Diary of a Mighty Bastard

Since the only pick the Presidential candidates make before the election is the Vice-President pick, I end up putting a lot of emphasis on it. A BIG part of the President's performance is based on the people he surrounds himself with. (I think the American public would be better off if we insisted the candidates announce their choices for the Cabinet before the election)

With that in mind, Barack Obama selected Senator Joe Biden to be his running mate.

It's a good choice. Maybe not an inspired choice, but rock-solid. A Vice Presidential candidate should fill four qualifications for the Preisdential Candidate:

1- If anything should happen to the President, could the VP step into the office and take over the duties as President?

2- Does the VP help the President with any perceived weaknesses of the Presidential candidate?

3- Will the VP nominee hurt the Presidential candidate?

4- Can the VP nominee help the Presidential nominee get elected?

With Biden, his experience definitely hits the "He can take over" criteria. He also helps with (2)- Obama's biggest weakness is experience, and Senator Biden has been around for years.

He doesn't help with (4)- Delaware was already going Obama's way. (3) is the question mark- Biden has a reputation for running his mouth off. He withdrew as the Presidential nominee in 1988 based of accusations of plagarizng a speech, but I don't think the public will hold that against him. On the other hand, if you have to pick a flaw, "Constant talker" isn't the worst one to pick.

Thinking it over, I think Senator Bayh might have been a better pick, just because he had the same advantages and could put Indiana in play. But overall, a good pick for Senator Obama.