Frustrated by a week of string-alongs, brush-offs and teases from the Obama campaign, the national media spent Friday night working the process of elimination, crossing Barack Obama’s potential VP suitors off the list, one by one. It almost became more of a determination not to allow Obama to dictate the release of the information than it was a simple desire to report the news.
SIDEBAR: Maybe we should have put the National Enquirer’s people on the story. END SIDEBAR
As the press worked through the list, they kept coming back to Joe Biden.
When ABC reported at about 11 p.m. Eastern that the Secret Service had been dispatched to Biden’s home to assume protection of him after Obama’s official announcement Saturday morning, about 50 holes were drilled in the dam that the Obama campaign had managed to maintain throughout this process. Reporters and pundits furiously trolled their sources for even the slightest acknowledgement of what was quickly becoming the obvious.
It was just before 1 a.m. Eastern time Saturday that the major media outlets confirmed it through reluctant but credible (and, of course, anonymous) people in the know: Joe Biden will be introduced Saturday as Barack Obama’s vice presidential nominee.
Biden has spent his 35 years in the U.S. Senate compiling a thick record and building a reputation on foreign affairs. Beyond that bullet point, which is the linchpin of his selection, here are a few things you may not know about him:
Delaware may only carry three electoral votes, but Biden was actually born in Scranton, Pa. Pennsylvania and its 21 electoral votes are considered up for grabs in November.
Biden plays the flute (no, seriously; he plays the flute).
He was hospitalized with two brain aneurysms—the ailment to which U.S. Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-OH) succumbed earlier this week—in 1988. He was out of work in the Senate for several months.
Biden lost his first wife, Neilia, and the couple’s baby daughter, Naomi, in a car accident shortly after he was elected to the Senate in 1972.
Beau Biden, the elder son of the VP nominee-to-be, is Delaware’s attorney general. He also serves in the Army National Guard and will be deployed to Iraq within weeks of the presidential election.
Pundits aren’t wasting any time in noting, for better or worse, that Biden’s name may have floated to the top of Obama’s list in the wake of the recent crisis involving Russia and Georgia. There will be plenty of time to dissect Biden and his record, but let’s note two things here for now:
Biden fans and foes alike agree that his selection will not make for dull moments on the campaign trail. Biden has a reputation for making—shall we say, memorable —statements to the press. You’ll be reminded plenty of times over the next week about what Biden said about Obama—on the very first day of his own presidential campaign last year, no less—and of the apology that followed just hours afterward. Fox News’ Shepard Smith is excited about the pick: Biden makes for “damn good TV,“ he said in announcing the news; Democratic strategist Bob Beckel added that Biden will be “the most entertaining vice president we’ve had in a long time” and notes that Biden really doesn’t care for John McCain personally. Liberal pundit Bill Press said in CNN this morning that Biden “can be as nasty as a junkyard dog if he has to be.“
Sounds like the sound bites this fall are going to be more interesting than usual.
In my column that will appear on people’s driveways in about five hours, I made the point that it will be interesting to watch Obama make the “change” case with Biden as his running mate. Obama has pointed the finger at John McCain on several issues—most recently, energy independence—arguing that since McCain has been in Washington for 22 years, he’s “part of the problem” and “part of what’s wrong with Washington.“ Remember a second ago when I told you that Biden has been in the Senate since 1972? That’s 14 years longer than McCain has been in the Senate. Biden has spent more than half his life in that institution. As I said in the column, Obama is one of the best orators of our time, but even he is going to have trouble making a convincing case that Joe Biden can be considered a component of any significant change in Washington.
Obama-Biden.
So much for the informative text message that Obama owed his “supporters from the beginning.“
They would have had it, if they had just run with it last night or this morning.
Well, it’s been 15 hours since we last talked about how we were so anxiously awaiting Barack Obama’s it’s-gotta-be-in-the-next-little-while VP announcement ...
Still no announcement.
I have to admit that even I—the full-time, hard core, 100 percent political junkie—even I am sick of this story. I feel like this guy.
The national media that’s been making this announcement their business for every minute of every hour of every day for the past week to 10 days has had it. They aren’t used to being played for fools, and with the Obama campaign’s strategy of dragging this thing out until the last possible millisecond—and then for a little while after that—they have been conscripted into unwilling service in the charade. Their frustration is understandable, and it’s becoming evident.
I can’t understand how this has been a good thing for Obama. First, he announces that the decision will be publicized FIRST through text message, resulting in all these (I’m sure) millions of people registering their cell phone numbers with the campaign.
Well, if the news tonight is to be believed, people relying on that official text message are actually going to be among the last to know.
Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh started the day as the odds-on favorite. The press dogged him as he was taking his sons to tennis camp. Just after lunchtime, Matt Drudge linked to a story from WMBC-TV in Kansas City that reported that a local company there that makes political paraphernalia was producing Obama-Bayh bumper stickers. There was even a picture of the sticker. The company president wouldn’t confirm or deny the story, so many talking heads all but assumed Bayh to be the guy. But Chet Edwards’ name surfaced around the same time as that WMBC story (see below), and Bayh faded in the afternoon. By the time his name resurfaced, it was around 10 p.m. Eastern, and CNN was reporting that they had confirmed that he is out of the running.
U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards (D-TX) started making prospect lists when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tapped him as her choice about a month ago. Edwards is an expert on veterans’ issues, and his prowess on the issue would plug that gap in Obama’s resume. It doesn’t hurt, either, that Edwards is actually President Bush’s congressman: He represents an area around Corpus Christi that includes the president’s Crawford ranch. But Edwards has been on the opposite side of Obama on the Iraq War. After his star outshone all others for about two hours early this afternoon when he confirmed he had been vetted by the Obama campaign, he faded quickly.
Their contentious competition during the primary season notwithstanding, U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton’s name began resurfacing early this week as a potential surprise pick for Obama. But it was revealed today that the woman who won 18 million votes in those contests wasn’t even formally vetted for the No. 2 position—and that sticks in the craw of her loyal supporters. Longtime Clintonistas James Carville and Paul Begala made no bones about what they thought of Obama’s decision to exclude her from the process; the revelation of the snub even seemed to make the former candidate herself a bit testy. Democratic strategist Susan Estrich told Fox News that she is “100 percent sure” Clinton won’t be Obama’s pick. Party unity next week in Denver? Don’t count on it.
CNN’s Candy Crowley reported around 10 p.m. Central that New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson “had been told sometime within the last 48 hours” that he wasn’t Obama’s choice, but I couldn’t find any reference to that on the Web. So because of that (OK—and partially because I think he’s who Obama should pick), I’m leaving this option open.
CNN reported that former Georgia Sen. Sam Nunn is in Europe until at least Monday. But I’m not sure that anyone’s staking out the airports over there ... Is it possible he could sneak back in and appear in Springfield tomorrow? (I said “possible,“ not “probable.“)
Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius had a simple sound bite at the ready when asked about the VP process today.
Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, who, along with Bayh and Delaware Sen. Joe Biden, was considered part of the top tier of Obama’s VP prospects, was eliminated just before 10 this evening, CNN reported. If media reports are to be believed, Kaine is in Denver tonight and will remain there throughout the convention.
That leaves Biden.
Biden said last year that he could not accept the position of vice president if it was offered to him, saying that he would prefer to remain in his position as chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee if his presidential campaign didn’t pan out. Biden told reporters as late as Monday of this week, “I’m not the guy.“ But ABC reported a couple of hours ago that the Secret Service was being dispatched to Biden’s home to assume protection of him once the pick was official and the announcement had been made.
And so we wait ... but surely not for much longer.
On another note, I would have thought that Obama would have made his choice Thursday morning, or this morning at the latest. But I guess it was to my benefit that Obama held off until Saturday: The column I wrote for tomorrow’s Opelika-Auburn News is a roundup of Obama’s potential VP prospects. I could have substituted a new one about the nominee if the announcement had come some time before mid- to late-afternoon today. Anytime between then and early Saturday morning, and I’d be out of luck.
James Carville has some advice for Barack Obama as he gears up for the Democratic National Convention and the general election campaign:
Get mad.
Obama’s campaign seems so intent on branding him as a “cool and calm” leader.
Well, voters want to see a sense of urgency and outrage in their president: Outrage over our dependence on foreign oil; outrage over our increased cost of living, health care and education; outrage over declining incomes; outrage over an endless war and an idiotic foreign policy; and outrage over our country’s loss of prestige over the last 7½ years.
To put it bluntly, Obama needs to get outraged over something other than “attacks on his patriotism.“
Carville knows a little something about elections and winning political strategy. He engineered the 1992 presidential campaign that turned a little-known Arkansas governor into the leader of the free world.
The rest of Carville’s advice to his former foe sounds a lot like that sign that hung in the Bill Clinton’s Little Rock headquarters 16 years ago. Click here to read more.
While we wait for Barack Obama to announce his vice presidential running mate selection, I think it’s safe to say we can definitively cross one guy off the list.
May I introduce you to Pete Wince?
Wince is a 24-year-old California dude. Wince says on his MySpace page, “i.hate.everyone.except.barack.obama.“ He adds that he is “always unhappy. except for now since barack is gonna win.“
This young man has written a song and produced a music video entitled, “Make me your VP.“
Wince encourages Obama to pick him because, “We’re still black enough to stick it to McCain / Riding on a wave of chocloate rain.“
I think there’s an outside chance this guy is actually a McCain supporter. Either that, or ... with friends like these, Obama doesn’t need any enemies.
Here’s the video. It’s nearly four minutes long. I was just to the two-minute mark when I began wondering when it be over. See how far you can make it before you start to ... well, wince.
This 24-7 vigil over Barack Obama’s running mate is starting to get on my nerves.
Obama and his campaign have executed a carefully contrived plan over the past two weeks to stoke the anticipation and expectation his pick is generating and maximize the attention the candidate and his campaign are getting.
But there is a point of diminishing returns: It’s a fine line between getting the most out of the situation and taunting the press and the public.
The press is giving Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, Delaware Sen. Joe Biden and Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh, who are believed to lead the pack, the paparazzi treatment. CNN has live feed pouring in from outside the homes of each of the prospects, they are staking out the Chicago-Midway airport—with a helicopter—and get this: They even followed Biden to the dentist yesterday.
Republican strategist Leslie Sanchez just made the point on CNN that this over-the-top treatment Obama’s decision is getting actually shouldn’t be a surprise; it’s right in line, she said, with the hanging-on-every-word treatment with which the press has covered Obama since Iowa.
His handling of this situation, dragging it out until the eve of the convention, reiterates and reinforces the Obama-centric feel of the whole campaign, she said; it certainly won’t help him overcome those criticisms that his ego is a bit too healthy for his own good.
Fox News’ Major Garrett said that there could be a more practical reason for Obama to string the announcement out until the very eve of the convention: It means he isn’t picking Hillary Clinton. By holding the announcement as long as possible, the Obama campaign hopes to blunt—or at least eclipse—the backlash it knows will come from disaffected (outraged?) Hillary supporters who believe Obama has a moral obligation to choose the only other candidate who drew 18 million votes in the primaries.
The hysteria around the announcement and the wall-to-wall media coverage of it, the newly introduced No. 2 and his (or her) personal story and political history will squeeze out and freeze out Hillary’s disappointed followers in their attempts to share their feelings on the airwaves, Garrett argued.
One more thing for the Obama campaign to consider as this moment-to-moment vigil drags on into the sixth day: The Obama campaign has promised to notify its supporters of the selection via text and e-mail message before it is announced to the media. The longer he waits to announce the pick, the closer he gets to that Springfield, Ill., rally tomorrow at which the pair will make its first joint appearance as the ticket. But the VP nominee is going to have to head to Springfield at some point, so the stakeout that’s going on with the assumed top-tier trio increases the chance that the press will figure out what’s going on.
And that means that Obama runs the risk, no matter how tightly he’s guarded the secret thus far, of the press delivering the message before he can.
Of course, the alternative is to have all three (or more) prospects arrive in Springfield. But then you have an entirely new problem: The massive egos of politicians don’t tyically lend themselves to being used this way. So gathering all the prospects in one place, telling all but one of them that they’ve been passed over and then expecting them to smile and not indicate any disappointment ...
