Veepstakes: Biden on the move?

By Michael J.W. Stickings

According to the Chicago Sun-Times's Lynn Sweet, Biden is "moving up on the list of potential running mates" for Obama.

It seems to be coming down to Biden, Bayh, and Kaine -- unless Obama has a major surprise up his sleeve. As I've said before, Biden is my clear preference among the leading contenders.

Steve Clemons thinks that Bayh is "the favored candidate" to be Obama's running mate. As I've said before, I don't much care for Bayh. He's generally too "centrist" for my liking, too much the slick careerist politician, too willing to abandon Democratic principles in order to make nice with the other side. And it doesn't help that, as Taylor Marsh points out (via Steve), "he was the co-chair of the neocon pro-war Committee for the Liberation of Iraq," a group that included McCain, Lieberman, former CIA Director James Woolsey, and PNAC founder and neocon extraordinaire Krazy Bill Kristol. To me, that's enough, more than enough, to disqualify him.

I'd be fine with Kaine -- he's the governor of a key purple state (Virginia), and he and Obama apparently get along really well, but he lacks the extensive foreign policy and national security experience I think Obama needs on the ticket -- but, of these three, let it be Biden.

Chris Bowers, a solid progressive Democrat, makes a good case for him as the least bad of a fairly unappealing lot:

[A]t least Biden is in the center of the Democratic Party, rather it's right flank. Also, he is seasoned as a national campaigner, and an effective surrogate on national media. He excelled in all of the debates back in 2007, and would do well in the VP debate against anyone McCain selects. Also, given his age, he would not be an heir apparent to the nomination in 2012 or 2016. In short, he is competent, not right-wing, and would not have a stanglehold on the party once Obama is gone. I can live with that.

Biden might be the only non-terrible choice on the short list who also appears convincingly "presidential." (Even though I hate using that word, do people here really believe Sebelius as the President of the United States?) If he ends up as Vice-President, I won't be excited, but I will be relieved.

At this point, I'll take relief over excitement. Biden's the right pick.