Joe Biden: Obama’s Catholic gamble?
By choosing the longtime senator insider and foreign policy expert, Joe Biden, as his running mate, Barack Obama got a well-respected congressional insider to help his prospective legislative agenda as well as sharp-spoken (too much, at times–but good for a veep) campaigner and an opponent of Bush’s foreign policy whose own son is set to be deployed to Iraq. That’s a strong combo.
But with Biden, Obama is also gambling that having a Catholic on the ticket will draw in some of the fence-sitting Catholics whose votes will be key to success in November. Peeling away a few evangelical votes, or hoping for a low turnout by the Christian right, is a prayer. As I wrote here at Beliefnet, the white, suburban evangelicals who are the bedrock of the GOP election strategy may respect Obama, at best. But he’s not a member of the tribe, despite his thoroughgoing Christian bona fides, and it seems unlikely anything will change their minds.
Biden, however, is a strong bet in that he could–and should–play well with many Catholics. From his mixed views on abortion to his working-class background, he represents a viewpoint and a culture that resonate with the broad middle of Catholic opinion that finds the assertions of authoritative political opinion from right and left in the church highly dubious.
Consider Biden’s abortion record, as set out here and here. Biden supports Roe v. Wade but backed a federal ban on late-term abortions and opposes public funding of abortion. His record is mixed, which was enough to earn him a NARAL rating (currently at 60 percent) as low as 36 percent in recent years–and NARAL pointedly has not endorsed Biden for re-election.
Moreover, Biden’s compelling personal history–from his hardscrabble upbringing in a Catholic family (he briefly considered becoming a priest, as I’m sure many Catholic boys of that era could say) to the tragedy that claimed his wife and two of his children, as well as his own near-death experience–have given him a broad perspective on life and a passionate commitment to fighting injustice. Much of his views, in fact, are grounded in Catholic social justice principles, which Obama seems to share intuitively. But Biden can speak to them much more cogently–and perhaps make up for his penchant for shooting from the lip.
A primary biographical source would be this 2007 Christian Science Monitor profile, “A Frank and Abiding Faith,” as well as this Pew biography and David Brooks’ column from this week, “Hoping it’s Biden.”
Will the choice convince any of the GOP and McCain loyalists? Of course not. For too many, on both sides, ideology and party loyalty trump deliberation and introspection, especially at this point in the campaign. You can already see the silly ads and dumb commentary all over the Web. Will the selection tip the “average voter”? Probably not so much. A Washington Post poll shows that three-quarters of voters said picking Biden would not sway their votes one way or the other. And about as many said they would be more apt to support Obama with Biden on the ticket as said the choice would make them less likely to vote Democratic on Election Day (13 to 10 percent).
But Biden’s Catholic, working-class roots, especially in a key region like Scranton in a “keystone” state like Pennsylvania could play well not just there, but in other similar regions in other battleground states, as well as with Catholics as a whole–the true swing vote.
The risky part of Obama’s gamble on Biden is that by picking a Catholic–and it wouldn’t matter which Catholic–he risks reigniting the “wafer wars” (Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput’s phrase) that divide the faithful even more than they already are. Given Biden’s background and record, however, the Wafer Warriors will have to go some ways to dirty up Biden on the faith issue. As the Pew bio has it:
When the Diocese of Wilmington’s bishop, Michael Saltarelli, came under pressure in 2004 and 2005 to deny communion to Biden and other Catholic politicians who support abortion rights, the bishop refused, saying through a diocesan spokesman that he “prefers prayer and active engagement” with politicians who take positions contrary to church doctrine; Biden refused to comment on the issue. Once again running for president, Biden said in April 2007 that his party must demonstrate it is “not afraid to deal with the faith issue.”
On the other hand, Saltarelli’s replacement, Bishop W. Francis Malooly, takes office on Sept 8, and his approach to Biden is unknown. Would he want to start his own term by courting such controversy? Most bishops–and Malooly seems like a deliberate fellow–would want to get to know one of their flock before making any drastic public moves, and that may be tough given Biden’s coming campaign agenda.
Still, it’ll be telling to see what blasts come at Biden from the usual Catholic suspects–and whether they will backfire in a way that would earn Obama-Biden more support than the ticket would have otherwise.
At least that’s my version. Thoughts?
Tags: Biden, Catholics and communion, Obama, wafer wars
Yes, but one bishop’s “courting controversy” is another’s “defending the faith.”
According to Obama, Roe v. Wade precludes things like the Born Alive Act, so I don’t think the notion that supporting Roe v. Wade is a moderate position is any longer operable.
Thanks, David, Obama could have done worse.
What’s your take on whether Biden will get much flak from “Catholic suspects” with respect to matters other than abortion? Examples might include:
1) Capital Punishment. Biden authored the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, which extended federal capital punishment to some drug trafficking crimes which do not involve murder.
2) Bankruptcy. Biden was a strong supporter of the Bankruptcy Bill of 2005, legislation much less friendly to his old “working class” (and sometimes social justice deprived) neighbors in Scranton, than it is to his newer neighbor, MBNA, in Delaware.
3) Just War. If the chair of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations votes to authorize the President to use force in a conflict that turns out not to meet “just war” criteria, does that meet the “material cooperation” test?
It doesn’t seem likely that these issues will arrive at what you call the “wafer war” stage, though I suppose a few bishops are newly sensitized to the importance of the protections offered by federal bankruptcy law. What about non-epscopal “social justice” Catholics–will we give Biden a pass on the aforementioed Life-Death-Debt-War issues because he is just the VP candidate and, after all, one of us?
Isn’t it increasingly clear that Catholics vote less and less like a bloc and more and more in line with other demographic factors (in particular, with respect to Obama, age)?
Also, statements like “But with Biden, Obama is also gambling that having a Catholic on the ticket will draw in some of the fence-sitting Catholics whose votes will be key to success in November” seem awfully presumptuous. There must be a way to say that without making it sound as if Obama called you personally to tell you that. (Unless, of course, he did exactly that.)
“Hardscrabble upbringing”? Dude went to Archmere.
“Hardscrabble” is political code for “Scranton,” Tom. “Scrappy” is another popular term (I just heard Obama refer to Biden as “a scrappy kid from Scranton”). I’ll know I’ve really made it when I hear someone say I had a hardscrabble childhood!
Speaking of scrappy: I’m not at all confident that the present bishop of Scranton will forbear to start a “wafer war” in the diocese. I hope that doesn’t happen — I’m not sure how much influence it would have if it did. But it would be ugly.
The attempt to turn access into the eucharist into a political weapon – to push bishops into taking public actions that most of them are reluctant to take – is becoming as much a part of the American political process as bumper stickers, it seems.
Foreign policy is the most obvious reason. The Catholic angle is intriguing. I still wonder what those Catholics for Obama is all about. As long as we’re fantasizing, my bet is that the bishops will be slow to criticize Biden. That 60% from Naral is misleading. Biden is pro choice. Biden has been around the bishops for a long time. They might just be careful on going toe to toe with him. Ahem. What do you think, Charles?
Thanks, Mollie. I thought “hardscrabble” was political code for “West Virginia.”
“The attempt to turn access into the eucharist into a political weapon – to push bishops into taking public actions that most of them are reluctant to take – is becoming as much a part of the American political process as bumper stickers, it seems.”
You mean like Tom’s fender-sized indictment: “Hardscrabble upbringing”? Dude went to Archmere.
There’s some deep thinking and perceptive deduction. Not. Dude.
Isn’t the working class kid who makes it to a good school through hard work, scholarships, or parents who sacrifice and save to get him there part of the American Dream the conservatives extoll? Gimme a break.
The prospect of wafer war redux is deeply distressing to me and, I suspect, to most moderate and progressive Catholics. It is less clear to me that this war would hurt Obama-Biden. To the contrary, it could help the ticket. Consider:
*** The bishops are held in very low esteem. Doesn’t a battle with a bishop earn points for his target? Surely it would bolster support for the ticket in the increasingly important ex-Catholic demographic. Then too there is substantial resistance among observant Catholics to being told how to vote…and that is how episcopal involvement will surely be framed, fairly or unfairly. Unintended consequences, anyone?
***The Democratic ticket does indeed need to make inroads among Catholic Hillary supporters, especially in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Michigan. But if these Catholics voted for Hillar in a Democratic primary, support for a categorically prochoice candidate isn’t an insurmountable obstacle for them. ‘Catholic’ is an amalgam of European and Latin American descendents as much as it is a religious affiliation. I believe I heard that Hillary’s Catholic primary voters actually reported less frequent church attendance than Catholic supporters of other candidates. So how much does abortion policy influence their votes?
Certainly Kerry both gained and lost votes as a result of the wafer war. Any solid reasons to believe he lost more than he gained?
First, for a Catholic blog to approve the use of the term “wafer war” is telling about participants’ views of the Eucharist.
Secondly, if a politician trumpets his Catholicism, uses it for political purposes, publicly defying the teachings of the Church and what the bishops and Pope have said about worthiness to receive Communion, does so without any compunction while loudly proclaiming his abortion-supporting views and raking in the cash from abortion supporting views..
WHO is using the Eucharist as a political weapon? The bishop who is trying to preserve the “union” in Communion or the pol who’s trying to score points?
And before you jump, just consider the point of this post – how can Biden’s Catholicism help him politically?
Again…WHO is using faith as a political weapon, now?
“Again…WHO is using faith as a political weapon, now?”\
Well, *now* everyone is. How is that for an answer? The bishops, the Republican Party, and now, many Democrats as well.
At the start of WWI planes started being used as reconnaissance — by WWII “everyone” was using them, and as massively destructive weapoons. Imagine how annoying that was for the inventors of the military plane who meant for it to be used strictly by people fighting for THEIR side.
If you don’t like faith being used as a weapon (I certainly don’t), stop using it, but don’t use it directly or endorse it by proxy and then complain that *now* everyone else is using it too.
Bravo to Barbara who beat me to it!
I think the Chsitian science Monitor article clearly depicts Joe Biden as a man of faith, values and commitment to family and service -even if you don’t buy his approach.
He represents that questioning catholic Vatican II Catholic that is not happy with easy answers.
I’m not sure how this will play with the Catholic electorate, but I suspect all who are not single issue Catholics or are ideologically against anything that’s not Republican will give him mucho respect as a man of integrity.
Jean:
It’s not an indictment to point out that Joe Biden did not have a hardscrabble upbringing.
So there we were in a Fundamental Moral Theology class of mine a few years ago. The issue on the table was the denial of Eucharist to people who act or think in ways incompatible with magisterial teaching.
A student from a non-sacramental Protestant denomination was sitting in the front row, and he raised his hand. “Hey I’m confused. I thought you Catholics believe that sacraments are not just symbolic but really change people.”
“Yes, we believe they effect what they symbolize, that they are a means of grace.”
“Then why would you deny Communion to anyone who sincerely wants it, ESPECIALLY if you think he or she is off-track and in need of a little divine assistance? Don’t those people need that grace more than anyone?”
This AP article (which quotes our own David Gibson!) popped up in the news feed on my email sign-in page. I had to laugh at the headline: “Biden’s Catholic faith offers risks, rewards.” Ain’t it the truth! (And not just for Biden.)
William Phelps: You raise some very good points about Biden’s record (on crime, death penalty, etc). But I don’t see those as the kind of things that will raise many red flags from the politcally conservative Catholic set, as abortion trumps everything, and they don’t make a big deal over the death penalty or bailing out corporate types–unless of course you don’t support those things.
Truth be told, of course, the supporting capital punishment is something that (post-Cuomo) Democrats have flocked to, seeing it as a winner with the lunch-bucket crowd they lost to Reagan. Bill Clinton’s infamous (to me) capitulation during the 1992 campaign was emblematic, and successful. 9/11 of course revived the Nazi comparison. Now it’s, “So you wouldn’t execute Osama bin Laden if you could?” There are some very admirable pro-lifers who make noises about discomfiting the GOP on that issue, but they’re not loud enough, I guess. I think the social justice set is so desperate for a non-GOP winner in November they’ll keep their powder dry for another day. But again, who knows?
Mike McG, you raise an interesting point about how much these “wafer wars” hurt or help a Catholic candidate. I find it interesting that both McCain and Obama have been invited to the Al Smith Dinner this year, hosted of course by Cardinal Egan. Yet four years ago John Kerry was pointedly not invited. I do think the possibility of a backlash is bigger than ever, not only because Biden is a somewhat tougher target, but because the public (on both sides of the aisle) does seem to be tiring of the political use of religion. See the lastest Pew poll for more:
http://pewforum.org/docs/?DocID=334
Barbara, I may indeed be presumptuous–I generally consider myself guilty until proven innocent, and even then…But I don’t think it takes a personal call from Obama to realize that this Catholic, working-class factor surely went into the mix. Indeed campaign officials and other analysts have been stating that throughout the past 24 hours. I’d source my statements more in the future but this is, well, a blog. I prefer to stipulate the obvious.
Mark, as for the term “wafer war”–my use of it by no means indicates any official acceptance by Commonweal or this blog. It has become a common, if unfortunate term, to denote the debate and practice of denying communion. I generally try to put it in quotation marks to set it off as a questionable but popular usage, even by such stalwarts in this debate as Archbishop Charles Chaput, among others. You may want to go to the “wafer warriors” themselves with your complaint.
As for “hardscrabble” or “scrappy,” the words choices are in part the result of my journalistic upbringing, when cliches are there for our benefit. I do believe there may have been a subconscious invocation of “scrapple,” a Scranton-area (I believe) delicacy that somehow made it periodically onto our table growing up in Jersey. In any case, I will leave it to you letterateurs to devise the politically correct shorthand.
Mollie: Good story, my quote notwithstanding! Archbishop Chaput’s interjection caught my eye–I know the convention is in Denver, but Chaput doesn’t really have a pastoral relationship/connection with Biden. So his statement–I don’t know if any other bishop, including Michael Saltarelli or Malooley in Delaware–have said anything like what Chaput told Eric Gorski here:
Biden “has admirable qualities to his public service,” Chaput said in his statement. “But his record of support for so-called abortion ‘rights,’ while mixed at times, is seriously wrong. I certainly presume his good will and integrity — and I presume that his integrity will lead him to refrain from presenting himself for Communion, if he supports a false ‘right’ to abortion.”
Chaput added that he looks forward to speaking with Biden privately.
Lisa,
Indeed, those who are in need of divine assistance [all of us] should not be denied the sacraments – but they also should be in a state to receive it. Which in both Catholic and Protestant communities is penitence. I do know that some Protestants think that Catholics sin, and then confess so that they can go on sinning. Doesn’t work that way.
The reason to deny communion to an abortionist is to save his soul, to prevent him from doubling up on his sin. [God takes care of the babies killed].
I had another thought. In the spirit of the Semi-Pelagians, why not call those who reject part of the Church’s teachings “Semi-Catholics”?
Has Senator Biden agreed to meet with the Archbishop? What sort of an obligation does he have to do so? Why would he do so?
David, I just don’t think it’s that obvious that the Catholic angle trumps the working class and the foreign policy angle. That’s my point. Many of the much vaunted “white” working class are in fact NOT Catholic (not in West Virginia or even in Pennsylvania or Ohio). That’s a play that is religiously neutral. I think the Catholic element would have been a lot more in play had Kaine been the nominee. He can’t stop talking about religion, but Biden has a much wider range.
I’m sure Biden has eaten his share of scrapple — it’s popular in Delaware, too — but it originated in southeastern, not northeastern, Pennsylvania. It shouldn’t be hard so much as crispy on the outside.
Barbara, thanks for the folo-up. I’d agree that Catholicism is not the principal factor at all, but one of many that went into Biden’s selection, and could drive some of the coverage and voter decisions. But it’s what I write about, and what we discuss here, so I thought it was an area we might be able to discuss and even shed light on in ways other places don’t.
Cathy: I don’t know what Biden has done and would love to find out–I think the invitation from Chaput is something of a challenge as it’s hard to turn down, even as it is pastorally awkward. McCain sought out Chaput, but at the risk of being accused of McCain bashing, I’d suggest there was a good dose of politics in his move, and he was meeting with a fellow traveler.
Tom: Thanks for the scrapple info. I think it may be worth it’s own thread. (Seriously) I firmly believe I have never eaten truly good scrapple, and don’t really know what it woud look like. (Maple syrup?) I also wonder how far scrapple has spread, if indeed it has. It may be the only comfort food that hasn’t received the Martha Stewart treatment.
David,
For what it is worth, I find you guilty of continuing abortion usque ad nauseam. This is liberal’s obeisance to the rtl. Republicans don’t care about abortion and neither does the Catholic right. It is their only claim to virtue and they hang on to it with our encouragement. Having handily rejected the Magnificat, it is RTL and Wafer wars all the way.
Notice that while Chaput said he wants to see Biden privately, he has not mentioned seeing Cardinal George privately. It is one issue, idée fixe. Talk about the other issues, sound good giving them cursory recognition, (impress liberals with buzz but no substance) but zero in on the one issue which gives us clout, if not respect.
Scrapple is Amish in origin, which is why it is associated with Philadelphia, but you can find it in a lot of cities around the Eastern Amish belt, including Baltimore. You can actually make it yourself for a better product (Julia Child has a recipe in her big white “basics” cookbook). Basically, scrapple is a kind of sausage, and one of a number of dishes whose sole purpose is to make use of parts of the pig that would probably make many of us faint were they were accurately described to us.
Cracklin’ Bread is another pork/corn meal combo that uses even less savory parts of the pig.
Is Obama Biden his time? Joe has said some interesting things during his career, many of which will be used against him (and Obama) in the home stretch (after the Democratic convention). I predict that some of the Reverend Wright’s more pungent utterances will also be used. This is going to be a most fascinating endgame. By the way, Scrapple from the Apple is the title of an old Charlie Parker tune; but then, this being Commonweal, you folks probably didn’t know that. Pity…
The Catholic Church has never been nor will it ever be pro-choice. Since Sen. Joe Biden professes to be Catholic, as Catholics, we would expect that he would work to change the Law that protects the “right” of a Mother to end the life of her Child in the womb. This Law is a man-made law that can always be changed unlike God’s Law which is absolute.
Nancy:
Last Sunday we heard the story of the Canaanite woman convincing Jesus to heal his daughter. He thought He knew what He was doing: “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” But she made Him change his mind, or, as we prefer to word it, better understand the will of the Father.
And remember the parable of the wheat and the weeds last month, when the householder answered his slaves’ offer to pull up the weeds by saying: “No: if you pull up the weeds you might uproot the wheat along with them.”
So, let’s not be too quick to view laws as unchangeable and use them to judge pro-choice politicians as if we had perfect wisdom…
What I find almost hilarious is the pro-life movement excoriating Obama because he voted against the Illinois version of the Born Alive Infant Protection Act even after this was added to it:
Or with coding error corrected . . . . .What I find almost hilarious is the pro-life movement excoriating Obama because he voted against the Illinois version of the Born Alive Infant Protection Act even after this was added to it:
In other words, “We have always contended that there is a holocaust going on in America, and 1.3 million innocents are murdered every year by abortions. For the sake of getting this law passed, we agree to hold our tongues.” That’s really standing up for the unborn!
Bill M: You make a grand Inquisitor, indeed! Perhaps I am guilty as charged (and tried and convicted). But I don’t know that I am paying obeisance to any side. Abortion is a major issue, I think all would agree, or most. And the reality is that it is a defining issue, for good or ill, in politics and the church today. You may not like it, but that’s the way it is. We may want the world a different way, but ignoring it won’t make it go away, or change the world as you’d like. But my (a)vocation is to describe the world as it is, or as it seems to me, and to explore and engage accordingly. So say I.
With all due respect Claire, it is God who has Perfect Wisdom. God’s Law is absolute.
With all respect, Nancy, God is not appearing to any Bishop or Cardinals to propound how God’s Perfect Wisdom is to be defined into Church Law or American civil law. This is purely a human enterprise, as is the “wafer wars”.
I am very glad that the archbishop of Washington, DC, Donald W. Wuerl, is balanced in his ability to deal with “his flock” and refuses to use the Eucharist as a billy stick
to beat politicians on both sides in Congress, or the executive branch or the judiciary–into subjection. True virtue and wisdom in a spiritual leader, is to walk a very fine line. It means remembering that the Shepherd’s ministry also requires a constant sensitivity to language as an issue.
I wouldn’t call it a “purely human enterprise” when what is bound on earth is bound in heaven and what is loosed on earth is loosed in heaven.
I couldn’t disagree more with David Gibson. Abortion is not a major issue in U.S. national politics. In fact, I would argue it’s a completely irrelevant non-issue. If we do not get our hands on federal deficits, international economic security, and international access to energy, we will have huge problems in the future.
I disagree entirely that abortion is a defining issue. It is an intractable moral problem, not a political issue at all and not worthy of the attention we are giving it in the political arena.
Here is an interesting article from a Culture Warrior finally realizing that he’s been locked in on the wrong poltical issues:
http://blog.beliefnet.com/crunchycon/2008/08/iousa-a-reallife-disaster-movi.html
I hobnestly believe that those who continue to treat abortion as the “defining political issue” of our day are sabotaging the future of this country.
As the oldtimers who are AARP members here, the theme this year of AARP is “Divided We Fail,” a putatively nonpartisan push to get folks to demand leadership deal with bread and butter issues of reform of health care, medicare/medicaid and social security.
(I know lots of folks are still mad at AARP for its support of the flawed Medicare perscription drug bill) but the theme of their camoaign strikes me a bit of sanity in the tortured (I use the word deliberately) world of attack ads/spin and general inanity that has marked this presidential campaign thus far, spilled over into this blog often enough and is likely to get worse.
I think in matters politic and Church we actually like being polarized, despite occasional tips of the hat to “civility” and “community.”
My problem is how will we get beyond that?
I see the Dems opened Denver with an interfaith prayer meeting (including Sr. Prejean) but there were hecklers, few in number, from the pro-life movement(who were booed); some Latinos felt bad because something wasn’t said in Spanish.
On NPR today, Cokie Roberts felt “white Catholics” were the big hope for McCain.
I’m not sure this is the case, but granting it for the sake of argument, I think Biden will bring a modicum of support in the Catholic community – maybe not a whole lot, because…
we’re polarized and, as I posited, I think we like it that way.
Unfortunately, I also beleive that divided we fail.
Here is an interesting link to an article by Margaret Somerville, ethicist, at McGill University on making moral arguments using secular context and language: Shortcut to: http://www.newcatholictimes.com/index.php?module=articles&func=display&ptid=1&aid=406
Her points are: who are we trying to persuade? She is dismayed by the language religious folks use in trying to get their moral standards heard – she finds that their language alienates folks in the public square e.g. wafer wars.
This article supports points made by Little Bear, McFaul, and Mr. Nunz.
Lisa: read 1 Cor: 27-32. Adding that to the Catholic understanding of sacraments should clarify why those of us in serious sin stay away from the Eucharist until reconciled. See also the current English Mass translation:
“Lord Jesus Christ, with faith in your love and mercy, I eat your body and drink your blood.
let it not bring me condemnation, but health in mind and body.” (my emphasis)
Joe McFaul,
Some of the anti-abortion extremists are basically arguing that the fate or even the survival of the United States is less important than ending abortion. No issue can matter more than abortion, they argue, unless it sacrifices more innocent lives. Abortion is the worst crime against humanity in the history of the world, worse than slavery, consequently you must . . . support John McCain. Yes, in response to the most terrible crime against humanity ever perpetrated, by the country you are living in now, you must vote Republican. Not move to a less murderous country, or engage in acts of civil disobedience, not refuse to pay your taxes. No, you must vote for John McCain, or your conscience will be troubled.
Joe McFaul: I think we may be talking past each other, or not. It sounds as though you are frustarted at the amount of talk about abortion, here and elsewhere, and wish we could focus on other things. I share that furstration at times, but the reality seems to be that this is a dividing line issue (not THE issue, of course–there are many), as evidenced by the Saddleback Forum, supreme court nomination battles, internal church divisions, and on and on. There is no getting around the issue, whichever side one is on, or that it will be used to great and likely terrible effect during the campaign. Do we ignore it?
Bill DeHaas: Thanks for the link to the Somerville talk. Very good indeed.
Has the choice of a running mate EVER won the presidential candidate a state that he wasn’t already going to win? That probably doesn’t apply with Biden and recently Democratic Delaware but might if McCain picks Romney or Ridge .. but I was looking through a history book on the presidency that I have and I cannot find any examples in which either the losing or winning candidate seems to actualkly have gained his running mate’s state which might otherwise have gonme to his opponent.
Robert, good point–how much are these VP picks all shadow games among strategists…and in fact have no real-world application? In that context, be interesting if McCain responded to Biden selection by opting for Ridge or similar, hoping to counteract Biden and yet perhaps losing him more elsewhere.
In that sense, I agree Veep picks don’t do much. (Well, Perot’s choice may be an exception…) But I think they do something subconsiouscly in shaping the perception of an administration team, and how a president would operate. I think Lieberman was much worse than I expected in 2000, and was surprised to see William Kristol pushing for him in his column today.
I also think, bootful of warm whatever aside, that we should treat VP picks with a good deal of seriousness. They are indeed a heartbeat away from the presidency (or GWBush was, as the joke has gone), and they can be an inlfuence once in office, for good or ill. They matter.
I don’t know Robert – Texas 1960?
Sean:
Texas is a tough call … but I think Texas was more reliably Democratic than Republican until the 1980s (from about 1872 to 1924 it usually went to the Democrat even in years that were otherwise easy Republican wins ) but then Eisenhower did win it twice just before 1960, so you might be right that LBJ swung it to Kennedy that year
I am opposing Obama on his policy with regards to banning payday loans.
America and Capitalism are both based on the freedom of choice. We as Americans and Capitalists should have the financial freedom to choose how we use our money, and we should be able to choose where we get a loan. The fact that certain states are banning a financial resource such as the payday loan industry is ridiculous. These states are taking away the availability of a loan to those who need money quickly, who don’t have the credit to attain one from a bank, who only need a few hundred dollars loaned instead of thousands. Don’t let the legislation take away your financial freedom and vote for your rights as an American citizen.
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Just recently, David Kernell, the 20 year old son of Representative Mike Kernell (D-TN) was arrested. He was arrested for, according to CNN, resetting the password and gained access to vice presidential candidate Palin’s personal e-mail account. Allegedly, he read the contents, took screen shots of her E-mail directory, and got at some of her personal information. That information which has been compromised could include E-mail addresses and pictures of friends and family members, telephone numbers of family members including cell phone numbers, birthdates and more from her address book. After he turned himself in, he pled not guilty. He pled not guilty after he allegedly posted all of this to a public website. On top of all this, he also posted the password with which other people could access the account as well. David may get up to five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervision. Now think about this: $250,000 in $1,500 increments, the maximum amount a person can get with a payday loan comes out to 167 individual payday loans to free this turkey, before he gets made into Thanksgiving dinner by his cellmates.
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