He has chosen... wisely

Now for some political commentary... I think Barack Obama was smart to choose Joe Biden as his running mate. Obama's critics said his foreign policy and national security experience is limited, and this addresses his potential shortcomings. Also, Biden could help Obama capture some key states on the East Coast like Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia, which could go either way. And don't forget Delaware's whopping three electoral votes. Finally, and most importantly, this ensures that Hillary Clinton is completely out of the picture. The only drawback to this choice is that Obama said he was the "change" candidate, and Biden, a six-term senator, is viewed by many as a Washington insider. I think Biden's experience will help Obama more than it will hurt him. Hopefully, Biden won't pull a Cheney and turn into the fourth branch of government who thinks he's above the law and wipes his ass with copies of the Constitution. 

This is shaping up to be an interesting election. I think both of these candidates are more qualified than either candidate in 2004. I already think the ads are getting too personal. First there was the ridiculous ad comparing Obama to other "celebrities" like Britney Spears and Paris Hilton, obviously designed to appeal to ignorant voters who won't vote for Obama because they think he is a Muslim. Obama counters with an equally ridiculous ad that McCain can't keep track of how many houses he has, labeling him as another rich white guy. In defense of McCain, he grew up on Navy bases, earned an appointment to the Naval Academy, and did not have the same priviliged childhood that Bush had. His wife has most of the money and the houses, and Cindy McCain is supposedly very generous, donating a great deal of her money to charitable organizations. Either way, I won't not vote for someone because I think they have too many houses.

Finally, this will be another close election, because just about everyone over 65 seems to back McCain, and most people under 45 seems to back Obama. And we all know the people who vote the most often are those over 65. I think the recent announcement that most troops should be out of Iraq by 2011 (yeah, right), will boost McCain, and I personally think this charade was manufactured by the Bush administration to do exactly that, because most Americans oppose the Iraq war, and this will be McCain's biggest hurdle. 

As for McCain's choice of running mate, it's looking like it will be Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, or the current favorite, Mitt Romney. I personally don't think it will be Romney, because McCain and Romney supposedly don't like each other. I am pulling for Tom Ridge, because he's from Pennsylvania, and he is pro-choice, and will piss off the religious right wing of the party (the reason I left the Republican party a few years ago).

I am looking forward to how this all plays out, and I think the debates will be interesting, because, unlike our current chief executive, I think both of these candidates are intelligent and can think on their feet.