My brother has been a Joe Biden fan since reading his book. We had a heated discussion about Biden two weeks ago. I respect Justin’s opinion, though, so in light of the newly minted Obama-Biden ticket, I’m making him share this with you. -N
5: Joe Biden says what he means, and he means what he says. Sometimes this is to his detriment, but at a point in our nation’s history where transparency in politics is more important than the game itself, this is a plus for me. Ex: In one of the Democratic debates when Biden was still a candidate for POTUS, he was asked whether Don’t Ask Don’t Tell was something we should think about abolishing. He said something like, “Of course! It was a means to an end, and as far as I am concerned, and as a good friend of mine says, ‘You don’t have to be straight to shoot straight.’ ”
4: Biden doesn’t strictly follow party lines. Ex: He voted against the Iraq invasion, but after it began he voted for funding it. He was criticized for this move as a flip-flopper and for jumping the Democrat ship. He responded with something like, “Call me what you want to. I didn’t want to go in, but now we have young men and women over there fighting. I can’t deny them funding, because I can’t deny them body armor and proper equipment.”
3: Biden is resilient. In the early moments in his first term in the U.S. Senate, his first wife and child (maybe two children) were killed in an auto accident. In his book, he says that he gave up at first. He went to work everyday, but it was just work. Many of us would have given up for good. Biden didn’t. After a short while, he bounced back and did his job better than most who came before or after him.
2: Biden is principled. In his very first campaign for public office — which came just a few years after he graduated from law school — he was running for some local position most of us would probably consider insignificant. So much so that I can’t remember what it was. At any rate, one of his messages was that he thought corporate America was taking a strangle hold on the government through undue influence on officials. So he promised the voters that he would do everything in his power to remain free from that influence. He promised them he would not ever own a single share of stock. As of a few years ago (the last time I saw any information on it), he had kept his promise. Biden still didn’t own (and I believe, still does not own) a single share of stock. Financial advisors would call this ignorant. I call it keeping a promise.
1: Foreign Policy. There is a lot of debate about which issue is the most important one facing America. Many say it is the economy. I say it is foreign policy. Whether we like it or not, we now live in a global economy, and our nation’s foreign policy has a direct and substantial impact on our place in that economy. Take a peek at Joe Biden’s foreign policy resume. It is pretty amazing.
Obama’s message for change will likely get him elected. Joe Biden’s experience on (at least one of) the most important issue(s) we face will allow him to do his job.