Biden is it

[Bigdog13]

I think your are wrong; McCain is more conservative than you give him credit for. He is not Ronald Reagan, but he is more conservative than at least 80 members of the Senate.

If you search all the conservative groups and their scoring, I think you'll find that McCain is probably 5 to 6 times more conservative than BHO or Biden. He will be quite strong in the pro-life area and has consistently supported conservative judges.

McCain and I part ways on immigration and ethics/reform. He is also strong and unapologetic on NAFTA and spending policies.

Supreme Court justices are a slippery slope...it is the justice that usually changes and drifts left after being inserted into his lifetime appointment. Reagan suffered through this as did Eisenhower, Nixon, and GHWBush...it just happens.

National Right to Life gave him a 67 which they define as "mixed" on abortion. Like you said immigration groups have hammered him and rate him very poorly. I really rank immigration highly this year for numerous reasons which is another reason I have a hard time with McCain. I am still annoyed he was against the Bush tax cuts twice before reversing himself and being for them.

I do like that he has said repeatedly that he wants to get rid of waste in Washngton and veto earmarks but there are too many other things I don't like.

[DogtorEvil]

http://beldar.blogs.com/beldarblog/2...amas-conv.html

As for undecided voters, or potential voters whose real decision is whether to show up at the polls or not, I do not believe that Biden is capable of connecting with them in any powerful (subconscious or emotional) way. He is more plastic, and less inspiring, than either Obama or McCain.

Whatever else, Obama's choice of Biden didn't bring something to the Democratic ticket that McCain himself can't already counter in spades. Indeed, Biden was obviously chosen by Obama to try to match some of McCain's strengths

Biden is also very much a known quantity. The odds of America becoming suddenly infatuated with Joe Biden, and that rubbing off on Barack Obama, are zero.

To me, Obama's cautious and conventional choice ought simply highlights the strategic advantage that McCain could seize by going unconventional. With no need to directly counter Obama's choice, then instead of mirroring it, McCain ought to exploit it — to seize upon it as a chance to engage in asymmetric political warfare. Obama's hunkering down and digging in, so now is the time to get behind his lines. Or in football terms: Obama has stacked the box, assuming that McCain is going to run the ball up the middle, and he's already fully committed to that formation, so now is the very best time to call an audible and go deep.

That means Sarah Palin or Bobby Jindal.

If McCain picks Romney, or someone else fairly conventional (e.g., Pawlenty or Portman), I know I'm going to have to set my DVR to record the vice presidential debate because I can't be certain in advance that I won't fall asleep during the middle of it. But oh, how I — and, I think, how all of America — would relish watching either Palin or Jindal take on Joe Biden!

The Dems would expect it to be Quayle versus Bentsen all over again, but Joe Biden is no Lloyd Bentsen — silver hair-plugs do not translate into genuine gravitas. Because Quayle was a traditional, privileged white male, there was no potential backlash when the Dems mocked him for his youth and seeming shallowness; Dems would find it less easy, or more risky, to mock either Palin or Jindal. And either Palin or Jindal are far better at thinking and speaking on their feet than Dan Quayle was. Quayle wasn't as bad as his reputation eventually became, but neither was he ever the genuine hope for the future of his party that Poppy Bush seemed to think he'd be. Palin and Jindal are the real deal.

The vice presidential debate almost certainly won't be won on substantive debating points, however — on their merits, Quayle's answers weren't that bad and Bentsen's weren't that great. What very well could "win" the VP debate — and more importantly, what could even affect the outcome of the election — is the flavor, tone, and the visuals of the event. That includes identity politics of the sort that I usually deplore, but that can't be ignored, especially when one's trying to figure out how to capture undecided and swing voters who are seeking a visceral connection of some sort with either campaign.

Sarah Palin or Bobby Jindal standing at the GOP's lectern at the vice presidential debate — especially across from Democrat Joe Biden, as stereotypical an old-school politician as has ever lived and breathed — would transform the Republican Party's image in the minds of literally millions of voters who presently associate it exclusively with rich, white, old men. And that's something no amount of television advertising buys or direct mail brochures could do. And it's true almost no matter what anyone actually says at the debate.
By picking Joe Biden, Barack Obama has handed that visual to John McCain and the GOP on a silver platter. Should that gift be squandered?

Even though I'm a big fan of Gov. Jindal, I still am more enthusiastic about Gov. Palin for this particular race at this particular time, and it's for two reasons, each of which can each be summarized in a single word. The first word is "Energy." And the second word is "Hillary." The first is the best domestic issue for the GOP, on which Gov. Palin is uniquely qualified as both a symbol and a spokesperson. The second is the source of a whole lot of disaffected woulda-been Democratic voters who are looking for an excuse to rebound in a way that secretly (but very satisfyingly) shoots the finger at Barack Obama.

*******

At the beginning of this post, I described Obama himself as "at least superficially a very unconventional presidential candidate." But in fact, the lesson of the entire 2008 presidential campaign so far — a lesson again re-affirmed by his pick of Biden — is that Obama is a very conventional politician who's running a disciplined, almost constipated campaign. He's far better at that than Hillary Clinton or, for that matter, Joe Biden gave him early credit for, which is why he beat them. And it wasn't until Hillary loosened up and started taking chances — a change that, in hindsight, came too late — that she started getting real traction against him.

I don't think McCain is naturally risk-averse, and I suspect he will indeed go with his own gut, rather than let his advisers push him into a choice he otherwise might not have made. But I fear that McCain will show his maverick streak — poke his thumb in the eye of the GOP establishment and its conservative base — by picking a Tom Ridge or a Lindsey Graham. So if there are any Republican angels out there who can whisper my words into the grumpy old man's ear as he sleeps, please whisper these:

"You're not Bob Dole, and you've never wanted to be. Yes, be unconventional, my friend, but not in a way that makes your would-be supporters despondent. Give them firm cause to back you, and a pleasant surprise, by choosing someone who's unquestionably conservative. Give all America inspiration by choosing someone who's fresh and energetic and emblematic of the new century, instead of the one just past. You're the candidate who already connects with practical voters who value security and honor; now bolster your ticket's appeal with someone who can connect with romantic voters who most prize hope and progress. Go deep, John McCain: Pick Palin!"

[DogtorEvil]

Biden Does No Harm, but May Not Help Much
Seen as qualified, but less than half call him an excellent or pretty good choice
by Lydia Saad
August 23, 2008
http://www.gallup.com/poll/109783/Bi...Help-Much.aspx

PRINCETON, NJ -- Barack Obama's selection of U.S. Sen. and former presidential candidate Joe Biden as his running mate is not generating a momentous immediate reaction from the nation's voters. Just 14% of registered voters interviewed in a new USA Today/Gallup poll say Biden makes them more likely to vote for Obama in November and 7% say less likely while 72% say he will not have much effect on their vote.

[DogtorEvil]

39% Say Biden the Right Choice, Women Less Enthusiastic
Sunday, August 24, 2008
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/publ...s_enthusiastic

On the day that Barack Obama announced Joe Biden as his running mate, 39% of voters said he made the right choice. A Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 25% disagreed and another 35% are not sure.

Women are notably less enthusiastic than men—33% of women say Biden was the right choice while 27% disagreed. Men, by a 46% to 24% margin, said that Obama made the right choice.

[DogtorEvil]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmzI5VbqX3k

[CARTEK]

I see that the polls had results from men; they must be girly men...REAL MEN DO NOT VOTE FOR DEMOCRATS!

[johnnylightnin]

I am still annoyed he was against the Bush tax cuts twice before reversing himself and being for them.

It should be noted that his opposition to those cuts were because they weren't accompanied by spending cuts. On this count, he was being more conservative than the President (who is not a fiscal conservative).

My biggest problem with McCain is that, while he says that human deserve rights at conception, he's in favor of federal funding for embryonic (yes John, that's post conception) stem cell research.

[FishingBack]

What if McCain picks a woman?

[DogtorEvil]

What if McCain picks a woman?

how about Hillary?

[DogtorEvil]

CNN poll: Post-Biden poll shows dead heat
August 24, 2008
Posted: 06:25 PM ET
From CNN Deputy Political Director Paul Steinhauser
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com...ows-dead-heat/

DENVER, Colorado (CNN) — It’s a dead heat in the race for the White House. The first national poll conducted entirely after Barack Obama publicly named Joe Biden as his running mate suggests that battle for the presidency between the Illinois senator and Republican rival John McCain is all tied up.

In a new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll out Sunday night, 47 percent of those questioned are backing Obama with an equal amount supporting the Arizona senator.

“This looks like a step backward for Obama, who had a 51 to 44 percent advantage last month,” says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland.

“Even last week, just before his choice of Joe Biden as his running mate became known, most polls tended to show Obama with a single-digit advantage over McCain,” adds Holland.

So what’s the difference now?

It may be supporters of Hillary Clinton, who still would prefer the Senator from New York as the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee.


Sixty-six percent of Clinton supporters, registered Democrats who want Clinton as the nominee, are now backing Obama. That’s down from 75 percent in the end of June. Twenty-seven percent of them now say they’ll support McCain, up from 16 percent in late June.

“The number of Clinton Democrats who say they would vote for McCain has gone up 11 points since June, enough to account for most although not all of the support McCain has gained in that time,” says Holland.

Clinton and Obama battled throughout the primary season, with Clinton winning more than 40 percent of the delegates. She suspended her bid for the White House and backed Obama in early June, after the end of the primary season.

A majority of registered voters, 54 percent, think Obama’s choice of Delaware Senator Joe Biden as his running mate is an excellent or good decision. That number jumps to 73 percent when just asked of registered Democrats. But it drops to 59 percent when narrowed to Clinton supporters.

“It's not that there's anything wrong with the choice of Joe Biden. A majority of those polled rate the Biden selection as excellent or pretty good. Voters think he is qualified to be president, and with the exception of Al Gore in 1992, the public ranks Biden as the most qualified running mate in recent times," says Holland.

"A lot of Americans don't know who he is, but his favorable rating is 13 points higher than his unfavorables But Biden is not Hillary Clinton, and it's possible that is enough to have moved some of her supporters away from the Democratic ticket, at least temporarily."

Among all Democrats, only 38 percent say Obama should have selected Clinton as his running mate.

Will Biden’s naming as Obama’s running mate make a difference? Maybe not. Seventy-four percent of all voters questioned in the survey say it won’t have any effect on their vote for president.

The CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll was conducted on Saturday and Sunday, with 1,023 adult Americans questioned by telephone. The survey’s sampling error is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points for all voters. For registered Democrats, it is plus or minus 4.5 percentage points, and for Democrats who still support Clinton for the party's nomination, it is plus or minus 7.5 percentage points.

[JDubyadawg]

A dark horse who is getting no play at all in the press but may be on the list -
former Ohio congressman John Kasich.

Brings a lot to the ticket......

[SicemDawgz]

how about Hillary?

Obama would pull out a pistol, place it to his temple and pull the trigger!!

[markay714]

A dark horse who is getting no play at all in the press but may be on the list -
former Ohio congressman John Kasich.

Brings a lot to the ticket......

Can't stand him as a broadcaster. Did like his politics, but he's just not very good filling in for O'Reilly when I've seen him.

[JDubyadawg]

Not the greatest broadcaster and will probably run for Ohio governor in 2010. He was born in PA as was Biden, and just rock solid on his conservative credentials. One of the original budget balancing guys.

[daybreaker2]

Obama would pull out a pistol, place it to his temple and pull the trigger!!

Really? Because Hillary as McCain's VP would pretty much assure Obama at least 40 states.