Life in the reality warp...

[jducoeur]

I seem to be the only person I know who actually rather likes the choice of Biden as VP nominee. It's smart on a lot of levels, adding someone who I think provides good balance to the ticket, and even more importantly balance to the potential Administration. No, it's not the choice that the Progressive wing of the Democratic Party would have chosen -- which is exactly why I approve, and exactly why it was smart. Yes, he's a Washington insider -- *someone* had damned well better be, if they want to get things done. I may want refom, but it's only going to happen if they know how to work the system, very effectively; otherwise, they'll just get steamrollered by the entrenched interests.

And frankly, this afternoon's speeches were fun to watch. Biden definitely isn't the beautiful speech-maker that Obama is (he certainly lived up to his reputation there), but he had fire and spirit and the willingness to be politely ruthless that is absolutely needed if they're going to win in November. It was what I wanted to hear; moreover, it was what I *expected* to hear. Everyone's been fretting about "Oh, my god -- McCain is catching up in the polls!" Of *course* he was -- he's gone on the hard offensive, while the Obama campaign played rope-a-dope for a while. I think that ended today, with a Biden speech that was uncompromising, full of delicious sound-bites, and frankly made some damned good points.

One thing that only occurred to me today: the Democrats have just hurt Romney's chances of getting the VP nod. Their message was substantially focused on painting McCain as rich and out-of-touch, contrasting with two Democrats who come from much less exalted circumstances. Romney would just make that contrast worse -- not just two white guys, but two very *rich* white guys. The Democrats would be all over that, and I have to expect that the Republicans know that it's a danger...

Comments

[liamstliam.livejournal.com]

You have an excellent point.

But I think McCain would have been nuts to pick Romney anyway.

I suppose he's gonna lose Massachusetts anyway, but that would cinch it.

Romney's religion is as big an issue as Obama's race, McCain's age and Biden being an older white guy.

McCain has to go outside the box now. If he picked Jindal, I would vote for him. But he can't, because it would alienate his party.

[calygrey.livejournal.com]

I suppose he's gonna lose Massachusetts anyway, but that would cinch it.

Has Massachusetts ever gone Republican?

[liamstliam.livejournal.com]

I am sure it has at some point,

But I do remember in 1974 or so seeing "Don't blame me. I'm from Massachusetts" bumper stickers.

If McCain picks Romney, the entire state might vote for Obama.

[calygrey.livejournal.com]

In 1974 we were the single state to *not* vote for Nixon.

Reagan, we voted for Reagan. Twice. Here's a cool website with election results going back nearly forever: http://uselectionatlas.org/

[calygrey.livejournal.com]

....1972 that is.

[liamstliam.livejournal.com]

Right.

That is the bumper sticker I was talking about, which came out in 1974.

[jducoeur]

Yaas. I may dislike McCain's policies rather badly (and my lingering respect for him has been pretty well shattered by his pandering to the right wing). But I despise Romney with a passion that is hard to express...

[liamstliam.livejournal.com]

Ya know, Justin, we don't always agree on some topics, but we are together on Romney. ;)

[baron-steffan.livejournal.com]

My dislike of Romney is very gut-level. Yes, yes, they're all politicians, but Romney just strikes me as the ultimate slime-ball opportunist backslapper who would disembowel his grandmother if it got him a vote.

But still, there are a great many who don't share my view, and McCain/Romney would be a powerful ticket.

[jducoeur]

Oh, definitely. Fortunately, it would also be a vulnerable one...

[ckd]

In 1984, Reagan managed to win every state but Minnesota (Mondale also took DC). That's the most recent time Massachusetts has gone R.

Running mate

[new-man.livejournal.com]

A good choice for McCain would be Sarah Palin, the current governor of Alaska. She's young, female, and republican. And popular in her home state -- which doesn't count for much...

A second choice might be Judy Martz the former governor of Montana, ex-Olympic skater and Miss Rodeo Montana. If he just wanted to go populist ;-)

Re: Running mate

[liamstliam.livejournal.com]

I think both of them as a vice president would be great, so long as Palin doesn't get caught in the Ted Stevens' mess.

But would a woman fly politically?

Re: Running mate

[new-man.livejournal.com]

I think that a female VP would go a long way to counter some of the New! Different! edge that Obama has, without going so far as to alienate the bulk of the Republican party.

It might even pull some swing voters over to the Republican side -- including some of those passionate Clinton supporters who are looking for a place to go.

Re: Running mate

[jducoeur]

Yes, that's possible. The difficulty there will actually be a subtle one: they need a VP candidate who won't upstage McCain, and some of the female candidates might do so. If McCain chooses a running mate who makes him look *too* much like a kindly grandfather, it could backfire on him badly. His image is predicated on strength, and he can't afford to undercut that. So I don't consider a female running mate impossible, but he'll have to be careful about his choice and how the relationship works.

This relates to a problem with Romney that my mother pointed out to me yesterday: he's too *tall*. If you look at McCain and Romney together, McCain looks downright tiny, and that would be really, really bad for him. One of the points she made about Biden that hadn't even occurred to me is that he is almost exactly the same height as Obama, which is what you want in terms of visuals, and visuals matter...

[serakit.livejournal.com]

Why, exactly, is it such a big deal that Romney is a Mormon? I can see not liking him because he's an idiot, but because he's a Mormon?

[liamstliam.livejournal.com]

The same big deal that Obama is Black and McCain is so old.

It will be the deciding factor for a number of voters.

I think Romney's religion is a major issue, especially among Conservative Christians, who share his recent views but not his religion.

I have no issue with his religion.

But he was a horrible governor, so there's no way I vote for a ticket that includes him.

[jducoeur]

Remember, things are different among the most stridently religious. To a lot of Christian Fundamentalists, Mormons aren't just infidels, they're *heretics* -- preaching a corrupt version of Christianity. It's very common for heresy to be considered a lot worse than mere non-belief...