So who is Joe Biden? I read that he is the new running mate for Obama, but what is everyone’s take on him? Here in the UK< I’ve not surprisingly never heard of the guy, so for you people in the USA, is he a popular figure? what is the reaction to him being picked alongside Obama?
Hi Cliff!
Joe Biden is a senator from Delaware who is known for his outspoken nature. He is a good compliment to Obama since Obama is less confrontational. This shows that he is prepared to fight.
His views are here:
ontheissues.org/Joe_Biden.htm
He is labelled as a “Populist-leaning liberal”.
…but in america thats still right of centre hehe
Well, he once told turkey to get out of cyprus or usa wont give money. I don’t like the guy
How do people think he stacks up against McCains new VP? I think it’s mad they picked someone so inexperienced. Plus surely her stood next to him just makes McCain look even older? I can see the angle of winning over Hilary voters, but even so, seems like they picked the wrong person to me. McCain is OLD, and more likely to need to hand over to his VP than most presidents, given his heart problems. Surely they should have picked an experienced elder statesman?
Maybe that’s part of the angle. Obama’s “young” and also from what I hear inexperienced. Maybe it’s to win over some people who want a young “change” type of person as well.
I heard McCain broke a record with 7 miil donated in a day after the lady. Good choice?
Re: the inexperience of McCain’s VP, I saw the Governor of Hawaii interviewed on Newsnight last night, and she made the point that Sarah Palin has been governor of Alaska for two years now and before that was mayor of a small town. Obama has never been governor or mayor of anywhere. Surely in a very real sense we ought to be saying that for the job of President/VP, Sarah Palin is more experienced than Obama.
It all depends on which set of talking heads you listen to. The governor of Hawaii is a Republican, and therefore has to parrot that party’s talking points. Since one of their biggest was that Obama had very little experience, they’ve had to change their tack now that McCain has picked a VP candidate with very little experience.
The pro-Obama camp points are that Obama has several years experience in the US Senate (elected in 2004), which Palin does not have. Alaska’s population is smaller than that of most large cities here in the US (670,000), and most people wouldn’t say that being the mayor of Baltimore (population 637,000) would qualify you for president. Also, our current president only had one term as a governor before taking on the Presidency, and I defy you to find a Democrat that thinks Bush has done a good job.
There was a very interesting interview with an ex-republican advisor last night on CH4, where he said the real issue here is not Palins suitability for the job, but McCains sudden decision to appoint her. he was concerned that they knew nothing about her background 9re: the kid being pregnant etc.) when they appointed her, and that just showed rash and bad decision making by McCains team.
An interesting spin on it anyway.
Yes, sadly. The neocon domination of the national media has pushed the political spectrum so far to the right in the last several decades that to be considered a liberal over here is the equivalent of being just right-of-center in much of Europe.
Take Obama, for example: he favored the FISA amendment that gave immunity from prosecution to telecommunications giants who turned over all their records upon request to the Bush administration. He has gone on record as saying he favors the same “faith-based initiatives” that are in direct violation of the US Constitution’s 4th amendment, and which Bush implemented. (Mind you, Obama taught Constitutional Law at Chicago University, so he knows exactly what he’s doing.) He has argued for putting far more troops into Afghanistan, and for sanctions against Iran. He opposes abortion on demand. A few decades ago, he would have been considered a staunch conservative. Now, he’s a moderate.
None of that is really new for US politics, Glinka. The US has always been (and likely always will be) “right” of Europe, politically.
seems pretty quite … lurks in he background… perhaps a silent workhorse
Or, since he’s had trouble in the past running his mouth, BO is keeping him locked away. Or BO viewed him as a threat somewhere down the road and gave him the VP to control him, much like he did Hillary and SecState. I vote for the first thought, since even my most liberal friends cringe when they hear him speak.