Obama selects VP willing to fight back

By Dan Henkoff     8/28/08 7:00pm

"I want you to be nice until it's time to not be nice." Those words originally came from the actor Patrick Swayze as James Dalton, the soft-spoken bouncer with a degree in philosophy, instructing new subordinates in the 1989 B-movie Road House. However, they could also easily be applied to this year's presidential election. With his selection of Senator Joe Biden of Delaware as his running mate, Barack Obama has shown that he recognizes - as the contest has taken a predictable negative turn - the Democratic ticket's need for the ability not to be nice.

Yes, by their powers combined, Obama and Biden form . Patrick Swayze! It's like Captain Planet, only with politics and semi-obscure movie references.

Despite his intermittent claims to the contrary, it has become clear that, politically, Obama is not a confrontational person. His political tendencies are firmly on the side of consensus-building. This quality is not a problem, but is in fact a good thing, because it means that if he is elected, he might actually succeed in enacting some of his rather impressive policy proposals.

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However, this election needs more than just a message of hope and change. After eight years of what most Americans believe has been some form of a disaster, and with a Republican candidate who, in many respects - particularly on the economy - is promising more of the same or worse, a contrast must be drawn, and an alternative must be detailed. Obama and the Democrats cannot allow John McCain, the Republican Party and the outside right-wing groups to define them and their agenda; someone has to fight back.

And that is why I applaud the choice of Biden as Obama's vice-presidential nominee. Biden shores up some of Obama's real and perceived weaknesses in part with nothing more than his seeming ability to never stop talking. McCain can say all he wants about "Straight TalkT" (although with his many recent shifts in positions, some will start to question it) but Biden can actually back it up. This is a man who at times is so blunt it hurts. And that is what the Democrats, and Obama, need in a vice presidential candidate: a true attack dog. They need someone who is willing to look the Republican machine in the eye - especially on its perceived strengths like "national security" - and say, flat out, "You're wrong; here's why and here's why the other choice is better."

I will admit that someone like Evan Bayh might have been more satisfying to the more moderate wing of the party and might have dragged a few independents and undecided voters toward Obama. And I will admit that Tim Kaine had the potential to possibly put Virginia even more into play than it already is. But Bayh does not generate much excitement and contradicts Obama's message of a new course for Democrats highlighted by a strong opposition to the war in Iraq, and Kaine has even less experience in Washington and on the national and international stage than Obama does, along with many differences on social policy.

Plus, despite recurrences of foot-in-mouth disease over the years (which we are bound to hear about ad nauseam until the election), Biden brings strengths beyond just his loquaciousness and his willingness to push back.

First, he has been in the Senate for 35 years, which, while it may appear to be a negative factor in the way it could contradict Obama's fresh outlook and anti-Washington message, can easily be turned into a positive for two reasons. One, Biden has effective experience; he can tout definitive achievements and times when he worked across party lines to get things done in order to show his commitment to bipartisanship, and he can reassure voters who are uneasy about whether Obama will be overwhelmed by the requirements of the office. Two, he is a friend of John McCain, and thus can speak to the emerging narrative of how the McCain of 2000 wouldn't even recognize much of the McCain of 2008.

Finally, Biden is well-respected as someone knowledgeable and experienced in the realm of foreign policy. So while McCain can talk about being a POW until he's blue in the face and cite the fact that one of his most influential foreign policy advisers is a lobbyist for the embattled country of Georgia like it's a good thing, Biden can counter with the fact that the he toured the country on a fact-finding mission that involved meetings with high-level officials within the last two weeks at the request of the country's president.

Now, as the Democratic convention has ended and the Republican convention is gearing up, we get down to the fun part of this election. Hopefully, once both running mates are settled and the platforms have been outlined, this can be an election about ideas, about two different visions for where the country is, where it's headed, and how we're going to get there. Obama's selection of Biden brought us a giant step closer to having a set of distinct choices this fall, and for that we should all be grateful.

Dan Henkoff is a Hanszen College junior.

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