Well, it comes as a surprise to almost nobody that Joe Biden has designs on the Presidency in 2008.
I haven't followed his career closely enough to make a good judgment on him, though, his recent vote on the bankruptcy bill was pretty nauseating. However, I am willing to overlook that if he would otherwise be a good candidate.
More in extended.
I am a firm believer that, on occasion, politicians must make moves - even against their own principles - in order to remain politically viable. I certainly won't support anybody who makes too much of a habit of that practice, but I recognize that, from time to time, it is a necessity. In other words, I want to support somebody who is politically viable - someone who can actually make a difference - over somebody who sacrifices their career because they weren't willing to compromise on some little detail. Allow me to provide a few historical examples:
During the Wilson administration, FDR was an ardent supporter of the League of Nations. He continued to support the LoN, even after it failed to pass through Congress and was even outspoken about it. However, by the time he set out to run for President, the League of Nations had become so terribly unpopular with the public, any public endorsement from Roosevelt would almost surely have cost him the nomination. So, Roosevelt got together with his advisor Louie Howe, and decided to run as an anti-LoN candidate. Now, we all know how Roosevelt really felt - after all, this was the man who eventually created the United Nations, but, he made a move out of necessity to remain politically viable. And, it's a damned good thing he did because he turned out to be the greatest President this country has ever seen.
Now take LBJ. Johnson obviously made mistakes on foreign policy, but he was one of the greatest domestic policy Presidents in history. His work on Civil Rights makes him a great president in my book even with Vietnam looming in the background. When Johnson first assumed the Presidency, he famously had a meeting with Martin Luther King, Jr. King, concerned that a southern Democrat might not be a strong ally of his movement, told Johnson that it was essential that he move fast with Civil Rights legislation. Johnson responded with something like: "Dr. King, I am going to go so fast that you are going to have trouble keeping up with me."
The truth of the matter is, however, that King's concerns were not unfounded. When Johnson was a Senator in Texas, he had endorsed some legislation that was essentially anti-civil rights. But, being from Texas, Johnson had to do that in order to remain politically viable. We know now, of course, how Johnson really felt about civil rights, but he was willing to make sacrifices in order to get the chance to make a real difference.
Fast forward to now. I don't know if Biden's seemingly indefensible vote on the bankruptcy bill is a corollary to those stories. I won't support someone who defines their career by doing that kind of stuff. However, if he decided to support that bill, only because he knew he would never get enough funding for his campaign otherwise - or for some other reason that I don't see - then I might be willing to overlook the bankruptcy bill.
I'd like to hear some feedback from Kos readers. This site has seemingly decided to cast Biden aside already. (i.e. Biden - D, MBNA) Does Biden have a history of this stuff, or was it an isolated incident?
To me, just watching him on TV in '04, he is very articulate, nice looking, and, unlike our past two candidates, quite charismatic. If the guy's not a complete scumbag, I think he could be a really strong candidate for us. Thoughts?