And the Message Beamed down to the iPhones of the Faithful by Obama says:

[Evilmav2]

JOE BIDEN!

[Evilmav2]

U.S. Secret Service on Way to Biden's House; Kaine and Bayh Told Nope on Veep

August 22, 2008 10:50 PM

The United States Secret Service has dispatched a protective detail to assume the immediate protection of Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., a source tells ABC News, indicating in all likelihood that Biden has been officially notified that Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, has selected him to be his running mate.

Sources also tell ABC News that two others said to be finalists for the position of Obama's running mate -- Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., and Virginia Gov Tim Kaine -- have been told they have not been selected for the vice presidential slot.

Kaine flew to Denver earlier today, is in Denver tonight and has no plans to leave in the next 24 hours. Bayh is at his Washington, DC, home with his family.

Biden was last seen minutes ago at his Wilmington estate where his extended brood is gathering.

The Obama campaign would not comment, but Obama mentioned Biden twice in speeches on the trail this week, both times heralding his legislative leadersip in East Asia.

At the VFW convention in Orlando, Florida, on Tuesday, Obama said, "we must help Georgia rebuild that which has been destroyed. That is why I’m proud to join my friend, Senator Joe Biden, in calling for an additional $1 billion in reconstruction assistance for the people of Georgia."

And in Chesapeake, Virginia, Friday night, Obama heralded Biden's efforts to provide economic assistance to Afghanistan.

"I joined with people like Joe Biden to increase a billion dollars of investment," he said.

-- ABC News' Ann Compton, Matt Jaffe, Jay Shaylor, and Jake Tapper

August 22, 2008

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpu...ret-servi.html

[chumdawg]

He couldn't have chosen better. Just when you start to think that Obama is out of his element, he reminds you that this sort of gamesmanship is not at all beyond his abilities.

You have got...GOT to love this drama. What a hell of a campaign season.

[dude1394]

So happy.......Please not clinton.

[Kirobaito]

I could not think of a running mate more fun than Joe Biden. Oh, I'm happy. This is gonna be tons of fun. Whether Romney or Pawlenty, Biden will destroy them in a debate. Not that VP debates matter in the slightest, but it will still be fun. I've always been a huge fan of Biden.

I really, REALLY hate to bring this up, but doesn't Obama Biden look awfully similar to something else? Crap. It's exactly the kind of thing that people will send out en masse, too.

[chumdawg]

Originally Posted by Kirobaito

I really, REALLY hate to bring this up, but doesn't Obama Biden look awfully similar to something else? Crap.

I don't get it. What is it?

[Kirobaito]

Originally Posted by chumdawg

I don't get it. What is it?

Ahem... osama bin laden. Perhaps it might not be so obvious.

[chumdawg]

Originally Posted by Kirobaito

Ahem... osama bin laden. Perhaps it might not be so obvious.

Yeah, I think that one is not so obvious. Interesting theory, though.

I'll say that the gauntlet has been laid down. Ball is in your court, McCain.

[Evilmav2]

Originally Posted by chumdawg

He couldn't have chosen better. Just when you start to think that Obama is out of his element, he reminds you that this sort of gamesmanship is not at all beyond his abilities.

You have got...GOT to love this drama. What a hell of a campaign season.

Yup, Obama's strategy of text messaging the world with the announcement of the identity of his running mate on a Saturday afternoon, when nobody generally pays much attention to the news, two days before the start of the Denver convention is so seemingly hap-hazard and unconventionally kooky it must be brilliant!

Why, assuming the Russians don't invade any more of their neighbors or some Olympic under-dog story doesn't emerge to captivate the country this weekend, the Obama campaign might just be able to get the citizenry excited about 'Ol Joe for a full good two or three days before McCain pre-empts the saturation Biden press by announcing his veep, and mounting a more conventional week-long tour of the country with his new #2 during the lead up time to the Republican show in Minneapolis-Saint Paul. The water cooler buzz in empty office buildings around the country will be deafening in it's mussitation this long Summer weekend...

[Underdog]

Originally Posted by chumdawg

Ball is in your court, McCain.

Why do I envision Jerry Stackhouse dribbling the ball off his foot?

[chumdawg]

Originally Posted by Evilmav2

Yup, Obama's strategy of text messaging the world with the announcement of the identity of his running mate on a Saturday afternoon, when nobody generally pays much attention to the news, two days before the start of the Denver convention is so seemingly hap-hazard and unconventionally kooky it must be brilliant!

Why, assuming the Russians don't invade any more of their neighbors or some Olympic under-dog story doesn't emerge to captivate the country this weekend, the Obama campaign might just be able to get the citizenry excited about 'Ol Joe for a full good two or three days before McCain pre-empts the saturation Biden press by announcing his veep, and mounting a more conventional week-long tour of the country with his new #2 during the lead up time to the Republican show in Minneapolis-Saint Paul...

Brutha...it's a different age these days. It's nigh midnight on a Friday, and the cable news networks are up in arms over the VP announcement. We are a far cry from when the news cycle was ten to two Monday through Thursday. It's the internet age, man! Embrace it!

Of course, the truth of the matter is that the news cycles between three days ago and three days after McCain offers up Romney will mean next to nothing when it comes to folks voting in November.

A good rule of thumb that I like to follow is this: When your opponent does something that your wisdom sees as shit-all stupid, you would be well served to step back for a moment and make sure you aren't getting played.

[Evilmav2]

Well, maybe my sensibilities are mired in the past, but my old way of thinking still makes me believe that if the Biden buzz turns into old news in the span of a couple of days, that represents a missed opportunity for Obama and his staff and followers, and it can end up looking like a failure on the part of both the candidate and his campaign. Free coverage is free coverage, and if the buzz about a veep is big and long it makes a campaign just seem successful, and Americans do love a winner...

As it stands, I'm just happy that Obama an co.'s dislike of Hilary and/or pride stopped him from recruiting Clinton as his veep. That would have been a move that would have blown the roof off of the country, regardless of what day of the week the bombshell was dropped, and that would have been news worth waiting around all week to get a text message about.

Thankfully though, instead we've got Old Joe to kick around, and as happy as the netroots kind of crowd is going to be with this selection, I think Obama's new #2 is just a bit too thread-worn, a bit to kooky, and a bit too abrasive to really change much in this election cycle and create the kind of sea-change a Hilary choice might have done. 'Ol Joe is loud and quarrelsome though, so at least if McCain bows to common sense and gives Romney the veep spot, we should get to watch some extremely contentious and entertaining veep debates this Fall...

[jefelump]

In another thread (not sure which one, has been a long time), it was discussed that Obama was rated the most liberal Senator in 2007. Well, Joe Biden ranked number 3.

The ratings system -- devised in 1981 under the direction of William Schneider, a political analyst and commentator, and a contributing editor to National Journal -- also assigns "composite" scores, an average of the members' issue-based scores. In 2007, Obama's composite liberal score of 95.5 was the highest in the Senate. Rounding out the top five most liberal senators last year were Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., with a composite liberal score of 94.3; Joseph Biden, D-Del., with a 94.2; Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., with a 93.7; and Robert Menendez, D-N.J., with a 92.8.

http://nj.nationaljournal.com/voteratings/

So we have 2 of the 3 most liberal Senators running on the Democrat ticket. This certainly will be fun.

[dude1394]

Originally Posted by jefelump

So we have 2 of the 3 most liberal Senators running on the Democrat ticket. This certainly will be fun.

Priceless.

[chumdawg]

The Obama camp probably wanted to roll him out yesterday, but McCain's elitist gaffe disafforded them of that opportunity. (Trust me, McCain will fight that one off from here till November.)

You and I both, I am sure, remember good ol' Joe and his unsuccessful presidential bids dating back to when we were teenagers. Those were the days when Jesse Jackson ruled the roost in the (impotent) Democratic party. Keep Hope Alive, and all that. Dukakis was the best they could do. Biden was a scrapper, even back then, but he was ahead of his time.

These days the old man has grey hair and some serious governmental chops. He ain't backing down from anybody. Yes, it will be quite intriguing to watch him take on the likes of the well-coiffed multi-millionaire Romney in the VP debates. Biden doesn't have Romney hair, that much is true. But he may pack a bigger punch.

And finally, "threadworn," "kooky," and "abrasive" are adjectives that may well be ascribed to John McCain before this thing is said and done. I don't think you will find very many hardcore Republicans who think their party chose the right man. Pat Buchanan, Fred Thompson, Jeb Bush, Christ? They all sit on the sidelines while the Democrat-in-Republican-clothing carries the torch.

[chumdawg]

Originally Posted by jefelump

So we have 2 of the 3 most liberal Senators running on the Democrat ticket. This certainly will be fun.

Good. Let's get more liberal. If we're going to spend money like the Bush administration spends it, we ought to at least have something to show for it.

[jefelump]

Originally Posted by chumdawg

Good. Let's get more liberal. If we're going to spend money like the Bush administration spends it, we ought to at least have something to show for it.

Whatever happened to the strategy of moving more towards the center, to appeal to the moderates and independents? Maybe that strategy is mired in the past too.

[chumdawg]

Originally Posted by jefelump

Whatever happened to the strategy of moving more towards the center, to appeal to the moderates and independents? Maybe that strategy is mired in the past too.

The further any one side gets from the center, the less impact the center has...or so the conventional wisdom would go. The problem for the Republicans is that they have stances that are way left of center, while the Democrats don't have many that are right of center, and so the center has shifted.

These days, to claim the center is to plant yourself on the left. That's why I say: Why not go liberal? Hell, everyone else is doing it.

[Flacolaco]

I still don't get why the VP matters at all.

Do they make policy and sign bills?

How often does that tie breaker vote get cast?

Talk about a non-issue...

[Kirobaito]

Originally Posted by chumdawg

The further any one side gets from the center, the less impact the center has...or so the conventional wisdom would go. The problem for the Republicans is that they have stances that are way left of center, while the Democrats don't have many that are right of center, and so the center has shifted.

These days, to claim the center is to plant yourself on the left. That's why I say: Why not go liberal? Hell, everyone else is doing it.

There was a poll done a few years ago that I'm sketchy on remembering the exact numbers on, but it said that about 39% of the country called themselves 'conservative', 19% 'liberal', and the rest 'moderate.' But the interesting part was that the answers for the 'liberals' and 'moderates' were basically the exact same.

Remember that next time Karl Rove tries to tell you that this is a 'center-right' country.

Originally Posted by flaco

I still don't get why the VP matters at all.

Do they make policy and sign bills?

How often does that tie breaker vote get cast?

Talk about a non-issue...

Al Gore and Dick Cheney sure as heck have had an influence on policy.

[chumdawg]

Originally Posted by Flacolaco

I still don't get why the VP matters at all.

Do they make policy and sign bills?

How often does that tie breaker vote get cast?

Talk about a non-issue...

Do they make policy? Well, I guess that depends on the particular VP. I doubt there are too many people who believe that Cheney didn't inform policy.

If you "still don't get why the VP matters all all" and think it's a non-issue, then I would suggeest that you aren't well informed enough on the matter to offer commentary. My recommendation would be to educate yourself on presidential politics and report back.

[Evilmav2]

The Obama camp probably wanted to roll him out yesterday, but McCain's elitist gaffe disafforded them of that opportunity. (Trust me, McCain will fight that one off from here till November.)

Possibly, but my gut tells me that Obama and the people around him originally intended to leak the identity of the veep late Thurs. or early Friday, but they had a little trouble making up their mind about whether to go with Bayh or Biden, so thats why the text message heard around the world is going to be fired on a lazy Saturday afternoon when lots of folks are out on the lake.

You and I both, I am sure, remember good ol' Joe and his unsuccessful presidential bids dating back to when we were teenagers. Those were the days when Jesse Jackson ruled the roost in the (impotent) Democratic party. Keep Hope Alive, and all that. Dukakis was the best they could do. Biden was a scrapper, even back then, but he was ahead of his time.

Biden is definitely a scrapper, and it will at least be entertaining to see him swing and swing and swing at McCain, but I'd guess that his act will wear thin after a month or so, whereas a motivated Hilary/Bill team would have been a far more effective barbed and mean tool to flay McCain and marginalize the Republican veep, if Obama and his people had been humble and wise enough to use it. Thankfully, that's not the case, and precisely because Joe has run for higher office repeatedly over the years, and always lost, I just don't think that most folks are really prepared to take him all too seriously, and I profoundly doubt that his particular blend of farm belt, big government subsidy populism and recently adopted shrill, opportunistic anti-war rhetoric is going to gain much traction with the general electorate.

That said, he's a tenacious, experienced campaigner and he will put up a fight (more than the far more personally likable Bayh would have in any case), but he will be lucky if McCain chooses a bland non-entity like Pawlenty as his VP foil, because then at least Biden will win in a comparison of experience and gravitas, whereas a Romney appointment will make him look small...

These days the old man has grey hair and some serious governmental chops. He ain't backing down from anybody. Yes, it will be quite intriguing to watch him take on the likes of the well-coiffed multi-millionaire Romney in the VP debates. Biden doesn't have Romney hair, that much is true. But he may pack a bigger punch.

And the bigger, more numerous hairplugs . If Romney does end up being Biden's veep foil, it will be fun to see them go at each other... Although, I actually think that Biden is one of the few fellas that the Obama team could have selected who is so combatatively abrasive, that Romney would have to try to reign in his nominal 'attack dog' role a little bit, just so he and his ticket look a bit more reserved and dignified than a never ending exchange of nastiness with Biden would be liable to make him (and again, by extension his ticket) look...

And finally, "threadworn," "kooky," and "abrasive" are adjectives that may well be ascribed to John McCain before this thing is said and done. I don't think you will find very many hardcore Republicans who think their party chose the right man. Pat Buchanan, Fred Thompson, Jeb Bush, Christ? They all sit on the sidelines while the Democrat-in-Republican-clothing carries the torch.

I do love my adjectives ...

That said, Pat Buchanan is an anti-semite, know-noting, isolationist, Nazi sympathizer piece of trash who has nothing to do with mainstream Republican party political thought or practice, but Big Fred threw his hat in the ring when he heard the call of his country, Jeb's got the wrong last name for this election cycle, and that other guy died for all of our sins , so with the exception of scum Buchanan, I'm not going to get to riled up about any of those fellas not keeping the Maverick off the national ticket (Big Fred did try- I should know considering the fact that I volunteered for the big fella)...

[chumdawg]

With every bit of due respect, EM, John McCain is a loser who attained to the nomination by dint of the Republicans' lack of wherewithal in putting forth a suitable candidate. Why did Guiliani not win the nomination? He's the candidate the GOP should have put forward.

John McCain is a loser. He lost in the early trials, just like he lost in every other trial he tried in his quest to turn his prison time into a stint in the White House. Only this time, the Reoublicans had no one else.

He's a fatally flawed candidate, as far as traditional Republicans are concerned. This is not yet a big factor in this campaign, as folks aren't paying much attention right now, but it will be.

The bottom line is that McCain looks SMALL when compared to his counterparts. There is nothing he can do to get over that. He looks small even when compared to Biden. If there is any parallel to 1988, it's that McCain is going to go down as effete and ineffective, just as Dukakis did.

[Evilmav2]

Well we've all got different opinions and philosophical masts that we tie ourselves to in the tempest of debate, and sometimes those opinions are proven to be correct and sometimes they sink in the drink. I may not always agree with you, CD old friend (as very pointedly stands the case in your preceding McCain=effete post), but I do very much respect the earnestness of your beliefs and arguments ...

[Flacolaco]

More of the same from all parties (myself included)

We always end up with why the other guy sucks, not why we like a guy.

Why do you like Obama? Which issues, which policies and stances? (I asked someone the other day IRL, and they said "because he talks good")

[Underdog]

Originally Posted by Flacolaco

I still don't get why the VP matters at all.

Do they make policy and sign bills?

How often does that tie breaker vote get cast?

Talk about a non-issue...

It's kinda like having a Ben Stiller cameo in a Will Farrell movie - throw him in the trailer and people will flock to see whatever piece of crap they're putting out...

[wmbwinn]

Biden brings a lot to the table. An expert on national security, the Delaware senator voted in 2002 to authorize military intervention in Iraq but has since become a vocal critic of the conflict. He won praise for a plan for peace in Iraq that would divide the country along ethnic lines.

Chief sponsor of a sweeping anti-crime bill that passed in 1994, Biden could help inoculate Obama from GOP criticism that he's soft on crime _ a charge his campaign fears will drive a wedge between white voters and the first black candidate with a serious shot at the White House.

So the question is whether Biden's depth counters Obama's inexperience _ or highlights it?

After all, Biden is anything but a change agent, having been in office longer than half of all Americans have been alive. Longer than McCain.

And he talks too much.

On the same day he announced his second bid for the presidency, Biden found himself explaining why he had described Obama as "clean."

And there's the 2007 ABC interview in which Biden said he would stand by an earlier statement that Obama was not ready to serve as president.

It seems Obama is worried that some voters are starting to agree.

http://www.newsmax.com/politics/veep...23/124268.html

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The TV ads should be fun showing Biden saying "Obama is not ready to serve as President".

[Evilmav2]

Originally Posted by wmbwinn

The TV ads should be fun showing Biden saying "Obama is not ready to serve as President".

http://hotair.com/archives/2008/08/2...cain-ad-biden/

[dude1394]

Ruh Roh... If the dems lost the media, they are in big trouble.

Analysis: Is Obama ready for world's toughest job?

By CHRISTOPHER WILLS, Associated Press Writer
Sat Aug 23, 4:14 AM ET

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Americans picking a president usually turn to people who have run states or armies. The biggest thing Barack Obama has ever run is his own presidential campaign.

The 47-year-old Illinois senator is asking voters to look beyond his thin resume and conclude that he has the wisdom and toughness to be president. The economy, terrorism, health care — he hopes voters will trust him with all that and more.

That's a lot to ask for someone who just a few years ago was an obscure member of the Illinois Legislature.
...
Emergencies aren't the only challenges for a new president. Obama would also face the unfamiliar task of overseeing a massive bureaucracy.

Obama plans to address that by filling his Cabinet with Washington experts — perhaps including Republicans. On Saturday he named Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware as his vice presidential running mate, balancing his ticket with a seasoned Washington veteran well-versed in foreign policy and defense issues.

[wmbwinn]

Originally Posted by Evilmav2

http://hotair.com/archives/2008/08/2...cain-ad-biden/

Thanks for that fast post EvilMav. That is just classical. Surely, Obama knew he would get hit with this before he selected Biden...
So, surely, he has a prepared response ahead of time...
Surely, Biden has some sort of "flip flop" statement about how well prepared Obama is and how bad a choice for America McCain is...

Just got to love American Politics....

Bunch of liars
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Republican presidential candidate John McCain called Biden, his longtime Senate colleague and friend, to congratulate him, McCain campaign spokesman Tucker Bounds said. "It was a brief conversation. They've known each other for years," he said.

McCain's campaign wasted no time to try to turn the choice against Obama, producing an ad featuring Biden's previous praise for McCain and comments critical of Obama from an ABC News interview last year. Biden had said he stood by an earlier statement that Obama wasn't yet ready to be president and "the presidency is not something that lends itself to on-the-job training."

"Biden has denounced Barack Obama's poor foreign policy judgment and has strongly argued in his own words what Americans are quickly realizing — that Barack Obama is not ready to be president," McCain campaign spokesman Ben Porritt said in a statement.

Some of Biden's Republican colleagues in the Senate praised the Delaware Democrat, including Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana. Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., called Biden "the right partner for Barack Obama" and the decision "good news for Obama and America."


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080823/..._pr/veepstakes

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Yes, it has become instant media and TV ad material. McCain may be friends with Biden. Actually, McCain agrees with Biden that Obama is not ready to lead the country...


And, we have McCain, Lieberman, and Biden all on record saying that Obama is not ready to lead the country...
Priceless

[mqywaaah]

I thought Barack chose JOE BUDDEN as his running mate. I was like "WTF?" Sorry. Biden Budden Biden Budden Biden Budden.

[Evilmav2]

Obama Epic Text Message Fail?

Media Gets Biden News Hours Before Supporters

By Patrick Ruffini, 08/23/2008 - 5:52am

Shortly after 3 AM on the east coast, the long-awaited text message from Barack Obama announcing Joe Biden had finally arrived. But it was something short of letting the cat out of the bag. At 10:50 pm on Friday night, ABC News confirmed that Biden was getting Secret Service protection. The first official confirmation that I could find came from CNN at 12:45 a.m. The promised "be the first to know" text message came a full two hours later.

What seemed like a brilliant exercise in media management devolved into a late night rearguard maneuver. All day Friday, the Twitterverse was on pins and needles waiting for their text message. (A number of us with iPhones probably jumped when we received one earlier in the day from AT&T promoting a software upgrade.) By 6 p.m., as the evening news cycle was closing, it was clear that no text message would come on Friday. The Obama campaign had kept the waiting game going for one more day. Again, seemingly brilliant.

But as Friday evening turned into night, it became apparent that the campaign was going to run into sequencing and logistics problems. Sure, the campaign could wait to send the message minutes before the nominee took the stage at the Old State Capitol in Springfield, Ill. But that ignored the fact that the nominee had to get to Springfield. And with the media camped out in front of each of their houses, how exactly were they going to do that without getting noticed?

Add to this the fact that text messages are best sent during the day or evening hours. Many mobile apps actually prevent you from sending messages after 9 or 10 pm or before 7 am in a given time zone. With the West Coast included, this limits the ideal time to send a message until late morning in the east.

So, the 3 AM message seemed unplanned, a response to the media's confirmation of the Biden pick. A number of people on Twitter reported being awakened by the message, never ideal.

The bottom line: by stringing everyone along, Obama's camp waited too long. They didn't coordinate the logistics of securing the nominee with the actual notification process. Though I'd love to think that the Secret Service would move in in response to a text, in the real world that probably isn't going to happen yet.

Not that I suspect the Obama campaign is crying over this. The Wall Street Journal reported that Obama netted 3 million cell phone numbers out of the deal.

http://www.techpresident.com/blog/en...ore_supporters

[Arne]

And some more CFR vice-presidents... Great.

[DirkFTW]

Was this 3AM text message one last dig at Hillary? =^O

[DirkFTW]

Originally Posted by Kirobaito

Ahem... osama bin laden. Perhaps it might not be so obvious.

Oops. Maybe it is.

[wmbwinn]

http://video.newsmax.com/?assetId=V2...mo_code=68A0-1

Check out two of the clips:
"The greatest speech I ever heard her give"

and

"Rasmusen Interview: No Way Clinton Should have Lost..."

Note, that Rasmusen is not at all allied to Newsmax or conservative causes...

[wmbwinn]

I believe the Democrats have suddenly developed a keen sense of humor.

John Edwards has been banned from making a speech at the Democratic National Convention for having an affair and lying about it.

Instead Bill Clinton will be speaking in his place!