Obama's reach for "gravitas" with Biden

In 2000, the liberal press, like faithful lap dogs, picked up the Bill and Hillary Clinton line that then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush lacked the "gravitas" to be president. Rush Limbaugh put together an audio montage of national radio and TV anchors, each repeating the charge of Bush's supposed lack of "gravitas."

Bush was a veteran pro, at that point, compared to Barack Obama today. At least he had been around the White House with his parents, been active in presidential politics with them, and been Governor of Texas for eight years--a large state with large responsibility. Bush had also been a successful businessman, making a fortune in the oil business and owning the major league Texas Rangers baseball team.

He solved his alleged "gravitas" problem, in the eyes of the press, by selecting Dick Cheney as his vice presidential nominee, who had "gravitas" from his 20 years service in the U.S. House, rising to minority Whip, Ford White House Chief of Staff, and Bush 41 Defense Secretary.

Roll the cameras to 2008, and we find Obama, with a much worse lack of "gravitas" than Bush every thought of having. The liberal press has never even breathed the term, until suddenly Russia reimerges as its old self and invades its former colony Georgia. A genuine foreign policy crisis.

Obama was quickly in deep water, over his head, and made a few naive, inexperienced remarks about it that made him look like the rookie he is. A genuine lack of "gravitas." His GOP opponent John McCain, a certifiable heavy in foreign policy, responded sure-footedly as expected, and rose to tying and even leading Obama in the polls.

While the term has not been heard, as Obama is a rock star liberal with the press wrapped around his fingers, Obama solved his "gravitas" problem by abandoning his first choice for vice president, Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine (who had an even lighter resume than Obama's--three years ago he was Mayor of Richmond), and selecting 36-year Delaware Sen. Joe Biden as his running mate, who is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and ran for president in both 1988 and 2008 without gaining much traction either time.

What his brief campaigns are most famous for is being exposed by his opponent, liberal Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis, for plagarizing his stump campaign speech from Briish Labor Party Secretary Neal Kinnock in 1988, and in 2008 calling Obama "the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy."

Biden is a typical windy, bloviating, out-of-touch veteran Senator--what happens to all of them, like Ted Kennedy, John Kerry and Chris Dodd, when they serve too tong. Witness Indiana Republican Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana today, congratulating Biden as a friend and lamenting that his fellow Hoosier Democrat, Sen. Evan Bayh, wasn't selected. (What about his fellow Republican, John McCain?)

It'll be fascinating to see the results of Obama's reach for "gravitas."