Joe Biden has spent a long time waiting for his ship to come in. I began my teaching career at California State University San Bernardino where, in 1987 as I recall, I lectured on the demise of the Biden for president campaign. It was discovered that one of Biden's speeches "plagiarized" a speech by Neil Kinnock, the leader of the British Labor Party. I told my students that the charge was bogus, and I still think so. Speeches are, of course, often written up in advance; but they are essentially oral presentations and as such cannot be held to the same standards as published writings. It is a little embarrassing if one's eloquent words are revealed to have been borrowed from someone else's speech, or from the theme song for The Jeffersons, but it isn't a crime or a sin. Then it was revealed that Biden had plagiarized a law review article in a paper he wrote in law school. That was a sin, at least, and it brought down Biden's 1988 chances. If I remember this right, Biden required brain surgery around this time. One of my students said: "maybe they are removing another embarrassing story!" I thought that was in poor taste. I also laughed like a hyena.
So is Biden a good pick? My colleague, Professor Schaff, has a simple rule for VP picks: "do no harm." It's hard to argue with that. If you don't believe Schaff, ask Bush 41 about Dan Quayle. It is quite true, and everyone seems to be saying it now, that people don't vote for VP. But it can give some juice to the ticket. I think Reagan's choice of George the elder helped reassure people that Reagan was reasonable, as did Bill Clinton's choice of Al Gore. That, I suppose, is why Obama chose Biden. Biden brings experience and at least a little gravitas to the ticket. It also means that McCain has to choose a VP who can match Biden in debate. But that's about all.
There's another consideration: home state advantage. It's true that a VP cannot deliver his state (see Lloyd Bentsen and Texas); but he might if the contest is close. Tim Kaine or Mark Warner might have tipped Virginia in a very close race. Biden gets Obama Delaware. If he has to fight for Delaware, the game is over. And consider that the choice of an older, establishment politician flies in the face of Obama's case for office: with Joe Biden, you aren't getting change.
The choice of Biden means that the Obama organization is in panic mode just now. Obama's failure to pull away from McCain, and his apparent weakness just before the convention, has convinced him that there is a hole in his swing. Maybe Biden will plug it. I have my doubts.
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