My take on Biden as the Democratic VP choice

As many of my friends will attest to I am a bit of a political junkie. I have even flirted not once, but twice with running for political office including within the last 6 weeks. However, I have for the most part shyed away from talking politics here. I'm not sure why since I share so much but for whatever reason I have.

Tonight I'll change that course. For full disclosure sake, I am a registered Democrat and have voted that way fairly often. I have ventured to the other side of the aisle based upon issues or people I feel strongly about.

So, with that as a back drop I am ready to discuss the Biden choice and I spent a good part of my flights on both Saturday morning and Sunday afternoon thinking about it. I also did a lot of research about a particular topic before coming to this conclusion. In fact, before doing research I was going to blog about my feelings of disillusionment when it comes to the running mate process. For as long as I can remember it seemed like VP running mates have been chosen for strategic voting reasons and not strong political reasoning. I was feeling that way at first with the Biden selection and then I started to do some research.

What did the research show me? First and foremost Biden is a proven leader with a strong track record of leadership, working jointly on both sides of the aisle and standing firm on his core issues. This is exactly what Obama needs as he faces criticism for his experience level and ability to lead. Second, Biden is all about Foreign Policy. He chairs the Senate Committee on Foreign Policy and he is a go to guy for foreing leaders. Biden is also a staunch backer of Israel and will not allow U.S. policy change in that regard. This is HUGE for Obama from a perception standpoint on the Israel issue and a key cog in how he sets foreign policy as the President. I also think he will fill a key cabinet position with Sam Nunn who is also great when it comes to foreign policy. Lastly, Biden is tough and straight forward. He can deliver the hard message with sarcasm and a smile. He will not back down or coalese.

After looking it over, this choice had little to do with wrapping up a key swing state, which is what I believe McCain will be doing if he chooses Tom Ridge, and more to do with good, smart political strategy and choosing a 'partner' who could lead now if necessary.