click to enlarge Senator Joe Biden
Senator Joe Biden was right. A campaign video:
Sadly, but unfortunately wisely, Senator Biden announced following the Iowa caucuses that he was abandoning his run for the Presidency. I had always hoped that Senators Edwards, Clinton, and Obama would decimate each other and that the populace would race to embrace Smilin' Joe in the breach. It became clear last night that was not going to happen, and the Senator decided to shut down his shoestring operation.
Senator Biden went his own way this time around, and often during the debates, the other candidates would admit "Joe is right," or "Joe Biden said it best," or "As Joe pointed out." The Senator brought great ideas and candor to the race, and he would have brought those same ideas and values to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Fortunately, we still have Joe to kick around. He is, after all, the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (one of the most important committees in Congress).
Joe Biden's concession/withdrawal speech from YouTube:
Like Mario Cuomo of years past, this was a guy I really wanted to be my President. Kerry, Dukakis, Mondale, Carter, I held my nose and mailed in the check or doorbelled for. . .I could get behind Joe. But that was not to be.
---o0o---
Jack, it probably won't surprise you that I won't be holding my nose if Obama continues to perform as he has since Oct/Nov because he will be the party's nominee. May I recommend that you try a whiff of camphor until you get used to the idea. Anyway I have said before that in a perfect world I would have preferred a Biden/Obama ticket but I think Obama is proving to be far more politically astute than most folks have imagined. I beleive he was shrewd to have entered the race because had he "waited his turn" it's hard to imagine any scenario that wouldn't have put Hillary into the WH but easy to imagine another GOP backlash in 2016 that would be sure to sweep the DEMS from power again. So he decided to run now and I don't consider his message to be some feel good pap. If you will consider his question, "what if a politician were to see his job as that of an organizer" you might allow that he offers the real potential for extraordinary change in American politics. If Iowa is indicative this fellow could have some very long coat tails. Of course, I am not convinced that the Clinton campaign is going to go quietly but if she doesn't win NH it's hard to see how she will prevail.
ReplyDeleteAnd I will make a prediction; if Obama wins the nomination he will become president and then Bill Clinton's stock, not just his legacy as PREZ but that commodity that others laud as his immense political skill, will plummet by comparison.