"The One" Hath Chosen

What the Hell was he thinking?

Editor's Note: Thomas's commentary is in blue and Marcie's is in purple.

Senator Barack Obama has made his choice for Vice President. Needless to say Senator Joe Biden didn't elicit a lot of enthusiasm from the Left. We, on the Right, saw our prayers delivered when the announcement finally came -- via text message in the dead of night. In addition to botching the text message announcement, news leaked out when those staking out Senator Biden's house noticed the flurry of activity, and got word that the US Secret Service was one it's way to set up a protective detail for the senator from Delaware. The media, counted amongst Senator Obama's supporters, put on their best fake smiles, and failed to bolster their feigned excitement for the pick. We knew that deep down inside, they weren't thrilled with the pick. But no one is asking Senator Obama the key question in this botched announcement: "Why Joe Biden?"

Indeed. Why pick such a gaffe-prone individual as Senator Biden? Jim Geraghty of National Review recently compiled some of Senator Biden's "greatest hits" in a column that was up on the site even before Senator Obama made the childish text message announcement. In that piece, readers are treated to some of Senator Biden's choice gaffes in the last few years. When it comes to Thomas and I, nothing is more memorable than the Judiciary Committee hearings for Samuel Alito. In them, a stuttering, rambling, bumbling Senator Biden chastised Mr. Alito over his attendance of Princeton; admitting that he did not know if he liked the university or not. Phone calls flooded in, and the following day he arrived at the hearing wearing a Princeton ball cap. We can only assume he decided that he liked the school. But this is just one incident in recent years that still has many asking why did Senator Obama choose him instead of the other possible contenders?

Why not take Tim Kaine, the Governor of Virginia? First, he's a governor, which when one has the relative inexperience Senator Obama has, Governor Kaine would have been a perfect fit on the ticket. He has governed as a moderate Democrat, and the only two issues we can see that might have been a problem in the vetting process was his stance on abortion, and his position on same-sex marriage. He has claimed he has a "faith-based opposition" to abortion, but has not called for Roe v. Wade to be overturned. He opposes same-sex marriage, but refused to support the initiative in Virginia to have the state constitution amended to reflect that position.

Then there is Kathleen Sebelius, the current Governor of Kansas. What exactly was wrong with her? She is as pro-choice as Senator Obama is, even going so far as to oppose reducing the amount of abortions carried out in her state. And that is despite the drop in abortions in Kansas; the drop may have been due to a push for more adoptions and more stringent sex education programs, but that remains to be seen. She has made education the cornerstone of her tenure as Governor, but the rampant increases in education funding has left the program in debt. She has vetoed a conceal-carry law, and stands firmly against amending the state constitution to make same-sex marriage illegal. She prefers the law in place over an amendment despite the fact the amendment was approved by 70% of voters in Kansas.

There was also Evan Bayh, the senator from Indiana. Senator Bayh is a former Governor, and former Secretary of State for the state of Indiana. He is considered by many people -- including his own colleagues -- to be a moderate Democrat, though his voting record shows that he does side with his party in the Senate 90% of the time. He did vote in favor of the partial-birth abortion ban. (That could be what killed him in Senator Obama's eyes given the difference in opinion over the issue they have with one another.) He is also a strong national security hawk, almost on par with Senator Joe Lieberman. He has also supported and called for sanctions against Iran that make the United Nations sanctions look as toothless as ever. Sanctions he supports include banning any weapons sales to Iran, limiting the travel of Iranian officials, and severing assistance to countries who openly violate such sanctions, such as Russia and China.

These three potential candidates seem to have a good deal more experience than Senator Biden does. They all have executive experience. They have all had to make hard choices for their states. Senator Biden has not. He has languished in the Senate since 1972, and while he has participated on a number of bills and issues before the committees he serves on, he is a Washington, DC, insider. That record does not seem to mesh too well with Senator Obama's platform of change. Anyone of the three people above would have been a much better pick for Senator Obama. In fact, we speculated that Senator Bayh would be the one he would choose due to his appeal to moderate voters -- a demographic that Senator Obama is having some trouble making inroads to right now. We also knew he would not choose Senator Clinton because of the fierce primary fight the two waged against one another. That rift has not been repaired. But we do thank Senator Obama for making the mistake of choosing Senator Biden. He has assured that those of us on the Right will have a fun and amusing general election.

He is a scholar of history, especially American history, and the United States Constitution. She has finished her undergrad studies, graduating with a BA in English and history and will move onto law school this fall where she will specialize in Constitutional Law. Together, Thomas and Marcie form the vanguard of conservative opinion at Hamilton, Madison, and Jay -- a blogging site devoted to advancing the conservative cause by challenging the liberal lies and deceit spread by the media, and espoused by the Left in general. Both are expert debaters, and have beaten many liberals into submission with their collective wit, and unmatched knowledge. The pair is married, and resides in Arizona

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