I don’t know if Joe Biden is still planning to run for president or not, and I don’t give him a snowball’s chance in hell of winning more Democratic delegates than Hillary Clinton, but at least he now has the best slogan in the game.
TIME: How did you try to square the Vice President’s public image with his negotiating record?
ERIC CANTOR: Joe Biden is what you see. You know, he’s genuine. Yes, he’s prone to gaffes publicly, and he’ll admit that. He’s very self-deprecating like that. And I’m certainly not one who agrees with Joe Biden on all things—we probably disagree more than we agree—but from a human and relationship standpoint, the guy’s awesome.
It’s really a perfect slogan because it taps right into the key thing about Joe Biden. He’s smart, but he isn’t the smartest. He has all the knowledge he needs, but not always the best judgment. He’s a very good politician, but he’s known to go off the reservation. He’s next in line, but maybe a bit too old. He’s a solid liberal, except on these three key things.
When it comes to Biden as a presidential candidate it is always, “yes, but…”
And the voters sense that and he’s always the second or third choice.
What actually sells Biden is Biden. Don’t look at the external stuff like his worst votes or his biggest gaffes or his age or some stupid thing he advocated. Just look at the man. You can’t help but like him. He’s a good dude, and even a viper like Eric Cantor can’t help but recognize that fact. Cantor knows he’s awesome, and he’s awesome enough that Cantor doesn’t even mind admitting it in print. Cantor gets nothing out of making such an admission but its the debt he owes Biden and he’s willing to pay it.
Vote for Joe. He’s Awesome.
It’s such much better and truer than “Joementum.”
Yes, of course I am being tongue-in-cheek here. The reality is that having a great slogan isn’t enough. There are good reasons why Biden is always the second or third choice. But if you want to highlight his strongest point against a behemoth like Team Clinton, it’s who he is.
With Joe, what you see is what you get, and what you get is pretty great. With an electorate that is used to chameleons like Mitt Romney and Al Gore, that’s a pretty strong point.
Outside of his awfulness on the War on {Some} Drugs, I would agree. Joe is awesome.
Don’t forget that he was known as The Senator from MBNA. Speaking of which, are they still around or did ’07/’08 kill that company off?
I recall BoA buying MBNA well before that period. But I find it too depressing to look it up.
Nothing like a septuagenarian that was instrumental in getting the “Bankruptcy Protection …Act” passed and supported the war on drugs, ME wars, and NSA spying to excite the liberal youth vote. Of course on those issues, Hillary is equally dreadful.
Telling them that they are stupid didn’t work in 2000, 2010, or 2014. Sounds like something the Democratic Party wants to try again in 2016.
Wait.
You just did exactly what I told you not to do. 😉
Joe Biden was not, in fact “instrumental in getting the “Bankruptcy Protection …Act” passed. Certainly not anymore than anyother Senator that voted for it.
The blame for THAT particular turd lies with Biden’s colleague from Delaware, Tom Carper who introduced and co-sponsored the bill: https://votesmart.org/bill/3384/bankruptcy-reform-bill#.VGUWpTTF-1Y.
Joe Biden voted for it, but it’s Carper who was “instrumental”, and Biden has always been blamed for Carper’s misdeed.
Biden voted “yea” on the predecessor 2000 version (that was before Carper was in the Senate). Why would he have needed to follow the lead of the jr. senator in 2005? Seems equally, if not more, plausible that Carper was doing Biden’s bidding than the other way around.
In their own words and votes are here. Claiming that Biden wasn’t involved in the 2005 act is false. He didn’t even vote with his fellow Democratic Senators on amendments they offered to make it less draconian.
And Jon Tester gets saddled with the DSCC. Maybe a Senator from a small state can get better candidates in small states (because winning them without losing the large states is half of the battle).
My journey out into forced cable TV at the store land tells me the Wall Street media are seeking the coup de grace on Obama. Absolutely horrible on facts and hyper on conflict. Cheering on the Turtle. Saying that the majority of the public wants Mitch to stop Obama. Awful stuff.
Yep, Joe’s so authentic that his rivals kicked him out a presidential contention with a plagiarism charge–on a bad speech. But if he does do the big dance and gets to the general, his advisers will rein him in like they’ve done every other candidate.
Heaven help us if any candidate runs for an actual mandate from voters anymore.
And Jon Tester gets saddled with the DSCC.
Tester wanted it, for what ever reason. A “red” state running that org? Ugh!!
My understanding is that Tester was a working farmer when elected. Maybe he can tell us why farmers vote Republican and what to do about it (referencing a thread from yesterday).
iirc Tester was an organic farmer. Closer to the white rural voter than white collar urban/suburban dwellers but might not to be close enough.
Closer “to” or closer “than”. We really need a way to edit these posts.
Tester is closer to the rural white voter than most Democratic politicians that have an urban/suburban voter base. But thought it was clear enough the way I originally phrased it.
Why is it that Joe Biden is the first in his family ever to go to a university? Is it because I’m the first Biden in a thousand generations to get a college and a graduate degree, that I was smarter than the rest?
Mmmmmmmmmmm. It was the New Deal and the prosperity of the 1950s.
I’m the first of my family to go to a university. And I’m younger than Joe.
It’s the prosperity that does that. And that was created by sound government policies for a while.
Well, merely quoting Joe’s own words … er, Neil Kinnock’s.
I also like the modest boast about a “thousand generations.” Not just a mere thousand years. Which apparently also wasn’t true, as Joe later admitted.
I shouldn’t beat up on the guy too much for an incident so long ago for which he paid a political price. But I still shake my head at that one, coming from a seemingly straightforward guy who’d by then been in the US senate 15 years.
I guess because he hung around long enough — like ugly buildings, whores and politicians — he eventually became respectable enough again to be at least considered for the top spot.
I like Ride or Die Joe.
Thing is Joe Biden the guy is an internet punchline. Its hard to take Joe Biden the guy seriously.
Joe has first right of refusal for my support. If he asks for it then he’ll have it, but I’m not gonzo for anyone.