and thinks she should be his Vice Presidential nominee. It is patently absurd that Hillary Clinton went from the person that the right loved to hate to an expert on character, judgment and experience and the best Democratic candidate for the Vice Presidency.
As for the real reasons that Hillary was not picked as Obama’s VP, I can imagine that there were a two big ones: her unwillingness to conceed defeat in the primary when she was obviously beaten and Bill Clinton. Senator Joe Biden, who Obama picked to be his running mate, said some things about Obama that weren’t exactly flattering (not personal attacks, but not great either). Senator Obama is willing to have people around him who hold different viewpoints. In fact, when he first entered the Senate he gathered together advisors from across the political spectrum. Once again, this ad is absurd.
News has recently leaked that Barack Obama has selected Senator Joe Biden (D-DE) as his Vice Presidential running mate. I find this to be an incredibly interesting choice.
At age 29, Senator Biden was the youngest person ever elected to the U.S. Senate. He turned 30 (the Constitutionally mandated minimum age for a U.S. Senator) between his election and his swearing in. His birthday being on November 20th, it would be very difficult for anyone younger to ever be elected to the Senate.
He has run for the Democratic Presidential nomination on a few occasions (most recently during this cycle) and is known to be quite verbose, having occasionally gotten himself into trouble as a result. However, as of late he has shown more restraint when speaking, famously answering simply “Yes” when asked if he would be able to exercise said verbal restraint as President. On a related note, Biden got himself into hot water early last year when he made comments about Senator Obama that some believed to be racist. I’m not going to get too far into that, except to say that I believe the comments were mostly innocent but that they do belie an unfortunate stereotype of African-Americans. Senator Biden meant no ill-will, but nonetheless, he chose his words poorly and in doing so exposed some all too common assumptions about Black Americans. Of course, at least part of this can probably be chalked up to Biden’s natural tendency to misspeak.
Moving away from the trivia, Senator Biden brings a wealth of foreign policy experience to the ticket. He is widely recognized as a foreign policy expert, having been Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. While his selection may help allay some fears about Senator Obama’s perceived lack of experience, he brings no state/regional electoral advantage, and his long tenure in the Senate may undermine Senator Obama’s message of change. That said, I think it more likely that the powerful message and presence that Obama brings will make up for this.
As for my opinion, well, I like Senator Biden. He’s smart, and he knows the issues. He’s not perfect, and I’m not sure he’s the greatest choice politically. However, he is more than qualified for the job. While I’m sure political considerations came into account when selecting a running mate and I may be underestimating his political value, this is very possibly one time when a candidate’s quality and qualification trumped political consideration. Kudos to Senator Obama for choosing someone who can fill his shoes should the unfortunate need ever arise.
On January 22, 2012, MiddleTree Church will start services near the intersection of Delmar and Union in Saint Louis at the crossroads of two communities divided by race, culture, and income.
The "vision" is to bridge the "division". What would communicate the love of God louder to a racially, socio-economically divided city than a church that truly unites the community that surrounds it? MiddleTree is a display of life among the division.
This is a multicultural and multigenerational church that hopes to change lives through increasing devotion to Jesus.
MiddleTree needs to raise $30k. With these funds, they will have all the their needs met to prepare service, childrens ministry, and invest back into the community center where they meet.
If you buy a book or other item through a link on this site, I probably make a few bucks (or more likely, a few cents) from it. I hope we can still be friends :)
