biden and published opinion
by Mark Hunter Mulvey
Published: August 25, 2008
“Too often we… enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.” - John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1917-1963)
“Be extremely subtle, even to the point of formlessness. Be extremely mysterious, even to the point of soundlessness. Thereby you can be the director of the opponent’s fate.” - Sun Tzu, Chinese General (b. 500 BC)
Democrats’ reactions to Barack Obama’s running-mate selection have been so varied that one wonders what the common thread is that ties these citizens to the same political party in the first place. As we speak, the press corps is frantically logging hundreds of instances of both praise and vitriol from highly-charged voters in an attempt to pull out some kind of consensus of thought. It is not working. At all.
iReport.com has compiled a selection of opinions that illustrates this: a cross section of American comments about Joe Biden as Obama’s VP. The results range from the disappointed Hillary supporters who will no longer be voting along party lines, to a lifelong Republican who will now be voting Democratic for the first time in her life.
Some comments illuminate innate confusion (”While I have nothing against Joe Biden, I am disgusted, and for the first time ever, I have no clue who to vote for.” Personally, I have never recalled a time when I felt such animosity toward a man I admitted to having “nothing against.”), while others are deft in their assessment of Obama’s possible motive behind his choice (”All that Obama has managed to do with this pick is alert the world that John McCain is right: He does have a glaring weakness in foreign policy.”).
The most illuminating opinion comes from McCain himself, who has publicly declared Biden “a very wise selection.” He continues, “I know that Joe will campaign well for Senator Obama, and so I think he’s going to be very formidable.” Though seemingly good-natured and full of good sportsmanlike-conduct, McCain’s words should sound alarms for Obama’s brain trust. Never trust a rival who supports your decisions, in politics or otherwise. When was the last time you won a game of tic-tac-toe after your playground opponent smiled at your last move?
McCain likely believes that Biden will do slightly more harm than good to Obama’s campaign, though it’s difficult to tell why. The most popular opinion against Biden is his epic history in the U.S. Senate, which some say contradicts (and impedes) Obama’s commitment to change. As Amy Quillen states in the iReport poll, “He picked Biden because of his experience, which sounds logical, but how is he going to change with a certified member of old Washington on the ticket?” But I believe Amy is missing the point: more often than not, change is a gradual process that requires a conduit. A tremendously effective case-in-point is here.
The smartest move a political figure can do is to befriend, listen to and embrace that which they seek to change. One needs to sugar-coat initiative to make it easier to swallow, and Obama seems to understand this. Biden could help him through the mental door of those who can’t let go of Obama’s youth. America is seeing a candidate gearing up for a subtle, nuanced run at change that is diametrically opposed to the brutally inefficient methods used by our current administration.
Or: McCain knows something that the public does not. Perhaps most Democrats in America actually prefer a clash of ideals that sees opposing parties attacking with blazing swords, and were eager for an exclamatory Democratic ticket rather than the curiously balanced one we received. Which, if true, means that Democrats and Republicans may have more in common than previously assumed.
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August 26th, 2008 at 3:42 pm
The Obama/Biden ticket has to be the greatest political let down in history! He should’ve picked a female. He should’ve picked a younger man. He should’ve picked anyone but Joe “The Old White Guy Career Washington Insider” Biden. I thought his campaign was inevitable. Not anymore.