As to who Barack Obama will pick as his running mate, if merit determines his selection, I believe both of these men dramatically compensate Obama’s own perceived inexperience, and are strong choices. Here is a superficial description of each.
Bill Richardson
Richardson is the 60 year old Governor of New Mexico. His CV is more impressive than any of the other Democratic Presidential candidates for 2008. He has been been Governor, Secretary of Energy, the US Ambassador to the UN, and a member of the US House of Representatives.
He is Roman Catholic, is Spanish-American, is strongly pro-abortion, and has a strong record of defending the rights of minorities like those disabled, and members of the GLBT communities . He is very tough on crime, has been endorsed for Governor by the NRA, and strongly supports capital punishment. His policies on Immigration strike me as being along the lines of the failed McCain-Kennedy plan of last summer (even though he identified it as flawed). He has supported the de-authorization (and defunding) of the war in Iraq, and a complete withdrawl of the troops. He has a consistent record of balancing budges. He promises to take the lead on ending the genocide in Darfur, and has committed to meeting Aung San Suu Kyi who is under Burmese house arrest. He expresses a desire to see a more affordable healthcare plan for those less fortunate. He appears also to recognize the need for energy reform, and has some expertise in the Energy field.
Joe Biden
Joe Biden, age 65, is a lawyer by training has been since 1973 a US Senator representing Delaware. He has served as the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary, and the Committee on Foreign Relations.
Biden supports Roe v. Wade, but voted twice voted to ban the partial birth abortion procedure and opposes federal funding for abortion. He supports the federal funding for stem cell research. He voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment, supports civil unions and adding sexual orientation to the criteria for a hate crime. He is against the death penalty, and is particularly strong on hate crimes (he supports heavier punishments for these) and sexual crimes (he supports a FBI registry for sexual offenders), although he is against mandatory sentencing. He supports abstinence education, but is against school vouchers and voluntary prayer, and is generally supported by Teacher’s unions. He supported the failed McCain-Kennedy immigration plan of last summer, understands the complexity of the Iraq War, supports sending troops to Darfur, is pro-Israel, and is strongly critical of the Castro regime. He supports balanced budgets, believes in providing health care for those less fortunate, and has talked openly about how his faith in God got him through the death of his wife and daughter (both were killed in a car accident just after he was elected). Prayer and faith, Biden (a Roman Catholic) says, give you strength but does not prevent crisis.
There you have it. Thoughts? Someone who would be better? I hate to summarize their views so superficially, so perhaps we might discuss them in greater detail in the comment section, and also discuss what they add (besides merit) to the Obama ticket? I have also tried (to a degree) not to judge their positions in this post, simply to identify them.
Kelly Wilson
August 17, 2008 at 8:43 am
Interesting…They are both so very different that I don’t know who would best serve Barack Obama. I tend to agree more with Bill Richardson. And from the friends that I have made over here they would tend to agree more with Richardson as well.
August 17, 2008 at 4:37 pm
Care to elaborate a bit? I don’t see much difference between the two, so what about Richardson makes him stand out? I must say that I prefer Biden to Richardson, because he is a little more pro-life when it comes to abortion (still a long ways to go though), and because he is against the death penalty, although I don’t understand his opposition to mandatory sentences. Richardson’s view of Iraq is far to simplistic, although I appreciate in both of them a desire to make healthcare more affordable, a committment to compassionate immigration reform, a desire to improve international human rights, a committment to balanced budgets…
August 18, 2008 at 4:24 pm
Whoever is most likely to cause Obama to lose, would be my choice.
August 18, 2008 at 8:52 pm
Well since Obama is not very likely to choose a candidate with the hopes of heightening the improbability of his loss, I think we should instead hope that in the event of an Obama win (an unlikely prospect) he should be surrounded by the most competent people.
Consequently I identified two characters that I believe, if merit determines Obama’s selection, would competently serve him. I naturally disagree with both (as I will with McCain characters but for different reasons), in key areas but that is besides the point. If Obama instead he chooses someone who might be able to help him with key electoral votes (a Virginian for example like Gov. Kaine) then whatever…
In any event his selection will not be a shocker and will be less important in the long run that McCain’s. Obama’s will be a safe choice.
August 19, 2008 at 2:22 pm
K: Do I understand you correctly, to say that you think Obama will lose?
August 19, 2008 at 3:42 pm
Yes you understand me correctly. I think McCain will definately win, but unfortunately for him he will have to deal with a Senate that will have an increased number of Democrat seats. But I’ll explain why I think McCain will win in my next post, possibly tonight or tomorrow. I endorsed McCain, for what the endorsement of an obscure Canadian blogger is worth, back in January before he won the South Carolina primary…
August 19, 2008 at 4:57 pm
I’m glad to hear you think so and I look forward to finding out your reasons.