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Sunday, August 24. 2008
Biden and Jia: Both the Right Choices
Joe Biden. You gotta scratch your head.My thought was that Senator Joe Biden (D-DE) has a penchant for saying what’s on his mind. He talks when his brain should be putting his oral capacities on hold. It got him into trouble several times. Nothing too serious, since I can’t remember anything specific, but he’s put his foot in his mouth several times.
As a V.P. candidate, Biden would get to talking and, in the spirit of the moment, say something he shouldn’t say and that would be the main reason the Obama campaign wouldn’t pick Biden as the V.P. nominee. Turns out, the Obama people consider that an asset since the V.P. pick is the designated pitbull of the campaign.
Often, those “slips” of the tongue aren’t slips at all, but well placed truths no one else cares to breach. On his support of Amtrak, his mode of transportation when traveling in his area, he said, “This is absolutely bizarre that we continue to subsidize highways beyond the gasoline tax, airlines, and we don't subsidize, we don't want to subsidize a national rail system that has environmental impact.”
No kidding Joe, but the Republicans, subsidized by the energy and oil companies, don’t want to hear about the reality that is our addiction to fossil fuels — and more directly — our selfish desire to own our own modes of transportation and not have to depend on public transit.
Now that I’ve been depending on the Trusty Trek and the public transit system here in San Diego, it is bizarre to me that the light rail system, the trolley, hasn’t been extended north of Interstate 8. But the nimby’s, my former neighbors, are so selfish in their demands to not have public transit, there is no light rail into Kearny Mesa, Clairemont, Tierrasanta, Mira Mesa, Scripps Ranch, Rancho Peñasquitos, Rancho Bernardo and beyond. Not to mention the beach communities, which could really benefit from light rail.
And the public transit that does exist in those areas sucks — a lot.
Yeah, Joe Biden speaks his mind and he’s often right. That’s why he’s been one of my favorite politicians for the last two decades. What would America look like today if Biden had won the Democratic primaries in 1988? Would George H.W. Bush have won the presidency? Bush 41 was riding Ronald Reagan’s coattails and that carried a lot of weight with the voters, so who knows. Instead, we got a braniac whose best idea for a campaign ad was to ride in a tank. Well then, better Dukakis than Biden.
The Republicans had a 30-second spot ready for the announcement that Joe Biden would be Obama’s running mate; Biden saying, during one of the 114* Democratic debates, Obama wasn’t ready to be president. That was nearly a year ago and in the process of becoming the Democratic nominee, Obama has become ready to be president.
The common wisdom, as handed down by the pundits and politicians alike, is that whom the presidential nominee chooses as a running mate tells a lot about whether or not the candidate is ready to make presidential decisions. Nearly everyone who has commented on the choice of Joe Biden considers the decision to be a great one. There are a few who consider Biden to be the “least bad” choice, but most agree Joe Biden was the best choice.
Here’s a little chestnut about Senator Biden I just learned Saturday, his son Delaware Attorney General Captain Beau Biden, a Judge Advocate General in the Delaware National Guard, will be deploying to Iraq in October. Senator McCain’s son has deployed to Iraq as well, as has a niece of Senator Obama’s. All three have a personal stake in how Bush’s war plays out.
The one point that always rankled me about Senator Biden was that he voted to authorize Bush’s war in Iraq. He was one of the first to renounce his decision and even before the war actually started, Biden was one of those politicians who, despite bucking the public mood, began warning about the cost of the war and the likelihood our troops would be in Iraq a lot longer than the five months Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld were telling us at the time.
We’ve been in Iraq over five years now and what has changed? Besides the administration’s (and by extension, McCain’s) definition of “victory”? Nothing, really. The government of Iraq, such as it is, still is non-functioning, the people are still in a social and environmental disaster; they have limited water and even less electric power and the promise that Iraq’s oil would pay for everything has proven to be worse than just a fantasy — it was an outright lie.
This was all on Joe Biden’s mind six years ago and when he was speaking his mind, we as a people chose to ignore him and the others who were warning us about the realities of starting a war with Iraq.
Then of course, there are those who think Obama should have chosen Hillary Clinton. They won’t be happy regardless because they think New York’s junior senator should be the nominee, not Obama. Many of them won’t be voting for Obama or McCain, which is too bad. Obama wasn’t really in my top three choices for the primary and because two of the three had dropped out of the race before the California primary, Senator Clinton got my vote.
All 14, 15? 20? Democratic hopefuls were good candidates in my book, but now it’s down to Senator Obama. He has the right stuff, but if Biden had been in the race for the California primary, he would have got my vote. Well, now I will have the pleasure of voting for him in November.
This is a short one. Kind of, so …
In a week’s time I will be moving once again, back north to the old neighborhood. Close to it anyway. It will be welcome, although I’ll miss the multicultural area that is currently my home. I was actually beginning to learn a little Mexican Spanish! Like American English is to the Queen’s English, so is Mexican Spanish to the European version.
But, I’ll be among the friends I’ve had for most of the 15 years I’ve resided in San Diego and one of the lessons learned late in my life is that friends, their fellowship, is worth more than any material fortune. Absent family out here in San Diego, my friends have been my rock. I am truly a fortunate man.
On a more prurient note, May Cyber Girl Jia Lynn has been selected as September’s Cyber Girl of the Month. She was my choice, although I really like Heather Bauer.So, once again, a couple photos of Playboy’s September Cyber Girl of the Month, San Diego girl Jia Lynn. Click the pic.
San Diego Cyber Girls do it sunnier!
You wanna see the “good” photos and videos, subscribe to the Playboy Cyber Club. Get a yearly membership, it’s cheaper.
*I was exaggerating.
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