Okay, okay, so Joe Biden is a senior senator with serious foreign policy credentials, having served twice as chair of the foreign relations committee. I think the appointment is a mistake. I thought Obama would appoint a woman, and I still think he'd have been better to do so. Surely Obama needs to play to his strengths in this election, not trim or compromise as a defensive move against McCain. Naming Biden seems an obvious move to neutralise accusations that Obama is too left-wing, too idealistic and too inexperienced. But I reckon anyone who wants a reassuring, stolid presence in the White House is likely to vote McCain anyway. The reason to vote Obama is precisely because he is fresh and idealistic - a unique selling proposition that is dulled by this blundering compromise.
Biden is too white, too male and too Washington, and putting him on the ticket opens the way for McCain to blur Obama's appeal further by choosing a black, Asian or female running mate. The Obama campaign has obviosuly been afraid of naming a woman - because it seemed tokenistic, and because it might scare away voters who are just about getting used to the fact that the Democratic nominee isn't white. But they should have taken the plunge. The coming convention should have been the time to sharpen the Obama image and make McCain seem like somehting from the 21st century. An impressive female nominee would have stiffened the resolve of many Democratic voters, especially those women who supported Hillary Clinton, seeing something historic in her campaign, just as historic as Obama's candidature.
Is he losing his nerve?
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