The Biden effect?

Everyone is making a fuss over Obama's choice for VP, Senator Joe Biden. While I tend to discount the degree to which a Vice-President can positively change a candidate's chances come election day, it is certainly true that a bad VP choice can hurt a campaign. Part of the reason I believe W's selection of Cheney was so intelligent was that Cheney's long tenure in politics bolstered Bush's public image. Bush had some degree of experience as a governor, and that was helped (or at least wasn't hurt) by Cheney's much larger amount of experience. Biden's long tenure in Congress gives him indisputable experience. His experience will be either a boon or a hindrance to Obama. The Biden effect could thus give Obama that extra bit of political capital his campaign needs, or it could illustrate in crystal-clear terms just how green Obama really is.


Republicans and Democrats are responding in typical form. Because Biden has such a long voting record, it's easy to find votes where he's disagreed with Obama's philosophy. And because Biden was running against Obama for a short period of time, Republicans have found clips of Biden using the same type of rhetorical attacks on Obama that they themselves are employing today. Now, McCain will be succumb to the same criticisms if he chooses a running mate from his former competitors, so I don't really take those criticisms seriously. What does give me pause is that Republican/conservative blogs and pundits seem to be going crazy, saying his voting record and political personality are lightweight. They don't take Biden's record seriously, and if that sentiment carries over into moderate voters, it could spell trouble for Obama. But hey, he still has an almost 2:1 lead in the markets, so what do I know...