Lincoln Blog

August 25, 2008:

Yawn!

That's my reaction to The Chosen One's selection of U.S. Senator Joe Biden of Delaware as his Vice Presidential running mate. And, that is precisely the reaction I think the Obama campaign was seeking to achieve.

The Chosen One played it safe. And smart. It has been months since the last primary ballots were cast, so the political world has worked itself into a frenzy over who will be the Vice Presidential picks of the two presumptive nominees. It is a fun late-August diversion, but one likely to have minimal positive impact on either campaign.

Note my use of the words "positive impact." The stone cold fact is few people will cast a vote for President based on who occupies the number two slot. Aside from the ability to take over if the president kicks the bucket, the first rule of selecting a number two is: do no harm.
Biden does no harm. Yes, he said some things about The Chosen One in the primary that Republicans are playing in ads, but if Senator McCain picks Mitt Romney the Democrats will respond in kind. Having run for President twice himself, Biden is a known quantity - plusses and minuses as well. His experience in foreign affairs fills a voice in The Chosen One's resume, so to that degree he brings heft to the ticket.

In the end, unless Biden visits the Senator Larry Craig stall on his next trip to Minnesota, he will have virtually no impact on the race.

Now the ball is in McCain's court. He will reveal his selection on Friday. McCain is toying with violating the "do no harm rule." He has floated the trial balloon (since shot down) of naming a pro-abortion running mate like Senator Joe Lieberman or former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge. Such an announcement would roil the Republican convention. It would go in the history books with the selections of Tom Eagleton and Dan Quayle as picks that harmed the ticket.

Since the McCain Campaign has been doing well of late the Arizona senator is likely to play it safe as well. If he does that, count Mitt Romney as a leading contender. Like Biden, Romney has run for president himself and has been well vetted. Like Biden, Romney fills a gap in the nominee's resume - in this case he brings economic expertise to the McCain ticket.

There is one thing a Romney selection would do for the Republicans that Biden has not done for the Democrats - unify the base. Supporters of the vanquished Hillary Rodham Clinton have been in a rage over the fact that not only was she not picked to run with The Chosen One, but she was not even vetted - or given the courtesy of advance notice of Biden's selection. If McCain names Mitt Romney as his running mate it would solidify the gains he has made with his party's conservative base in much the same way that conservatives were animated on behalf of Bob Dole in 1996 when he picked Jack Kemp as his number two.

If all that plays out, when voters actually go to the polls in November the "veepstakes" will add up to little more than a late summer parlor game. But it was fun while it lasted.

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