Biden: “I’m Not the Guy”

ABC News

Joe Biden, who has emerged as the favorite to be named as Barack Obama’s running mate, vows, “I’m not the guy.”

Whether this means that 1) he’s actually not the guy or 2) he’s the guy but he’s trying to throw reporters off the scent I don’t know.

Biden, despite (or perhaps because of) a proclivity to say what’s on his mind despite the political implications, is perhaps the only Democrat who ran for president this year that mainstream Republicans seem to admire. Given his age, the fact that he voted for and vigorously championed the Iraq War, and that his relative experience vis-a-vis Obama might be uncomfortable, I doubt that he’s the guy.

My guess remains that it’ll be Virginia governor Tim Kaine. I don’t necessarily think that’s a great choice but it’s a reasonably safe one that, ultimately, won’t much matter. McCain’s choice, given his age, will be more important.

FILED UNDER: 2008 Election, US Politics, , , , ,
James Joyner
About James Joyner
James Joyner is Professor and Department Head of Security Studies at Marine Corps University's Command and Staff College. He's a former Army officer and Desert Storm veteran. Views expressed here are his own. Follow James on Twitter @DrJJoyner.

Comments

  1. Christopher says:

    Republicans admire the guy? LOL! James, WHERE r u getting your information? Just cause a lib does what is right in defending America, doesn’t mean we are ready to crawl into his political bed with him. (maybe you should get IN the beltway sometime)

    By the way, since Biden himself says he’s not the guy, and since he is a discredited admitted liar, then the only conclusion to draw is…he’s the guy!

  2. Jeffrey W. Baker says:

    Biden is one of those guys who thinks he deserves office because it’s his turn. He ran in ’88 and lost to a field full of morons, and in ’08 absolutely nobody in Iowa cared that he was in the race. Serial loser.

  3. markm says:

    Damn…this on the heels of an inside source saying Kerry isn’t the guy either. This is a sad day.

  4. mannning says:

    Yee Gods! Tim the Tankerous Kaine! My spendthrift governor, for the nonce. I hope he has to resign to run with DeBama. That will put him in a safe and dull place if Debama and he win, and out if they lose!

  5. Richard Gardner says:

    Umm, who? As an ex-Virginia resident I know of Kaine (vaguely) but believe me he is not known west of the Mississippi. Inexperience + inexperience = failure. I thought 4 years ago that the Dems had a lock on the White House in 2008/9 due to cycles but now I’m not so sure.

    I’m awaiting this political seasons’ equivalent of the Goldwater mushroom cloud. Dirty, but effective.

  6. markm says:

    I still think he’s gunna pick Clinton and that baggage that comes with. She’s the only pick, as I see it, that he can make that will cause a buzz and give him the potential to get where he wants to go. Yes, it would be a overly dysfunctional W.H. but that doesn’t matter…getting there does. Anything less than her, barring scandal, I don’t think he’ll be successful in his bid and I think he/his campaign are starting to see that.

  7. Dantheman says:

    markm,

    “I still think he’s gunna pick Clinton and that baggage that comes with.”

    No way, no how. Choosing as a running mate someone who publicly said that your opponent is qualified to be President, but you are not, is just plain impossible.

  8. Bithead says:

    Wait…. Is that a hated SUV he’s driving?
    Would Al Gore approve?

  9. Snoop Diggity-DANG-Dawg says:

    Did he say, “I’m not THE guy” of “I’m not A guy”?

  10. markm says:

    “”I still think he’s gunna pick Clinton and that baggage that comes with.”

    No way, no how. Choosing as a running mate someone who publicly said that your opponent is qualified to be President, but you are not, is just plain impossible.”

    I know…but it’s the ONLY VP choice he can make that will take him to the next level, create a buzz. It’s the one pick that dropped almost off the radar as soon as he won the nod. Yeah, the baggage would be enormous and he’d share the spotlight if not get overshadowed…but he’d have a stronger chance to win the Presidency. I think people know who Biden is but he’s got a loose mouth. Kerry is…well, Kerry. Kaine…I don’t know much about him. Whoever he picks short of Clinton will be a snoozer and won’t match the VP guessing hype.

  11. Dantheman says:

    markm,

    So you think that getting the buzz is worth throwing away the election? I would not assume Obama is as shallow as some commentators think he is, which is the only way that makes sense.

  12. markm says:

    “So you think that getting the buzz is worth throwing away the election? I would not assume Obama is as shallow as some commentators think he is, which is the only way that makes sense.”

    The way I see it, the dems are split and passionately so. Many Hillary supporters are on record saying they won’t vote for Obama (for what that’s worth). She would bring him a lot of votes that he wouldn’t get without her. I do NOT buy in to the current “Dem party unity” crap.

    I don’t think Obama is as shallow as some think he is…but I know he’s not as deep as he thinks he is. Take away the teleprompter, peel back the fluff and he’s approaching an empty suit.

  13. Dantheman says:

    “Many Hillary supporters are on record saying they won’t vote for Obama (for what that’s worth). She would bring him a lot of votes that he wouldn’t get without her.”

    Most of the Hillary supporters saying this are lifelong Republicans who were willing to vote for Hillary because she’s a woman. I am not sure that they would vote for an Obama-Hillary ticket, any more than they would for an Obama-Biden/Bayh/Kaine ticket. Gaining them and losing moderates by saying his first Presidential decision is choosing for VP someone who thinks he is unqualified is not a trade I would make.

  14. anjin-san says:

    Actually, I think the chances of a Clinton pick, which were close to zero, have gone up in the last few weeks. Obama needs to shake things up a bit, and that would be an earthquake.

    Would it be a winning move? Hard to say…

  15. korim says:

    “Actually, I think the chances of a Clinton pick, which were close to zero, have gone up in the last few weeks. Obama needs to shake things up a bit, and that would be an earthquake.”

    That’s what i’m sayin’.

    “Gaining them and losing moderates by saying his first Presidential decision is choosing for VP someone who thinks he is unqualified is not a trade I would make.”

    Dan, a month ago, i’d say you are spot on. Hell, it was a given Hillary was OFF the VP list. The game has changed though and I think there is some desparation in the Obama camp.

  16. markm says: