When Joe Biden accepts the invitation to become the Democratic Party’s vice-presidential nominee in Springfield, Illinois, later today, will he write the speech himself or borrow the words from Neil Kinnock?
Don’t feel bad if you don’t get the reference. The talking heads are saying everything about Biden–”safe choice,” tragic car accident that took the life of his first wife, working-class upbringing, foreign policy expertise — but are not mentioning the one thing that makes Biden memorable. Yes, during his 1988 presidential run, he plagiarized paragraphs from British Labour Party Leader Neil Kinnock.
It is one of the few things in Biden’s dreary career in the U.S. Senate, which began in 1972 and stretches to right now, that makes him stand out. It gives him a kind of cosmopolitan flair. I mean, who else was reading, let alone admiring, the words of a failed hard-left Labour Party leader? It suggests at least a thimble-full of intellectual curiosity — and a gallon of gall that he thought he could get away with it.
By the way, both Fox and MSNBC are wrong when they report he was elected to the Senate at age 29. He ran for the office at that age, but was 30 when he was sworn in. Thirty is the legal minimum age for service in the U.S. Senate.
What do his decades in the Senate tell us about him? He has served on two key committees, both as chairman and ranking-minority member. One dealt with judges and constitutional law and the other with foreign policy.
Judges
After sweating out the Reagan years as the lead Democrat on the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, he rose to as chairman of that august body in 1987 and served until 1995, when the GOP regained control of the Senate. He used his chairmanship to savage Robert Bork and Clarence Thomas.
Biden’s grasp of constitutional law is also questionable. Here is how Wikipedia summarizes his greatest legislative accomplishment: “He also authored the landmark Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (VAWA), which contains a broad array of measures to combat domestic violence and provides billions of dollars in federal funds to address gender-based crimes. In 2000, the Supreme Court ruled that the section of VAWA allowing a federal civil remedy for victims of gender-motivated violence exceeded Congress’ authority and therefore was unconstitutional.”
Biden is also responsible for writing the legislation that created the post of “Drug Czar.” That worked out well.
Finally, Biden wrote and sponsored a bill to allow families to deduct as much as $10,000 from their federal income taxes if they spent the money of college tuition. Sounds great. But that measure, which became law, and Biden’s championing of federally backed school loans, has contributed to massive increases in college tuition. Indeed, the cost of obtaining a college degree generally climbs at a rate faster than inflation and has for almost two decades. What’s the connection? If you artificially increase the pool of money available to colleges, they will increase rates to soak up that pool. In short, if you stimulate demand while supply remains fixed, prices climb. So the past two generations, which have college loans bigger than the price of a new car, can thank Senator Biden.
Foreign Policy
Biden is almost a “neocon” in his foreign policy views.
He voted for the Iraq War in 2002. I can’t wait to hear him back-pedal from that one. It will be even funnier since America is winning now, so the vote now looks more defensible–except to the Daily Kos insurgents for whom opposition is a religious duty.
Biden is the chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.
Again, consider Wikipedia’s summary of his service there: “His efforts to combat hostilities in the Balkans in the 1990s brought national attention and influenced presidential policy: traveling repeatedly to the region, he made one meeting famous by calling Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic a “war criminal.” He consistently argued for lifting the arms embargo, training Bosnian Muslims, investigating war crimes and administering NATO air strikes. Biden’s subsequent “lift and strike” resolution was instrumental in convincing President Bill Clinton to use military force in the face of systematic human rights violation.”
“Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, Biden was supportive of the Bush administration’s efforts, calling for additional ground troops in Afghanistan and agreeing with the administration’s assertion that Saddam Hussein needed to be eliminated. The Bush administration rejected an effort Biden undertook with Senator Richard Lugar to pass a resolution authorizing military action only after the exhaustion of diplomatic efforts. In October 2002, Biden voted for the final resolution to support the war in Iraq. He has long supported the Bush administration’s war effort and appropriations to pay for it, but has argued repeatedly that more soldiers are needed, the war should be internationalized, and the Bush administration should “level with the American people” about the cost and length of the conflict.“
Does his elevation by Obama signal that that the Obama campaign is backing away from its timetable to withdraw from Iraq? Does Biden’s position differ significantly from McCain’s? Isn’t he, in fact, closer to McCain’s view on Iraq than Obama is?
While the McCain campaign rushed out the predictable attack (Look, Biden criticized Obama’s lack of experience only last year!), it is the Kossacks who are more likely to be unhappy. Of course, judicial conservatives also have strong reasons to dislike Biden. Someone should ask the Delaware senator if he shares Obama’s assessment of Scalia, whom he voted for…
Biden has run for president twice and lost. This is his first appearance of the Democratic Party’s national ticket. Here’s hoping that his back-of-the-plane talks are as interesting as McCain’s used to be. And, yes, he is gaffe-prone. Check out what he said about Indian Americans working in 7-11. You Tube has a bunch more in this vein.
His record will give bloggers and reporters good fodder for months.
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31 Comments
1. Pajamas Media » Scrutinizing Biden’s Record:[...] Read the entire story here. [...]
Aug 23, 2008 - 12:23 am 2. P. Ami:Now draw in the Clinton supporters by going McCain/Palin.
Aug 23, 2008 - 12:50 am 3. cedarford:Yeah, Palin. Because no one will consider the elevation of a two-year governor who before that was mayor of a twon of 5,000 people a blatant pander like they did when obscure Congresswoman Geraldine Ferraro was plucked up for VP.
If McCain was in the peak of his health, then maybe you could play identity politics with the likes of Palin, Keyes, Rice and swear it was no pander. But he is not. He’s 72, and has had two bouts of malignant melanoma. You want a VP ready to take over, with considerable executive experience.
Aug 23, 2008 - 3:23 am 4. Broadsword:In Clarence Thomas’ book, My Grandfather’s Son, Biden lied to Thomas’ face before the hearings on his nomination, saying, essentially, (I do not have the book in front of me to give the exact quote, “I’ll start with an easy question, to keep it comfortable”, then asked a contorted, twisty, fully loaded with scorn question. Read it for yourselves. The two, Obama and Biden are lipstick and pig.
Aug 23, 2008 - 3:32 am 5. Evil Pundit:It’s not just plagiarism, it’s falsification as well. Biden’s office was one of those caught manipulating information on Wikipedia in 2006.
Aug 23, 2008 - 4:34 am 6. MarkJ:“You want a VP ready to take over, with considerable executive experience.
Aug 23, 2008 – 3:23 am”
But Cedarford, the Obama campaign has been telling us for ages that “experience” isn’t really all that important.
How is “Obie’s Choice” a gift to the GOP? Let me count the ways….
Aug 23, 2008 - 6:21 am 7. upetrovska:Carly Fiorina
Aug 23, 2008 - 6:47 am 8. Andrew:So where is the “gravitas” mantra that was the oft repeated media talking point when Bush picked Cheney? Good Lord, if it should be chanted for anyone,its BO. At least Bush had been governor of TX for two terms and had spent a little time at the White House.
Aug 23, 2008 - 7:50 am 9. JAZ:Just a quick point…Biden repeatedly claimed that the Surge would NEVER work. In that sense he, like Obambi, was willing to lose the War to win the nomination.
Aug 23, 2008 - 7:53 am 10. Say It Ain’t So, Joe! « The View from Alexandria:[...] Richard Miniter: “His record will give bloggers and reporters good fodder for months.” [...]
Aug 23, 2008 - 8:18 am 11. mateo:in regards to this…
“By the way, both Fox and MSNBC are wrong when they report he was elected to the Senate at age 29. He ran for the office at that age, but was 30 when he was sworn in. Thirty is the legal minimum age for service in the U.S. Senate.”
Elected and Sworn in are not the same things. Those news org. got it right. He was elected at 29 and then sworn in at 30. You even contradict yourself.
Aug 23, 2008 - 8:21 am 12. Jesus, will this leave a mark or what? « The Tizona Group:[...] Pajamas Media Posted in Democrats, Election. [...]
Aug 23, 2008 - 8:41 am 13. Navytech:Obama picked the Predatory lending senator? Mr. MBNA himself? Wow.
Look where you mail your credit card payments: Delaware.
Aug 23, 2008 - 8:54 am 14. pappy:b-ho and lying jo, both dims of many words. now we’ll see a b.s. contest that’ll make howeird dean want to go independent. neither one can hide their lying eyes. obiden, osama, they’ll even lie to their mamas. one world odor, smells a little crappy.
Aug 23, 2008 - 9:48 am 15. Fat Man:The upside is that Biden will say or do some very funny things between now and November.
Aug 23, 2008 - 9:51 am 16. Whitehall:Thank goodness Biden is in the VP slot.
My worry was the talk of making him Secretary of State.
As VP, you usually sit in a small office waiting for a pulse to stop (Cheney excluded.) As SecState, Biden would do real damage to our country.
Aug 23, 2008 - 9:57 am 17. Pajamas Media » Biden: Hit or Miss?:[...] Richard Miniter: “What do his decades in the Senate tell us about him?” [...]
Aug 23, 2008 - 10:19 am 18. Snuggles:god this is a shitty shit……not just because i disagree…….it just ranks like a dirty shithole
Aug 23, 2008 - 10:33 am 19. This Will Be Fun « Tai-Chi Policy:[...] history of comments that won’t help the Obama campaign, plagarism, plenty of lobbyist ties, a long, controversial record, who doesn’t exactly represent [...]
Aug 23, 2008 - 11:18 am 20. P. Ami:I don’t mind pandering to identity politics so long as the basic principles of the candidate transcend their identity in a positive manner. I don’t know a huge amount about Palin but it looks to me that she took on some corruption in Alaska and managed to effect change. BTW, she has much more executive experience then Lincoln ever did. I don’t mean to suggest that she has the greatness inside herself to match Lincoln’s but, she doesn’t have to. Palin will bring in Clinton supporters, she is Conservative, she is willing and capable of fighting corruption and serving her community in an honorable manner. Is she the only choice I would support? No, I simply think she would give McCain the bump he’ll need to put Obama out far and deep enought for him to win this thing.
Aug 23, 2008 - 11:25 am 21. ic:I don’t think Hillarites will go for an anti-abortion conservative Republican woman. They may vote McCain without Palin. But if Palin is VP pick, they will stay home to wait four years for Hillary. They want Hill to be the first woman president and don’t want a credible woman opponent when Hill runs in four years.
Aug 23, 2008 - 12:49 pm 22. Liz:I take issue with the author of this article for shoddy investigative work (and/or bad journalism). Biden’s “plagiarism” was a mistake. He cited the author in every speech except one, and it happened to be the one the cameras were at. It was bad luck, and dirty politics by his opponent.
Additionally, this article only skims (if that) the surface of the “political” issues Joe Biden could have if the Republicans wanted to make a point. Almost all of your arguments are pretty weak.
Aug 23, 2008 - 1:49 pm 23. Michael Lonie:Palin’s two years as a governor are two more years of experience in an executive job than Obama has. Or than Biden has for that matter. For any Dems that object, it’s the same length of experience as governor that Woodrow Wilson had when he ran for President.
Aug 23, 2008 - 3:27 pm 24. The Absurd Report » All about Joe Biden:[...] Read more from PajamasMedia [...]
Aug 25, 2008 - 4:35 am 25. j green:Some poor sap might say: “Poor Biden, he’s so honest that he rides the train home to small town Wilmington every single night. He’s so honest that he didn’t even buy a home in D.C.”
I beg to differ. He goes home ever night so his sons are able to properly raise funds–so the donors know that the old man is just down the street and he’s still one of them–not a transplant to Washington.
I would also argue that the fact that after 28 years in the Senate Bonehead Biden doesn’t have a home in D.C. itself shows impracticality in judgement and overall incompetence. Barry Hussein wants that idiot for VP?
He lives in Wilmington because he needs to be there–not because he’s so honest. Any other person would have at least rented a crash pad in town, but there obviously is some benefit to him making the over two hundred mile round trip EVERY SINGLE NIGHT. If he is so stupid as to not have a roof over his head in D.C. after almost 30 years, he’s too stupid to be VP. I wonder how many dinner tables his sons have?
Independently wealthy since before she married John McCain, Cindy McCain’s financial activities have absolutely nothig to do with John’s whatsoever. Yet they now make fun of John McCain’s “kitchen tables”.
But they conveniently ignore Biden’s sons, who make money from their father’s position as a U.S. Senator–they are cashing their father in, and no one asks about how many kitchen tables $100,000/year retainers and $1.2 million annual cash salaries can buy for them. The senator from MBNA carries the water for the banks which employ one of his sons, and the MSM is too busy to ask the proper questions.
Aug 25, 2008 - 7:35 pm 26. The Truth1:Wow! A woman with only 2 years experience as governor; and just a little more in the state legislature?
This lady is OBAMA material!
PS
Sep 1, 2008 - 12:44 am 27. The Truth1:The only difference is – she’s in the BACKSEAT. OBAMA, on the otherhand, is in the FRONT, which makes him more of a liability to national security.
The OBAMA situation is dangerous, because it puts JOE Biden, the vice president, as the backseat driver in terms of foreign policy.
When the old guy (BIDEN) is leading the younger guy (OBAMA), this is what some political analysts call:
“A BUSH-CHENEY relationship!”
Vote for McCain/Palin instead. At least MCCAIN will be the one directing his VP instead of the otherway around.
Sep 1, 2008 - 12:53 am 28. Smitty:I find it interesting that Palin is getting grief for being inexperienced. So Mr Hope and Change Obama has a lock on the whole change thing? Of course not, he chose a running mate who has been in DC longer than McCain. Hows that for change?
McCain picked a VP who will help shake up the status quo and now the dems are worried that McCain is the one who is actually going for change ( instead of just hope)
Sep 3, 2008 - 12:47 pm 29. Super:You’re reduced to quoting wikipedia entries now?
Sep 5, 2008 - 8:59 am 30. spider:16. Whitehall:
Oct 19, 2008 - 9:32 am 31. ac:Thank goodness Biden is in the VP slot.
—alas you forgot that obama is not a natural born citizen(born in kenya from a 18YO making him kenya(had to be 19 to pass citizenship in kenya) later adopted and nationalized to Indonesia later traving on indo.. passport @20Y ) and him and the dnc are dragging out the court case.
mmm now when he is elected and the case goes to the supreme court and he is found guilty…. so he is not pres who is the pres then???
imo the election will not be thrown out though it should.. and all hail the CC pocket man pres
did the dnc plan this? CC industry? who did this to the US?
SOUNDS LIKE MEMENTO MORI
Dec 29, 2008 - 9:16 am