Last week Fox News ran 2 hour long documentaries on each candidate in what they called “Character and Conduct”.
First up was Obama:
Then McCain:
Elections
New McCain ad targets Hillary voters (video)
Obama’s worst VP choices (humor)
Joe Biden on experience and the GOP nominee (flashbacks)
Biden ran this commercial in 1988 during his first attempt at being president:
Narrator: The White House isn’t the place to learn how to deal with international crisis, the balance of power, war and peace, and the economic future of the next generation. A President has got to know the territory, but that’s not enough. To win the White House, the Democratic nominee had better have a crystal clear vision of what the Democratic Party stands for. Of what the dream is and how we keep it alive. Joe Biden sees the Presidency as a pulpit from which America sets an example for the world. He believes that developing nations once saw America as more than a place; They saw us as an idea; A goal to reach for. He knows that they’ve lost confidence in us; that they see us losing our way; our resolve; our ideals. Joe Biden thinks it’s time to remind the world of what America stands for. Freedom. Equality. Justice. Opportunity. He thinks it’s time to put courage over compromise. Time to express America’s outrage once again towards repression, brutality, violence, the abuse of human dignity around the world, and if the sparks fly, so be it…
Clearly parallels can be drawn from Bidens stance then and his running mate at the top of the tickets lack of experience in government today. Thing is… Biden already made this parallel himself…
Yes, Joe Biden previously said Obama is not ready to serve as President when he said to ABC’s George Stephanopoulos: “You were asked is he ready. You said ‘I think he can be ready, but right now I don’t believe he is. The presidency is not something that lends itself to on-the-job training.'” Sen. Biden: “I think that I stand by the statement.” (ABC’s, “This Week,” 8/19/07)
- Biden: “If the Democrats think we’re going to be able to nominate someone who can win without that person being able to table unimpeachable credentials on national security and foreign policy, I think we’re making a tragic mistake…” (Sen. Joe Biden, “The Diane Rehm Show,” 8/2/07)
- Biden: “Having Talking Points On Foreign Policy Doesn’t Get You There.” (“Biden Lashes Out At Obama,” ABC News’ “Political Radar” Blog, blogs.abcnews.com, 8/2/07)
The McCain campaign ushered out an attack ad on the day of the VP announcement that included Biden speaking warmly about John McCain. Turns out there is more of that as well…
Biden Said President Bush Should Have Followed John McCain’s Foreign Policy Lead Following The September 11, 2001 Attacks. Biden: “I mean, look, the president had a choice and it was a tough choice when he came–when 9/11 occurred. He could either listen to the advice Colin Powell and Shinseki and most of the uniformed military, and John McCain as well, and Dick Lugar and others, or choose the advice of the vice president, secretary of State–the secretary of Defense and others, and he chose the wrong advice, and this–I think we need a fresh start to be able to gain any momentum on this war on terror, and I don’t think we’re going to see any change–I’d feel a lot better if I knew that President Bush was going to be elected–and I’m not being solicitous–if I knew he was going to start to listen to John McCain instead of the secretary of Defense, because they have totally different–no, I shouldn’t say totally–many–have very different views of how to proceed. And so I think you’d see a difference in the way how you prosecute the war in Iraq. I think you’d see a difference in how you dealt with homeland security. And I think you’d see a difference in terms of the cooperation with other nations in terms of getting the consensus on how to deal with controlling chemical, biological, nuclear weapons.” (CBS’s, “Face The Nation,” 10/31/04)
Biden Praised McCain’s Early Call For More Troops In Iraq. Biden: “And so I’ve believed for a long time, a view shared by my Republican colleague John McCain and many others as well, that we need more force in Iraq. That’s not a popular position to take. But we need more force now in order to have less force later. We need to gain control of security in Iraq.” (Sen. Joe Biden, To The Center For Strategic And International Studies Policy Forum, Washington, DC, 4/15/04)
In 2005, Biden Even Said He’d Be Honored To Run On The Same Ticket As John McCain. Comedy Central’s Jon Stewart: “You may end up going against a Senate colleague, perhaps McCain, perhaps Frist?” Biden: “John McCain is a personal friend, a great friend, and I would be honored to run with or against John McCain, because I think the country would be better off — be well off no matter who…” Stewart: “Did I hear, Did I hear with?” Biden: “You know, John McCain and I think…” Stewart: “Don’t become cottage cheese my friend. Say it.” Biden: “The answer is yes.” (Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” 8/2/05)
The GOP has put together an entire page of these already…
Background on Biden and what happens now
The AP summarizes his history:
The chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Biden is one of the most influential foreign policy voices in Congress. An internationalist and strong supporter of the United Nations, he is a leading critic of what he sees as the vague, unilateralist approach of President Bush.
Biden voted in 2002 to authorize the Iraq invasion, which Obama opposed from the start. Since then, he’s become a firm critic of the conflict and pushed through a resolution last year declaring that Bush’s troop increase—now considered a military success—was “not in the national interest.”
One of the youngest politicians ever elected to the Senate—he was 29—Biden entered the 1988 Democratic presidential primary promising to “rekindle the fire of idealism in our society.” He reluctantly quit the race three months later after he was caught lifting lines from a speech by a British Labour Party leader.
In his latest effort, Biden proved to be a cheerful campaigner who mixed easily with voters, got along with rivals and displayed a self-deprecating sense of humor that leavened debates and speeches. When he was asked in one debate whether he’s much too wordy, he drew laughs with a one-word answer, “No.”
Long time Mitt supporter Hugh Hewitt says McCain must counter with Romney:
Romney, of course. The same factors in Romney’s favor — pull in Michigan, Nevada, Colorado and New Hampshire, the energy brought by his organization– are still there, but the pick of Biden calls for a very experienced debater as the only thing Slow Joe has going for him is the thousand or so primary season debates he has under his belt. Romney has the same sort of experience in the one setting where the veep nominees get the nation’s undivided attention.
There is also the stark contrast between Romney’s experience outside of politics –business and the Olympics– and the emerging success of his health care program in MA and the 36 years of all talk all the time from Biden. McCain’s enormous record of sacrifice and achievement already show up Obama’s thin life experience. If Biden is compared to Romney on the basis of the accomplishments of the past 30 years, the argument is over before it begins.
The fall campaign is shaping up as one of substance and achievement versus hot air; of seriousness on subjects such as the war, energy and growing the economy versus endless speechifying and gaffes.
On day of Biden pick for VP, criticism unleashes in first wee hours of the day
Well, we’ve only known for a few short hours that he is the running mate pic, but this flash poll finds that Biden doesn’t help Obama. We’re also not sure how to read this response of Hillarys’, seeming to say Gosh, I’m all kinds of excited about this Joe Biden pick.
Previously, we at Candidates blog declared in a video roundup, Joe Biden: Gaffe Machine (click to watch his more entertaining lines).
ABC has also compiled this A handy dandy reference guide to Biden’s dumbest moments.
Kaus says “He doesn’t have gravitas. He has seniority.” and the McCain camp was prepared for the announcement and put out this ad immediately following the official declaration:
The most popular liberal blog on the internet, the Daily Kos, has this little flashback to reconcile now: “[I]f we live in a just world, this will be the end of Joe Biden’s political career”
More from the web:
BIDEN, NATIONAL SECURITY VETERAN…
HEADING FOR DENVER...
'I THINK I HAVE A MUCH HIGHER IQ THAN YOU DO'...
Fournier: Biden pick shows lack of confidence...
Democratic praise, GOP criticism...
So it’s come to this: John McCains Real Estate is now a campaign issue
Taking the opportunity to slam old man Mac as an out of touch old-white-guy to finally fire back at Mac’s ads slamming Obama as an out of touch young-inexperienced-popceleb, the Obama camp made this negative ad about McCain:
Interesting fun fact on the REAL number of houses John McCain owns? total number: zero.
John McCain’s family owns at least eight properties — not the seven Democrats are alleging or the four McCain’s staff identified — according to a Politico analysis of property and tax records, as well as interviews.
The presumptive Republican nominee, though, may have some wiggle room in explaining why he couldn’t immediately provide an answer when asked by Politico how many houses he and his wife, Cindy, own. Sen. McCain himself does not own any of the properties. They’re all owned by Cindy McCain, her dependent children and the trusts and companies they control. …
Politico’s analysis of the McCain records found that five of the eight properties were purchased between the summer of 2004 and this February, for a total of $11 million. And the analysis found that the McCains hired additional household help in 2007.
The five new properties are all condominiums, and they include three in Phoenix — one of which became the couple’s primary Phoenix residence after a Cindy McCain family trust in 2006 sold for $3.2 million the house in which they raised their children — and a pair outside San Diego.
The new properties joined three previously owned by Cindy McCain, her dependent children and their trusts: a scenic ranch outside Sedona, Ariz., where John McCain has entertained staff, prospective running mates and political reporters; a three-bedroom Arlington, Va., condo that’s been John McCain’s Washington-area residence since 1993; a La Jolla, Calif. condo that is home to Cindy McCain’s elderly aunt and on which the trust recently paid nearly $7,000 in back taxes.
McCains response to the Obama ad? you got “housing problems” of your own, buddy…
Update: the Hot Air blog picked up on this too and notes The McCains have a pre-nuptial agreement that separates their finances. The “homes”, as Barack Obama and his campaign put it, are mostly investment properties in Cindy McCain’s trust. Since John McCain has no involvement in his wife’s business affairs, he would have little knowledge of the assets in her portfolio.
Obama’s response? Not so great, but hopefully only because they have something better in the works. Their response ad basically just repackages the first with some sweet footage of Mac scootering around in a golf cart with Pappa Bush.