9/10/2008
ABC News is reporting tonight that Senator Biden, Obama’s running mate, told an audience that Senator Clinton might have been a better pick for the VP slot:
At a rally in Nashua, N.H., a man in the audience told Biden how glad he was that Obama picked him over Hillary, “not because she’s a woman, but because, look at the things she did in the past.”
“Make no mistake about this,” Biden responded. “Hillary Clinton is as qualified or more qualified than I am to be vice president of the United States of America. Let’s get that straight. She’s a truly close personal friend, she is qualified to be president of the United States of America, she’s easily qualified to be vice president of the United States of America, and quite frankly, it might have been a better pick than me. But she’s first rate, I mean that sincerely, she’s first rate, so let’s get that straight.”
You can expect Biden to modify this statement right away to say that he was only defending a senate colleague. And that might actually be the case. Certainly, Senator Biden is well liked by his Democratic colleagues and there’s no reason to think the feeling isn’t mutual.
That said, you know this will be fodder for the next couple of days at least. Expect at least one ad from the McCain Campaign highlighting this quote.
This quote will hurt Senator Obama, mainly because it will underscore to Senator Clinton’s die-hard supporters that Senator Obama went against all common sense (from their point of view) to pass over Clinton without at least giving her some consideration. I happen to believe Senator Clinton’s supporters are exactly right.
So Biden’s quote will just anger them all the more and, while they might not vote for McCain/Palin in November, they might not vote for Senator Obama either.
No Comments
