Here's my NEWSWEEK colleague Howard Fineman on the politics of Obama's veep pick.
The minute-by-minute story of how Obama handled the selection is
interesting, and revealing of the way the Democratic nominee works. He
insisted on the utmost secrecy; he paid the losers the courtesy of
essentially telling them "no" to their faces--not an easy thing to do.
And he swallowed his considerable pride and all but confessed his lack
of knowledge of foreign affairs by selecting as his running mate the
Senate's senior Democratic leader on that topic.
In
short, Obama behaved like a grownup. Even his much-criticized failure
to "vet" Sen. Hillary Clinton means less than meets the eye. I talked
two months ago to one of her closest legal advisors, who told me that
she didn't really WANT to be considered for the number two job--in no
small measure because the process would have required Obama's lawyers
to comb through her husband's foundation and its murky sources of
income.
In that sense, Obama did her a favor by not really demanding to consider her. She would have had to say "no."
What does Biden bring to the ticket? A lot. First
of all, he has a love of politics and public service. He never tried to
get rich from his role, even though he has been in the Senate for
decades. He is a fancy dresser--given to stick pin collars and French
cuffs--and yet he is an unassuming son of a car salesman who takes the
train home to Wilmington almost every night. His
personal story is compelling: a riches-to-rags family background; a
first wife killed in a car crash; a devoted life with his second wife;
a passel of grandchildren whom he adores as much as they adore him. And
he's never had a hint of financial or sexual scandal. Biden
is a Catholic--a demographic must for a Democratic ticket eager to get
swing voters in heavily Catholic states such as Pennsylvania and Ohio. He
knows foreign policy and defense issues of course, but in a textbook
way. He is a street politician who has walked the streets of the planet. He
genuinely wants to serve. He kept telling President Bush in the
aftermath of 9/11 that he wanted to help him, privately, anytime. Bush,
ill-advisedly, never availed himself of the priceless chance. Certainly
among Democrats, Biden has few enemies. Even most Republicans like him.
He is an irrepressible character, full of energy, smiles and, at times,
baloney.
The risks? He can't keep his mouth shut.
Sometimes he talks before thinking. He is not always a systematic
thinker. He loves to hear himself talk. He can get carried away with
his enthusiasms. He is a lawyer, but some of his colleagues think,
frankly, that he isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer, at least in
the academic sense. There have been some matters of
academic ethics and plagiarism. In 1987, his first presidential
campaign exploded overnight after he was found to have lifted portions
of a speech from a British politician. He loves the spotlight. Whether he can operate in the shadows is an open question. He
is going to be on a very short rhetorical leash in the campaign. But
will an Obama White House be able to keep Biden in check?
For
now, here in Denver, most Democrats seemed pleased as the early word
leaked out. Biden in some ways is the anti-Dick Cheney. And that's
change the party can believe in.
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