Thursday, August 28, 2008

Veepstakes Update


Obama has announced Joe Biden will be his running mate. Honestly, I view this as a good choice, despite my reservations expressed in my previous post. In fact, those reservations make it a better choice. Kaine and Bayh were safe boring choices. Biden, with his hilarious gaffes, is a slightly less boring choice, despite being on old, experienced, white man. Having called Obama a “clean, articulate, black man,” Biden clearly struggles to be PC, which I personally see as a plus and will probably help Obama avoid the scolding, PC image that liberals have.

But more than anything, Biden’s personality will keep things interesting. He speaks more plainly than any member of the Senate. He’s the anti-Kerry. He rambles on a lot, but never sounds academic. The O’Biden ticket will be entertaining no matter what. Rather than watching O’Kaine limp toward a narrow victory or defeat, Biden will either serve as an effective messenger for Obama, turn nuanced points into something short and sweet, or he’ll torpedo the ticket with a gaffe of epic proportions. Go big or go home! Pick someone who has a chance to actually make a difference on the ticket, and if you’re going to crash, you might as well pack the plane with dynamite. Or Bidenmite© (commenters, please let me know if my puns become intolerable).

Honestly, Biden could be what the Democrats need. Instead fumbling and pussyfooting around the issues, Biden may help the Obama campaign stay on message and cut through the crap. Or he could be another useless sidekick like almost every other VP candidate. Only time will tell.


On the Republican side, McCain will announce his VP choice tomorrow. In true PMW fashion, I will now speculate the night before, so by the time everyone reads this post, it will be too late. But here’s what we know at this point: Good n’ Pawlenty and Mitt from the Mitt State are the two favorites, and Joementum and Sarah Palin (businesswoman and Alaskan governor) are the dark horses.

Good n’ Pawlenty supposedly “connects with the little people” (you know how I love it when the press says such things) and certainly seems personable. He’s from Minnesota, where the GOP convention is and the GOP sees a chance to turn that state blue. Romney is seen as giving McIKnowNothingAboutEconomics some economic credentials and could deliver the Mitt (and maybe the U.P. too!). Picking Joementum risks alienating the base because he’s a “Democrat,” but it may let them run the table with Independents by creating a Maverick vs. Partisan race. Not bloody likely though. Finally, Sarah Palin brings economic credentials and could seal up tons pro-Hillary anti-Obama votes.

I predict Good n Pawlenty. He’s youthful but not inexperienced and he’s a charismatic speaker. Although Romney is already known and McCain may prefer someone he doesn’t have to introduce to America. By the time you read this, we’ll probably know. From a blogging standpoint, I’d like to see Mitt from the Mitt because he’s easy to make fun of. Joementum would also work well for me. But I can say for sure, it won’t be McWaco!

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