What Biden Means By David Sirota

To: jmeaton@ns.sympatico.ca
Subject: What Biden Means
Date sent: Sat, 23 Aug 2008 14:49:56 -0400
From: David Sirota

http://action.credomobile.com/sirota/2008/08/what_ biden_means.html

What Biden Means

By David Sirota
Credo Action, 8/23/08

I was on Fox News this morning about what the Biden VP nomination
means. You can watch it here:

http://www.youtube. com/watch?v=K2U62uk5cZs

If you don't want to watch the clip, let me summarize my thoughts
with a quick rundown of the good, bad and ugly of Biden's nomination.

The Good: As the Drum Major Institute shows, Biden has a fairly
progressive record on basic economic issues, and has gotten more
progressive on specific issues like trade. He's also been a strong
voice opposing unilateral war against Iran. And rhetorically, he
seems comfortable painting a stark contrast between Democrats and
Republicans on issues.

The Bad: He is one of the most arrogant and conceited people in
Washington - one of the jokes in D.C. when I was there is that Biden
uses the term "I" more than anyone else. Because of this self-
importance, he consequently shoots his mouth off in ways that can
undermine progressives. For example, he has made insulting racial
comments about African Americans and Indians. This might not only be
dredged up by Republicans, but Biden may commit additional errors in
his new platform as VP nominee. Additionally, Biden is an insider's
insider, having spent most of his life in Washington, D.C. That
doesn't exactly underscore Obama's message of change.

The Ugly: He was one of the most ardent supporters of the credit card-
industry written Bankrupty Bill of 2005, which was one of the most
regressive pieces of economic legislation in the last generation. And
though he cites his foreign policy experience as an asset, he used
his position as one of Democrats' top foreign policy voices to
support the Iraq War.

So, all in all, the Biden choice is a shade on the good side of
mediocre, though Obama's willingness to anoint a senator who voted
for two landmark travesties - the Bankruptcy Bill and Iraq War -
gives us some disturbing clues about the Illinois senator's attitude
toward the economic progressive movement and the antiwar movement. It
also shows how much work those movements have in front of them - and
how, in particular, the antiwar movement's strategy of focusing all
attention on Republicans has actually helped create the situation
whereby the Democratic Party feels perfectly comfortable rewarding
supposed Serious Foreign Policy Voics like Biden even after they
voted for the war.
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