Like this blogger, I remember how he treated Anita Hill. I remember the plagiarism, which may have started when he was in law school. Worst of all, however, is his support for a bankruptcy regime that enriches large corporations at the expense of working class people, (see also) hitting women particularly hard.
I expect I’m still going to vote for Obama, but I feel far less connected to his vision for this country. Good link roundup on Biden here.
–Ann Bartow
ETA: Looks like I’m far from the only underwhelmed woman Dem.
The NYT offers analysis and links to clips of the Biden at the Thomas confirmation hearings here.
I respect Ann’s view and the view of the first blogger (Black Hippy Chick). I was also appalled at the treatment of Anita Hill. My view is that U.S. presidential election is not a chance to elect our ideal candidate or most favorite person, but instead elections are a choice. In this case the choice is between Obama and McCain. Whether it be equal pay, abortion rights (despite what Black Hippy Chick says), or ending the war in Iraq I think, when measured against McCain, Obama is the clear choice . I understand the disappointment of many progressives about various choices of the Obama campaign, but this election cycle we can’t afford to take our eye off the ball as we have in the past two elections. We’ve seen the devastating consequences.
Obama had a chance to mend fences with 18 million Clinton supporters. Instead, he has chosen a running mate who is even worse than Clinton on the issues she could very justifiably be criticized for (her support for the Iraq war, her ties to machine politics, etc.) with none of her many positives. I’ll still vote for Obama, but I think he has made a big mistake that is going to cost him a lot of votes, particularly from women.
Also have to add: It was MEN who dropped the ball these past two election cycles, not women. Women voted for Gore and Kerry in disproportionate numbers. It was male voters who put Bush in office and kept him there. Data here: http://www.apsanet.org/imgtest/PSJuly06Kaufmann.pdf
Maybe selecting Biden was an attempt to bring more men on board. But if this drives women away, it’s not a good strategy.
I wasn’t arguing that it was women who lost the past two elections for Democrats. My point was simply that a VP choice shouldn’t distract Democrats (men or women) from the real issues in this election. Also, the polls are already showing that the large majority of Hillary voters are supporting Obama, because the two candidates shared most of the same policy beliefs. Of course every person has to make their own choice on what is important to them but I have a hard time understanding why staying at home or supporting John McCain would appeal to anyone who supported a wise, principled candidate like Hillary Clinton.
I agree with you that Obama will make a much better President than McCain, and it’s very important to get him into office. I just don’t understand why he chose Biden as his running mate.
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