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Is Biden Hillary without the Baggage?
So here’s some of what Obama had to say about Biden this afternoon:
Time and again, he has made a difference for the people across this country who work long hours and face long odds. This working class kid from Scranton. . .has always been a friend to the underdog, and all who seek a safer and more prosperous America to live their dreams and raise their families. . . .
Joe Biden gets it. He’s that unique public servant who is at home in a bar in Cedar Rapids and the corridors of the Capitol; in the VFW hall in Concord, and at the center of an international crisis. That’s because he is still that scrappy kid from Scranton who beat the odds. . . . That’s the kind of fighter who I want by my side in the months and years to come.
That’s what it’s going to take to win the fight for good jobs that let people live their dreams, a tax code that rewards work instead of wealth, and health care that is affordable and accessible for every American family. That’s what it’s going to take to forge a new energy policy that frees us from our dependence on foreign oil and $4 gasoline at the pump, while creating new jobs and new industry. That’s what it’s going to take to put an end to a failed foreign policy that’s based on bluster and bad judgment, so that we renew America’s security and standing in the world.
You change the gender in those passages, and you could very well be describing Hillary Clinton — at least the Hillary presented to voters in the primaries. The parallels are so strong that they both have roots in Scranton. Biden is even a hero to women, thanks to his key role in authoring and securing passage of the Violence against Women Act, arguably the most important women’s rights legislation adopted in the past twenty years.
Biden is a compelling candidate on his own, one that complements Obama’s strengths without overwhelming them. There were a lot of reasons that he was a good choice for Obama. But it could very well be one of them was that Bidenbrings all the good things that Hillary would have, without any of the negatives (including Bill) that made the real Hillary such an unappealing alternative.
Nate Silver over at 538 doesn’t quite put it in the terms I do, but he does note that Biden’s positive numbers with Democrats are quite comparable to those of Hillary, and that he does much better with independents. That seems to confirm statistically what I suggest above.
Here’s what Hillary had to say about the choice:
In naming my colleague and friend Senator Joe Biden to be the Vice Presidential nominee, Senator Obama has continued in the best traditions for the Vice Presidency by selecting an exceptionally strong, experienced leader and devoted public servant. . . . Senator Biden will be a purposeful and dynamic Vice President who will help Senator Obama both win the Presidency and govern this great country.
Strong, experienced leader. Devoted public servant. Purposeful. Dynamic. All words that very well could have been used in describing Hillary. But why go with damaged goods when you can have her upside without the baggage?
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