Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forum"Joe Biden, the 'practically perfect' vice president" by Jonathan Bernstein at Salon
Joe Biden, the 'practically perfect' vice presidentBy Jonathan Bernstein at Salon
http://www.salon.com/2012/08/18/joe_biden_the_practically_perfect_vice_president/?source=newsletter
"SNIP.........................................
The first job for any Veepstakes winner is to help the presidential nominee get all the way to the Oval Office. How to do that? Most studies have found that running mates cant really help, but instead can hurt. So the first requirement is that any running mate appears sufficiently presidential, on the one hand, and avoids serious scandal, on the other. Its surprising just how many vice presidential picks have failed one of these tests (Sarah Palin, of course, but Dan Quayle, Tom Eagleton, Spiro Agnew, Gerry Ferraro, perhaps Bob Dole back in 1976, and others all had problems, as well). Joe Biden? As far as I know, from 2008 to now, no one has questioned that the former chair of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and two-time presidential candidate wasnt ready to step in if necessary. And hes scandal-free at least so far.
The second job is to actually be a decent vice president if elected. Since there are no particular fixed responsibilities that go with the job, however, theres really no one way to be good at it. Presumably most people who are elected have some areas of expertise either in public policy or in political processes. Biden has some expertise in each. Hes certainly had plenty of exposure to multiple areas of policy from his long service in the Senate, and that also gives him at least some knowledge of how to get things through Congress. Beyond that, vice presidents can serve as sounding boards for presidents, making their own case but then loyally supporting the White House once a decision is made. As far as we know, thats been what Biden has done on issues such as Afghanistan, an issue on which he was reported to have differed with the president.
............................................SNIP"
InfoView thread info, including edit history
TrashPut this thread in your Trash Can (My DU » Trash Can)
BookmarkAdd this thread to your Bookmarks (My DU » Bookmarks)
2 replies, 1326 views
ShareGet links to this post and/or share on social media
AlertAlert this post for a rule violation
PowersThere are no powers you can use on this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
ReplyReply to this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
Rec (21)
ReplyReply to this post
2 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
"Joe Biden, the 'practically perfect' vice president" by Jonathan Bernstein at Salon (Original Post)
applegrove
Aug 2012
OP
Cha
(297,285 posts)1. Thanks for this applegrove..
I think VP Biden is perfect for his job..Imv, PObama and VPBiden compliment each other. Joe has also said they're friends and it shows.
awoke_in_2003
(34,582 posts)2. K&R for Joe...
he is the real thing