I’ve been an ardent supporter of Barack Obama for years now. While early in the current campaign I felt it wasn’t the right time for an African American candidate at the top of the ticket for the White House and hoped Obama would be the Vice Presidential choice, he and his wife won me over quite easily with their optimism, inspiring rhetoric and savvy political strategy.
His message of change and the idea of passing leadership on to a new generation resonates with me. Because I am so committed to Obama I was not particularly concerned about who he picked as a running mate. I didn’t think much about the reported short list of three candidates one way or another. I wasn’t inspired by any of the three but didn’t think I cared one way or another.
So it was a great surprise to me to feel quite disappointed in the idea of an Obama/Biden ticket. I’ve been trying to figure out why. I’ve read about Joe Biden’s political history, his voting record and his personal history. There is nothing there to object to and a great deal to like. In addition, his foreign policy work is impressive and he brings a great deal of expertise to the ticket. Six terms as a Democratic Senator and very little to be critical of. Not a reason to be disappointed.
A friend pointed out that Biden had been extremely critical of Obama early in the race. The fact that Obama would chose as his running mate a man who has been a critic but who has lots of experience in an area of his own weakness says a lot about Obama and leads me to believe he must believe strongly that Biden is best for the job. A reason to feel good about his choice.
There is very little to indicate that the choice of a running mate has had much effect on past Presidential races. The last example of a race in which it was actually a factor is the Kennedy/Johnson race in 1960 when Johnson was able to deliver Texas and put Kennedy over the top. Forty-eight years later it would seem to be another reason not to care.
But I do care. A lot, apparently. Joseph Biden is a good choice on so many levels. He brings strengths that Obama needs, he is known for his impressive skills as an orator and will be a great “bad cop” as the campaign goes forward. So of course I’ll support the ticket, of course I’ll vote for Obama/Biden and be glad to be voting for them instead of simply against John McCain.
Still. I think that by choosing the “right” man to balance the ticket and to win the votes of the middle, the voters who are skeptical of his experience, Obama weakened his ability to claim that his administration will exemplify be a new kind of politics. And that is why his choice disappoints me. I wonder how all those excited young voters that Obama has won over will react to a 65 year old, six term Senator who is the definition of politics as usual. With the polls indicating the race is nearly a dead heat, perhaps a more exciting choice would have cost him the White House. Perhaps this it the best practical choice in the real world of politics. But I wanted a new day, a new way of looking at the world, a fresh generation of leadership. Perhaps insisting on that would mean a McCain White House. The horror of that should give us all pause.
So I support the new Obama/Biden ticket. But I think I’ll just keep my Obama 2008 bumper sticker and not bother replacing it with an Obama/Biden sticker. And after tonight I’ll put aside my frustration and stop whining. There is an election to win!!
