From The Associated Press:
Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., said Sunday he intends to run for president in 2008.
But Biden, who also sought the nomination in 1988, said he would give himself until the end of this year to determine if he really can raise enough money and attract enough support.
Is this the best that Democrats can do? Come on--Karl Rove would eat Biden for a breakfast appetizer! Back in the 1988 campaign, I believe Biden was accused in the press plagiarizing quotes from other politicians in his stump speeches. If he does run, the Republicans are going to pick over his speeches with a fine tooth comb. Biden is finished in the presidential race. There is no way he could win.
The Democrats are going to have to do better than that. The Democrats are going to have to find someone who is relatively unknown, but has the political and executive skills necessary for the office. They may select a well-known individual, such as Hillary. However, selecting a well-known individual, as Hillary, would also bring along that individual's record, faults, and their own political enemies, of which the Republicans can certainly exploit. The Democrats are really going to need to find another Bill Clinton-like character, without Clinton's womanizing flaws. An individual who can galvanize the country with fresh new ideas and new hopes for the country. This individual has to be ready to fight down and dirty against the Republicans, while at the same time appear to remain above the crass and political mud-slinging that will take place in 2008. This individual also needs to have sharp policy differences in issues that oppose the Republican Party's viewpoint--no more "Me too" answers regarding Iraq. This country is at a major crossroads, similar to what the country had faced in 1968, when opposition started to form against the Vietnam war. We are certainly starting to see some opposition to the war in Iraq, but the opposition is fragmented and subdued. A charismatic Democratic nominee with a sharp policy difference in Iraq, can present a clear and different pathway for the American voters.
Let's hope the Democrats can find that kind of individual.
Monday, June 20, 2005
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Wissy: Thank you for the comment. A McCain/Frist ticket is a fantasy ticket--I'm sorry to say. McCain has been a maverick Republican who has angered some of his own constituents in the Republican Party, namely the Religious Right regarding abortion. That's his big liability, considering the stranglehold that the Religious Right has over the Republican Party platform. Of course it is also a big asset in that McCain's maverick views have attracted both the moderates and independents, hence the 59% approval rating among Democrats.
The second part of the fantasy is Bill Frist. Frist has been playing a lackey for every policy position and legislation that President Bush had wanted to push through Congress. Remember the nuclear showdown on the Democratic filibuster of Bush's federal appeals court judicial nominees? That whole incident was a means for Frist to court the Religious Right for his own presidential bid in 2008. Frist may just be Karl Rove's protege, unless Jeb Bush decides to run in 2008. If McCain and Frist ever ran against each other in 2008, the Religious Right is going to choose Frist over McCain any day.
I will say, I do like the idea of a McCain president / Biden vice-president (or another Democratic VP candidate). That would be a very strong, centrist ticket that would attract moderates from both parties, as well as independents. It would certainly restore some of the bipartisanship that is sorely lacking between the two parties. It would re-energize the debate as well as the American public's interest in politics--who knows, it may even increast the voter turnout.
Talk about a fantasy ticket.
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