The current picture of the week was captured before the announcement of Senator Biden as the running mate for Barack Obama otherwise I would have likely commented on it then. I initially wasn’t sure what to think, frankly I was a little surprised that the Obama campaign went with the expected choice. Biden had been rumored and speculated on for days.
What does the selection of Biden mean for the ticket? Well first of all it means that the Obama campaign is concerned about the junior Senator’s foreign policy and experience credentials. Change is still the message of the Obama campaign though so how does picking an old Washington Hand change this? It doesn’t.
Obama’s change has always been about the control of special interests on American politics. It’s about the disenfranchisement of voters and the empowerment of those who feel powerless. It’s about a rolling back of the partisan bickering that has poisoned political discourse. It isn’t about being anti-experience or anti-Washington those are themes that others have tacked on, not Obama. In the primaries it was framed as change vs experience. This wasn’t because Obama was against those who were experienced, it was because he was a self proclaimed agent of change. Clinton however was a self proclaimed agent of experience.
How does Joe Biden fit into this rubric of change? Accepting political contributions from individuals has been a major cornerstone of the Obama campaign. According to OpenSecrets.org Biden has received 76% of his career campaign funding1 from individual contributions but for 2006-2008 he recieved 96% of his contributions from individuals and 0% from PACs2. Compare this to McCain with 80% individual contributions and 16% from PACs3 and you can see a sharp contrast and we’re not even talking about Obama-McCain, we’re talking Biden-McCain. Clearly Biden’s recent record individual contributions and taking PAC money is in line with the Obama camp.
How about empowering those who have been disenfranchised? This goes more to values and personalities than policy or platform but is worth noting. Biden is the lowest compensated member of the Senate. He’s the “poorest” Senator. If any Senator can relate to those who feel disconnected it’s probably Biden. The populist message has only recently become an element of Obama’s message of change but the influence of John Edwards is certainly there now.
Lastly, and I think most importantly, is Biden able to honestly champion Obama’s “post-partisan” message? I think he is. For the very reasons that he is being used to attack Obama by McCain:
Not only does Biden stand by what he says, and not try to twist the facts or weasel out of past actions by selective memory, he lauded his fellow Senator for the work that he’s done for our country. The “Change” of Obama isn’t about out with the old and in with the new. It’s about fixing what’s broken and keeping what isn’t. It’s about working with people and opening a dialog with them, especially if they don’t agree. Unfortunately I can’t find the exact line but Senator Obama said that he wanted to choose a running mate that would argue with him, debate matters with him and keep him on his toes.
So I think that even though Biden might not be the obvious candidate for change he can definitely fit into Obama’s change. Not to mention that he’s one hell of a fighter and I can’t wait to see the Obama campaign throw some punches by way of Biden allowing Obama to stay above the fray. They’ve needed a VP candidate for months.
I'm Trevin Ward, I'm a Political Science Student at Iowa State University in Ames, IA.