The forgotten man so far in the 2008 presidential campaign is the Democratic vice presidential nominee, Delaware Sen. Joe Biden. They're even having trouble getting reporters to ride on his campaign plane, with only six present on a recent foray. GOP veep candidate Sarah Palin's plane was recently overweight, so many reporters were along, and a few had to be asked to ride commercial to the next stop.
This isn't a problem for the Democrats, but for the Republicans. Biden, famous for sinking his own presidential campaigns, has already made so many gaffes that the Obama-Biden ticket should be sunk already. Due to the lack of publicity, Obama has snuck by. It isn't just the liberal bias of the press keeping Biden's verbal slips quiet--they weren't even there.
A staunch Obama supporter is Missouri State Sen. Chuck Harrison, who is confined to a wheelchair. At a recent rally, Biden enthusiastically shouted out the names of prominent people at the rally, from a list provided by local supporters. With great bonhomie, Biden introduced Harrison, bellowing "Stand up Chuck, let the people see you!" Horrified local Democrats rushed to Biden, who tried to recover by trumpeting Harrison's courage in the face of adversity.
At another stop, Biden said Hillary Clinton would have been a better vice presidential pick. He was right, but did nothing for Obama's reputation for decision-making by pointing out the obvious. (I can't blame Obama. Can you imagine being president, with Hillary Clinton a heartbeat away from the presidency, after what happened to Commerce Secretary Ron Brown and Presidential Counselor Vince Foster? The strain on the Secret Service, alone, would be unbelievable.)
Biden has always had a magnificent facility for saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. As chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he called for dividing Iraq into separate Sunni, Shiite and Kurd states. It was widely panned, particularly by the Iraqis themselves, and considered wrong by many noted foreign policy scholars and experts.
Biden's first presidential campaign blew up after it was disclosed he plagarized a speech by British Foreign Secretary Neal Kinnock, delivering it as his own. Biden is famous for his long-winded, overblown speeches at the drop of a hat--rarely being brief enough to produce the pithy, treasured 30-second television soundbite for the evening news shows.
It's merciful for the Democrats that Biden is out of the loop.
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