Joe Biden is no stranger to adversity as he has survived a number of these. In 1972 he lost his one-year old daughter and first wife in an automobile accident. Then in 1988, he had two brain aneurisms, which he miraculously survived. And in 2015, his elder son Beau succumbed to a two-year battle with brain cancer.
The fact that Joe Biden bounced back from these adversities to continue in public life is testament to his character as a fighter. Most men would have thrown in the towel or quit public life. Not Joe Biden, he is the Energizer Bunny that never quits.
To bounce back from his adversities, Biden must have faced some tough decisions. And now he is faced with another tough decision, but fortunately, it’s not comparable to those from the three adversities he experienced. This decision will be picking a running mate to be his VP in the 2020 election.
The problem Biden has is which of the four black women to pick. Despite their excellent credentials they share a common handicap.
For a presumptive nominee like Joe Biden, picking a running mate is not an easy task especially when there are a number of qualified candidates. Biden has given us a cue to narrow the selection of his running mate. He has categorically said that his running mate will be a woman. Still this does not make it easy for him and the pundits to find the woman who will become the VP if he prevails in the November election.
The group of women who are likely candidates for Biden’s running mate can be divided into two groups by race. If you are thinking that I shouldn’t bring up the race card, I have no choice because race is important in this presidential election. Race in American politics goes back to the time of the founding fathers. Thomas Jefferson was elected president because of the three-fifths compromise vote (each slave was counted as three-fifth of a person).
So, who are the women on Biden’s running mate radar? There is the black group of Stacy Abrams, Valerie Demings, Kamala Harris, and Susan Rice (the long shot). For the white group there is Elizabeth Warren, Amy Klobuchar, Gretchen Whitmer, Kathleen Sibelius, Sally Yates, and the field.
The problem for Joe Biden and the Democratic Party is that they can’t afford to make the mistake John McCain made when he picked Sarah Palin to be his running mate. Too much is at stake in this election. This is a fight for the soul of America. If Donald Trump win, he will continue to trample the constitution and destroy the soul of America. A victory for Biden will provide the hope that is badly needed for the renewal of America’s soul.
We have been told that the black vote is crucial in the 2020 election. Biden knows this because he is well aware that it was the black vote that rescued him in the primaries after struggling badly behind Bernie Sanders in early primaries.
The problem Biden has is which of the four black women to pick. Despite their excellent credentials they share a common handicap. That handicap is that they do not have the background where they are well connected to blacks, have been known to identify with them, or have a history of fighting for black causes.
If Biden decide to gamble and chose a white woman, he runs the risk of alienating the black voters. My guess is he doesn’t want that. He needs a lifeline to rescue him again, and that lifeline has to come from a strong black woman that can save him if he falters in the turbulent dirty waters that the Trump campaign is going to create.
Fortunately, for Biden there is one black woman who might throw him a lifeline and rescue him from making a bad decision and even help him prevail in November. That black woman is the former First Lady, Michelle Obama. Although she has said she is not interested in politics, remember this is the fight for the soul of America so Michelle will have to acquiesce to the call of duty and be Biden’s running mate.
Joe Biden would be euphoric if Michelle Obama is his running mate for several reasons. She is relatively young, has eight years experience in the White House, and is more popular than all the other black women put together. It would also be a way for Biden to repay Pres. Obama for putting him on a path to his destiny as 46th president of the USA.
So good luck to BIDEN – OBAMA ticket for the 2020 election in November.