Biden on Barack

"I think he can be ready, but right now I don't believe he is. The presidency is not something that lends itself to on-the-job training."

So said Joe Biden of Barack Obama a few months ago. That was before Barack Obama selected him as Vice Presidential candidate for the upcoming election.

The choice of Joe Biden is an interesting one. Politically, Biden and Obama have a lot of common ground - but at the risk of mixing metaphors, there's also been a lot of water under that bridge of 'common ground.'

The problem is that Joe Biden himself stood for election - so he ruthlessly attacked Obama during that campaign. It's now very difficult for him to stand and deliver convincing support when his past words can be dredged up and used against him.

I mean, why does Joe Biden think Obama won the Democratic candidacy in the first place?

“...you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy,” he said. “I mean, that’s a storybook, man.”

The wail of anguish you just heard was every racially sensitive person in America. Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell, both one-time African-American cabinet members and pretty much the definition of 'mainstream,' probably resent the implication that they're inarticulate, dumb, dirty and ugly.

But even if Biden is resentful of Obama's victory and insensitive about his race, at least the Senator for Delaware is in support of his policies and plans. Or is he?

"I don’t recall hearing a word from Barack about a plan or a tactic."

Well, perhaps Joe Biden at least will be unified with Obama in teaming up against their rival, Republican senator John McCain.

“John McCain is a personal friend, a great friend, and I would be honored to run with... ...John McCain, because I think the country would be better off.”

YIKES.

Yes, Joe Biden is a risky selection for Vice President. Although history has shown that the VP nomination generally doesn't influence the voter's final decision, it's certainly not going to reinforce Obama's campaign like he'd perhaps hoped. McCain will be using his inopportune quotes with glee abandon.

[Oh... Another gripe with Biden? Back in the 1988 presidential election, when he stood for nomination for the first time, he tried to rally his core supporters in the coal-mining heartland of Pennsylvania with a rousing speech. A speech he'd plagiarized from no less than Welsh-windbag Neil Kinnock. - Editorial Bear.]