Reflecting on Biden's Selection as VP

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUIhgWEz308

I have long been critical of Joe Biden, way before his time as president. In 2008 I was interviewed about his nomination as vice presidential candidate and the implications this may have for the race for the White House….

Barack Obama had talking about change from the first day of his campaign. A year later, when pressed to make his first, most defining decision, he chose a white, male senator from Delaware. In that moment it should have become clear about what ‘change’ would mean under Obama’s presidency. The selection revealed the extent to which Obama would playing it safe, both as a candidate, and subsequently as president.

Presidential candidates have historically sought to balance the ticket, in terms of age or geography. In 1960, Senator John F. Kennedy, who Obama supporters constantly sought to compare their candidate to, chose Lyndon Johnson from Texas, which split the ticket geographically and regarding age and experience. Kennedy was from the north, Johnston from the South.  But with Johnson here was the bonus that if he could carry his state of Texas then Kennedy’s chances of winning were greatly improved. Joe Biden is from Delaware, a tiny state with only 3 Electoral College votes that historically votes Democrat, so even if he does succeed in carrying his home state, it doesn't really help an awful lot

Joe Biden has always presented himself as having a lot of experience in foreign affairs, due to his time on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He has never shrunk from the U.S. engagement on a global scale and believed that he would bring credibility to the democratic ticket on foreign policy. This was an example of Barack Obama seeking to inoculate himself against claims of inexperience in a vital policy area heading into the election. He was weak on foreign affairs and international relations and believed that this could be alleviated by bringing in Senator Biden.

However, a very quick search on YouTube reveals the challenges involved in selecting Joe Biden. A vice president candidate should ideally not to put a foot wrong for risk of damaging the campaign. Indeed, a vital question to be addressed before selecting a candidate is the extent to which a vice-presidential candidate can help or hinder the top of the ticket.

Joe Biden’s inability to stay on message has defined his careers to date. His capacity to quote liberally from Neil Kinnock’s speeches exemplify the challenges he faces and the potential for his words and deeds to come back to haunt him as the election approaches.

This gives John McCain the luxury of going second, of being able to see the reaction that Senator Biden’s selection generates and to potentially do something different and groundbreaking, such as placing a woman on the ticket in an attempt to prove that Obama is no longer the change candidate.

Discussing Obama's European Trip on the BBC

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqmnXFnDP3s

the world?

Although the people around Barack Obama insisted that his visit to Europe was not a campaign trip, the sounds and images that emerged suggested otherwise. The first six months of the year witnessed a series of state-by-state primaries, which appears to have given way to a global primary as the candidates seek to establish themselves as statesmen in waiting. Barack Obama addressed a crowd, estimated at 200,000, in the heart of Berlin today. It was beautifully staged, with a huge audience (both in attendance and watching around the word), and at a remarkable location. Senator Obama not yet president of the United States, but here he is, barnstorming across Europe.  Obama’s visit came on the heels of Senator McCain, who was here earlier in the year trying to boost his foreign policy credentials, but who notably didn’t attract a crowd 200,000 eager to see him in the flesh. Will Senator McCain now be forced to travel to Europe and do something similar by barnstorming across the rest of the world?

The election is not a shoo-in for Senator Obama at this point. From a European perspective it's very easy to look at how the candidate is seeing to follow in the footsteps of John F. Kennedy, who spoke at City Hall, and Ronald Reagan, who spoke at the Brandenburg Gate. Anybody listening to Obama who has memories of John F Kennedy's visit to Berlin in 1963 will have heard themes, expressions, and a virtual echo of JFK’s speech, and that is not an accident, as this was a deliberate attempt to hark back to the Camelot years. It must be noted, however, that regardless of the imagery from Berlin, there are many states in the United States that will remain unimpressed and vote for John McCain.ection is not a shoo-in for Senator Obama at this point. From a European perspective it's very easy to look at how the candidate is seeing to follow in the footsteps of John F. Kennedy, who spoke at City Hall, and Ronald Reagan, who spoke at the Brandenburg Gate. Anybody listening to Obama who has memories of John F Kennedy's visit to Berlin in 1963 will have heard themes, expressions, and a virtual echo of JFK’s speech, and that is not an accident, as this was a deliberate attempt to hark back to the Camelot years. It must be noted, however, that regardless of the imagery from Berlin, there are many states in the United States that will remain unimpressed and vote for John McCain.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKa6sZEK3hM

President Clinton was often accused by his critics of running what they referred to ‘a photo- op foreign policy’ and Obama's critics could easily level the same charge against him at this point. Nevertheless, the images from Berlin will be very valuable to the Obama since the visit has been designed in large part to inoculate Senator Obama against charges of having too little foreign policy experience. What Berlin heard from Senator Obama should be recognizable to Europeans as the same people who are working for Obama worked with Bill Clinton during his eight years in office and will bring to office a more multilateral, European-focused foreign policy than we've experienced for the last eight years.  

Although Obama did not refer to the ‘Special Relationship,’ choosing to discuss the ‘Transatlantic Relationship,’ history reveals that every president tends to refer to the Special Relationship once they are in office and want something from the United Kingdom. The Special Relationship has always been a little bit more special in London than in Washington DC, but whoever becomes president in November, the relationship with the United Kingdom will retain remain strong moving forward. The European trip has resulted in many platitudes, and an attempt to meet the great and the good, including Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, and David Cameron: arguably the past the present and the future in British politics. Clearly, there is an attempt to ensure that nobody is offended on this trip and to conjure up some dynamic images for the remainder of the campaign.  

The trip to Europe has resulted in a lot of noise, but little of substance. It is also important to be careful of anything that candidates say on the campaign trail, because it's very easy to say things as a candidate, that subsequently prove impossible to execute once in office. Senator Obama has acknowledged the risks involved in making this trip and the potential for a dip in the polls that could result from being out of the country for a week. While the trip doubtless looks like a no brainer from a European perspective, since it involves travelling around the world, being photographed world leaders, and thereby boosting your status overseas, it is important to remember that Europeans are not voting in the American presidential election; only the American people are voting, and it is entirely possible that the McCain campaign could turn this trip against Senator Obama.