Blue Collar Muse

It would seem to be so obvious as to not need saying that the best advocate for the Barack Obama campaign is Barack Obama.  Ditto for John McCain.  That being the case, it seems a no brainer that there would be controversy surrounding things a candidate says.  That particular sword, however, cuts both ways.  If the candidate is saying good things, newsworthy things, appropriate things - the candidate gets good press.  On the other hand, if the candidate says ignorant things, stupid things, ill advised things - the candidate is going to get lots of press, likely of an undesireable variety.

Which brings us to the case of recent comments by Barack Obama.  A few days ago, speaking to George Stephonopolous on matters of faith, Obama referred to his own faith as “my Muslim faith”.  Yesterday, Obama made a reference to the old saw about “lipstick on a pig”.  Both comments drew immediate fire from the Right and the national debate was joined.

Let me say at the outset that there is politics happening on both sides of the comment controversies.  Discussion on the Right is that Obama has finally admitted that he is a Muslim and not a Christian and that he also has insulted Sarah Palin by calling her a pig.  The Left has countered that the comments were taken out of context and that the other side is making mountains out of molehills.

For the record, I think the Left has a strong case when they argue the comments are being taken out of context.  When the entire section of video is viewed for both comments as opposed to just the 5 second soundbites, it is clear that the Muslim remark was a mere slip of the tongue of the variety we’ve all made.  The terms “Muslim” and “Christian” were both in the discussion and the wrong one came out connected to his faith.  The lipstick comment was a wrap up of a discussion of Obama’s spin on McCain’s views and seems to be an appropriate use of the phrase.  In this context, the Obama campaign should get a pass on the Muslim comment at least.  The lipstick comment is more problematic.

Because the real problem for Obama isn’t what he said, it’s that he said it at all!  The biggest complaint coming out of the Obama campaign over the last couple of days apart from the comment dustup is that Sarah Palin has not been interviewed by the media or let loose to speak freely.  What Obama understands is that speaking publicly like that can be a very treacherous undertaking.  They want Palin out and on tape so they can do to her what the Right is doing to Obama.  Be it on policy or a verbal misstep, the Obama campaign wants the same exposure for Palin that Obama has been subject to.  The problem, of course, is there is no guarantee Palin will be accomodating and provide the desired ammunition for her own political assassination at the hands of a cruel and amoral Left.

During the time frame in which Obama made the remarks for which he is being pilloried, Biden, McCain and Palin have all been on the stump.  Owing to his proven history over decades, smart money was on Biden as the guy most likely to say stupid things in front of a camera.  So far he has not although there’s a storm gathering around his comments on stem cell research and special needs children.  Nor have McCain or Palin provided any verbal gaffes.  But Obama has and that’s a problem.  There maybe an explanation for what he actually meant.  But there is no denying that he said what he said.  It’s a problem for him now and these two comments may follow him for a long while.  If he continues to add to them it is not going to get any better, regardless of the spin and explanation that come out of Obama’s campaign.   One need only look at the consequences of one word, “Macaca”, to understand the import of Obama’s mistakes.

Obama is squandering his reputation as a good speaker while tightly scripted and living down to his reputation as a poor spontaneous speaker.  The occasional slip of the tongue as evidenced by the “my Muslim faith” comment will tend to be less damaging.  Everyone has done that and we understand.  However, while Obama can legitimately claim his remarks about pigs and lipstick concerned John McCain, if he expects that anyone with a scintilla of intelligence will not make the connection between his comments and Palin’s comments then he’s not as sharp a knife as he would have us believe.

For whatever reason, Obama chose that phrase as opposed to any one of several others that would have illustrated the same point.  Thus he can try and explain his meaning but he cannot realistically say he didn’t understand his comments would be taken as a swipe at Palin.  Not personal - he wasn’t calling her a pig.  But it strains credulity to the breaking point to ask me to believe he wasn’t trying to connect the popularity of Palin and her lipstick comment and take away some of the power and popularity of Palin’s words.

I don’t fault him for doing that.  It’s smart politics.  But such efforts don’t always work.  This one didn’t.  Obama and his campaign need to look for better attacks or just give up the practice if they cannot stop doing it so badly.  Obama has enough negative baggage on his record and the issues without adding to the ammunition his opponents will use against him by handing them bullets and helping them load the gun.  Obama can try to explain away his missteps but it’s clearly a losing fight.  As Obama has famously said, you can put lipstick on a pig - but it’s still a pig!

Blue Collar Muse

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I like Elizabeth’s take on this one at E!! The True Conservative Story.

I am really surprised. I think it’s a bad choice. Which I’m happy about, but Wow, what a poor choice. Obama’s camp seems to get dumber by the minute.

Of all the names I saw floated over the last few weeks there was one name that I consistently wondered about. Biden’s. Of all the people Obama could have chosen, or even have on his short list, I’m of the opinion that Biden was both the weakest and the one that deserved being there the least.

I understand Biden brings a bit of experience and longevity to the ticket. Obama desperately needs exactly that. Biden, as Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee can provide that. It is, however, incomprehensible to me that Obama evidently ignored the rest of the experience and longevity Biden brings along. Biden’s personal charm, talents and charisma aside, he has considerable baggage that would speak against him being on the ticket for practical and political reasons. How the Obama camp missed these is beyond me. I offer a short list for your consideration.

Despite having years to learn and know better, Biden has way too many political mis-steps and gaffes in his past to be anything other than a ticking time bomb for Obama’s campaign. Oldest and highest on the list is Biden’s now famous bout with plagiarism which arguably cost him the Democratic nomination for President in a campaign against Michael Dukakis in the late 80s. The most recent was just two days ago when, instead of choosing political dissembling, Biden simply lied to journalists about his place in the Veep-Stakes.  Plagiarists are cheats and thieves. We can now add liar or stupid to the list.  This is who Obama wants to stand by his side and represent change?

When choosing a running mate, one generally looks to add a person to the ticket that will attract voters; both from your own ranks and from the Center. Biden has a long history of flirting around the race for President on the Democratic side. His best showing and opportunity was 20 years ago in the 1988 race. The very one he imploded in due to the plagiarism charges mentioned above. Since then, while a perennial hanger-on, he has never been seriously considered or accepted by the Democratic Party where it counts, at the ballot box. His popularity among Democrats in the 2008 race was so dismal he dropped out of the race immediately after the Iowa Caucus, mere hours following the very first test of candidate acceptability. Biden hasn’t been attractive to Democrats for decades. How is he going to help Obama now?

Finally, when choosing a running mate it always helps to have someone who is more interested in running on your ticket than he is on the ticket from the other side. The buzz in the Tubes this morning is how quickly the McCain camp got this video together. It’s obvious they had video prepared for a number of possibilities and probably got their dream pick. See for yourself.

There will be more on both Obama and Biden in the weeks ahead. Suffice it to say that for the moment, I feel confident Obama’s pick has stunned the political world. Neither side can believe the choice. The Left will try and spin this as a great pick. The Right is already all over it “like a duck on a June bug” as they say here in the South.  Given that metaphor is a picture of a predator snapping up a tasty treat, it is also quite appropriate.  At the end of the day, I cannot conceive of a worse pick for Democrats and a better one for Republicans than Joe Biden. But the choice is made and we move to the next step in the process. Time will tell.

Blue Collar Muse

SEE ALSO:

I Wuz Wrong by Joltin’ Django at Nigh Seen Creeder.

Biden is Obama’s VP Pick by Craig T at The Roundtable.

Profile of Joe Biden by Ned Williams at Wisdom is Vindicated.

Thank You Barack (It’s Biden) by David Oatney at The World According to Oatney.

Senator Joe Biden is Obama’s Pick at The Median Sib.

Drudge: Blue Dress :: Hurtt: Biden by Matthew Hurtt.

The Obamessiah Picks Blue-Eyed, White Devil as Running Mate by Preston Taylor Holmes at Six Meat Buffet.

Joe Biden: A Brilliant Pick by Sadcox at Hear It From Us.

Obama Picks Biden by #9 at Say Uncle.

Joe Biden is Not a Moderate - Look to His Record by Toni at Bear Creek Ledger.

Joe Biden’s Rating: National Taxpayer’s Union by Ben Cunningham at Taxing Tennessee.

Joe Biden: Why Hide this Pick? by Katherine Miller at Right Wing Vitriol.

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