But Dick Cheney was a statesman

Biden.

It's like your parents told you they were going to give you a big surprise for your birthday, something you always wanted, and although you knew they couldn't have meant you were going to get the pony you always dreamed of you hoped that meant they weren't going to give you something boring like a new winter coat, maybe a new bike, at least, but as you counted down the days to your birthday they kept hinting and hinting that it really might be the pony and you couldn't help it, you began to think it would be the pony, then the morning of your birthday comes, and your mother wakes you up early to give you your present, she even tells you it's out in the backyard, and you jump out of bed and rush downstairs, telling yourself it's the bike not the pony, it's the bike not the pony, and you fly out the back door and find your dad...holding up the new winter coat.

Oh well.

Biden's not a bad choice for a Vice-President, or wouldn't be if Obama could have waited until after he was elected and picked his VP the same way and with the same sort of considerations in mind as he'll pick his Secretaries of State and Defense and Attorney General.  Biden is a winter coat, a warm one, one that will last, and you need a good winter coat.  As a running mate he'll probably be ok, although he and Obama together won't make the prettiest of pictures.

But as a generator of positive and excited news coverage?

I'm sure it's already the narrative among the Village Insiders that by choosing Biden Obama is showing that even he's not sure he's ready to lead.

(Updated late Saturday afternoon:  I was right.)

Of course when Dick Cheney appointed himself Grand Vizier that showed that George Bush was a smart guy who knew his own limitations and was modest enough to face up to them and choose a strong Vice-President who could give him the benefit of all his experience.

Dick Cheney was a statesman, remember?

As for that winter coat...well, it turns out your dad picked it out himself and he's all excited about it because he was so sure it was one you had your eye on and would love so now you have to pretend you weren't hoping for the pony or even a new bike and the winter coat's just exactly what you wanted all along.

Thanks, dad.  It's great.  Really.

Comments

[julia]

He's not for us. He's for the villagers and for the corporations. He's been on both teams since forever, and he's got street cred with them.

Sadly, he's also the most liberal candidate Obama was considering, so it's probably a good outcome.

Besides, now they'll both be off judiciary.

[Michael Bartley]

Lance, remember the Republicans would make Jesus Christ into a naive, effiminate, dirty hippie peacenik. They've got a particular old testament worldview that doesn't leave much room for such things as integrity and dignity.
As for Biden, politics is a crap shoot and only time will tell. But, he is smart and tough and we need more smart and tough on our side. Plus, the old working class Irish Catholic just might tap into the hopes and dreams of some of the folks from Hillaryland.
Finally, as a man who spent a good portion of his life working outdoors in winter country, I can tell you that I prefer a good winter coat to a pony, a horse of course is a different story, or a shing new bike, my old one will do. What we need is a good coat with boots for kicking, gloves for punching, and a hat, you know the goofy kind, with earflaps to shut out their incessant whining. The old testament bastards intend on bringing the storm. So, we need to be ready. Plus those hats gotta make you smile. We must not forget to balance our outrage with a sense of humor. It is essential if we are to, as Ed Abbey says, "outlive the bastards."

[Apostate]

Inexcusably boring in light of the ridiculous build-up. He should've saved it for the convention and unveiled it as quietly as it deserved.

[Mike Schilling]

It's been like eight hours since the announcement. I can't imagine what's holding up the plagiarism attack ad.

[John Casey]

In the coming months, you will look back at this post, whack yourself right smartly in the middle of your forehead, and say, "Jeeeezzzz, how could I have got that so wrong; the guy is a stone cold trained political killer, and there are Republican carcasses all over the White House lawn."

JC

[Lance]

God, John, I hope so! I really hope so!

I was reacting more to the gigantic letdown Obama set us up for (and which I was expecting) more than to Biden himself. So what I'm also hoping is that when the campaign histories are written we'll find out that it was going to be Biden all along, and that the whole hype and texting in the middle of the night game was designed to keep McCain from being able to make his choice a big deal. McCain now has two weeks to announce his running mate, and since he can't do it next week, he'll have to step on his own convention news to do it.

[Jill]

Just out of curiosity, Lance, who did YOU want Obama to pick? And if it was Hillary, do you really think that she would be some kind of progressive dream candidate? Last time I looked, Hillary was DLC all the way. I'm more interested in change of policy and the direction of this country, not just the same old warhawk with a different set of genitalia. Not being snarky, here, I genuinely would like to know who's out there who would be better (and viable -- Dennis Kucinich is not a realistic choice, though he's more in tune with MY values than anyone else out there).

[Chris The Cop]

Bill Richardson was my first choice. (not that anyone asked me) He would have made getting the Latino vote easier

Kucinich is insane (sort of like Nader with a hotter wife) and would have kept Obama's damage control team busier than a one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest.

[Falstaff]

I think I'm with McEwan on this one. I think this was a mistake, and it makes me sad. Not angry, just... I don't know, sad. (That last paragraph of your piece does too. That one hit me right in the sternum.)

I just... good grief, how do you pick a plagiarist who's spent a career as the insurance industry's man in Washington, who voted for the war and that odious bankrupcy bill? How the hell do you pick him?

I dunno. I hope, by the start of November, I'm feeling good about the coat. I hope, by January, I've forgotten all about that pony. I just hope that wish comes true.

[Falstaff]

NB: As an addendum to my last comment (still the last on the page, unless someone comments while I write this), because I've learned in the last few hours that calling Biden a plagiarist is truly unfair, I add the following, which I'm stealing directly from a comment thread at Making Light and I don't know how to do a proper hyperlink:

...Whenever Biden used the speech, he cited Kinnock, and the emotional power of the words were magnified by the fact that the words could apply to an American Senator and a British MP along with many people in the audience. But one time, Biden forgot to cite Kinnock when he read the speech, and Michael Dukakis's campaign slammed him for it. Shortly thereafter, someone dug up an old record showing that Biden had been accused of plagiarism in law school, though conveniently ignoring the fact that Biden had been cleared of any wrongdoing. By the time Biden refuted both charges, the damage had been done, and Biden had been forced to quit the race.

Apparently there's more to the story. I feel ashamed of accusing Biden of anything without knowing all the facts.

[Falstaff]

And another PS:

While I'm hardly D-Ku'ch's biggest fan, I did vote for him in the 2004 primary and supported him briefly this year, and do still think he's a helluva congressman. I find myself wondering which of the political figures Chris the Cop admires I would think was insane (I'm going to guess that, like his likely opinion of my favorite pols, it'd be more than one!) and, more than that, who if anybody we agree about.

[actor212]

My dad was an idiot, but he would never have been that big an idiot to build up the suspense over a wintercoat.

Similarly, I had hoped better for Obama. Biden's a good choice, just two weeks too late.

[Chris the Cop]

Falstaff - feel free to email me at [email protected] and maye we can find out. (Calling Kucinich insane was a bit of hyperbole - I don't think he should be committed or anything.)