On Biden And Liberals

[babylonsister]

http://www.boomantribune.com/story/2010/4/1/95659/12135

On Biden and Liberals

by BooMan
Thu Apr 1st, 2010 at 09:56:59 AM EST


Here in the Philly area, our PBS station is based in Wilmington, Delaware. Our media market overlaps with Delaware's so we were very familiar with Joe Biden long before he became a nominee for vice-president. You'd see him at a Sixers game, or elsewhere around town. And he was often on the nightly news. It's probably true that liberals from other parts of the country mainly knew Joe from his work on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. If not that, then they remembered him for his work on killing Robert Bork's nomination or his failure to kill Clarence Thomas's confirmation to the Supreme Court. I don't know if it's true, now that they've gotten to know him better, that liberals really love Joe Biden as much as Karen Connolly wants us to believe. Biden, after all, cast a bad vote on Bush's biggest foreign policy blunder (the Authorization to Use Military Force in Iraq) and his cruelest domestic achievement (the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005). He also had a really inexcusable, hare-brained idea to split Iraq into three pieces that he started pushing during the height of the insurgency there. Joe Biden isn't right about a lot of things. But there is something about him that Philly liberals will readily acknowledge. It's kind of captured here:

"He looks just so delighted all the time," {Annie} Lowrey says. "I'd argue that no one—from John Adams to Dick Cheney—has ever seemed so utterly delighted to be vice president. Such enthusiasm is hard not to like."

Joe Biden loved being a senator every bit as much as he enjoys being vice-president, and he brought the same enthusiasm to the job. And, because of this, he's a very hard person to dislike. He's also unique. Most senators you can fit into some kind of box. You have progressives, blue doggish agricultural/energy types, New Dems, armed services guys, etc. Biden never joined any club or faction. He could be as liberal as fellow Catholics Teddy Kennedy and Pat Leahy, or he could vote with the credit card companies that dominate in his home-state. He could be ridiculously draconian on the War on Drugs and the point man for protecting a woman's right to choose from Robert Bork. There was always an element of unpredictability about Biden, both in his votes and in what was going to come next out of his mouth. There's something endearing about that, even if I can't quite put my finger on it.

As Connolly points out, Biden's shop has become a liberal oasis in an otherwise pragmatic White House. But I don't think Biden has changed. He may be with us today on one issue and against us tomorrow on another. The main thing is that he's loyal, he smart, and his heart's in the right place. I liked him for vice-president over the other finalists (Tim Kaine and Evan Bayh) and not just for the entertainment value. He's an asset as vice-president, but I'd be considerably less enthusiastic about him taking over the top job. The same things I find endearing about him as a number two would probably, for the most part, be liabilities for him as a number one.

I hope this kiss wasn't as sloppy as the one Newsweek laid on him.

[Captain Hilts]

1. Great article. Thanks. nt

[Jennicut]

2. Joe has always been all over the place on the issues.

What he is too me the most is just real. You may agree or disagree with his views on something but he does not hold back what he thinks (much to the detriment of anyone in the WH who wants him to be more tactful at times).
And we can all argue he makes a way, way better VP then Bayh (yuck) could and Kaine (yawn).

[jillan]

3. Sometimes I wonder if Joe has a hard time with some of the decisions that are being made in this

administration. Take off-shore drilling for example. Of all the candidates running, Joe got stellar marks from the environmentalists.
He was against clean coal as well. But he is a loyal VP and no one will ever know when he disagrees with Obama.

Whether it's about his family or his work, he seems to put his heart and soul into it.

[inna]

5. "Whether it's about his family or his work..."

Or the banks.


"Whether it's about his family or his work, he seems to put his heart and soul into it."

[karynnj]

12. While Biden was good on the environment, he was not "stellar"

In fact, Obama had an 86% rating from the League of Conservation Voters, while Biden had an 83% - I would call this a tie, especially given that they are over different time periods. Neither of them compare to Kerry's 96% or Lieberman's 95% (lifetime as measured in 2004).

"6. The record speaks for itself: Senator Barack Obama earned a lifetime environmental voting score of 86%. Senator Biden earned an 83%. Senator John McCain earned a 24% score."
http://www.lcv.org/newsroom/press-releases/lcv-presents-top-ten-reasons-to-vote-for-obama-top-tenbiden.html

I mention Kerry and Lieberman because they are two of the people who are working to get a climate change bill in a Senate that is very hostile - not just on the Republican side - to it. The big open question with Obama's off shore action is whether it is tied to getting the needed votes for a climate change bill.

That said - I agree with this article. The VP position has shown Biden, as the very good person that he is. When it comes down to it, being a good person, being sufficiently intelligent to make good decisions after hearing the experts, and having a world view that one can agree with are probably the three things needed for a President or Vice President. In Biden's case the first and probably the second are not in dispute among any outside the very extreme right wing - and that says a lot.

[Clio the Leo]

4. Meh ..... he isn't all that wonderful IMO.

(I got one more hour left of April Fool's Day ... tryin' to make the most of it.)

[Rage Inc.]

6. Biden is a pragmatist

He knows how the system works, which is why Obama tapped him for Veep in '08.

[murdoch]

7. Biden is a super-imperialist

Everyone running in a primary represents some part of the party coalition. Otherwise, why pick one person over another? And especially, why run if you know you're not going to win (Kucinich) other than putting your two cents in?

Of course these people are all well-rounded people and these are simplifications, but honestly all but the top three didn't even get this level of recognition for most people.

In 2008 it was -

Obama - first black candidate with a shot of winning
Clinton - women, as well as Clinton legacy
Edwards - white working-class southerners (and Midwest etc.) who might not vote Democratic if it is not him running
Gravel - shares left with Kucinich. Mainly focused on war
Kucinich - the left standard-bearer
Richardson - Latino
Biden - pro-imperial liberal. The old Scoop Jackson constituency. Focused on foreign policy.

In 2004 you can say Gephardt represented the AFL-CIO, which is what he did in pretty much every presidential campaign.

I'm unhappy enough with Obama sending money to the Honduran army after they did a coup, shut down newspapers and presidential candidates were killed in the last sham "election". Biden would be a nightmare.

[SoxFan]

14. Bullshit

There's a bit of the JFK/Scoop Cold War liberal in JRB, but anyone who calls him an "imperialist" is either so far out on the fringe they can't find their way home, or just plain stupid.

[the other one]

8. Biden the Drug Warrior

Of course he is happy - he is now only a heart-beat away.

Q: what is the most dangerous place in Washington D.C?

A: the space between Joe Biden and a camera

I am from Delaware. I used to make pizzas for senator Biden. I never had any use for his horse-trading faux-liberalism.

[SoxFan]

15. Aw, did someone have their Ecstacy taken away?

You poor dear.

[PatSeg]

9. Joe Biden is the most REAL politician

I can think of, which is why he often gets himself in trouble. He was the perfect choice for Obama's VP. I don't think we've ever had a vice president quite like him. Cheney may have been as involved, but Joe is very hands-on in a positive way. He doesn't get much credit but he doesn't seem to mind. He loves what he's doing.

[lunatica]

10. I'd love to lay a sloppy kiss on him!

And I agree with the article. I don't like everything he does but I like him.

[lunatica]

11. Here's a sloppy kiss for Biden

[nyc 4 Biden]

13. "Biden's shop has become a liberal oasis in an otherwise pragmatic White House."

Most impressive line.