Biden's Got Game

Like Ezra Klein I think there's something to be said about the idea of Joe Biden as a VP candidate. In terms of his record on national security issues, he's neither the best nor the worst Democrat in the Senate. But he does have one thing that sets him apart from most Democrats in terms of talking about foreign policy -- confidence. When given the chance to talk foreign policy he's eager to do it and confident that he'll win the argument:



Democrats have a tendency to get timid, get defense, or get high-minded (condemning the "politics of fear" or "politicizing" this or that) when attacked by Republicans. Biden, though, just responds in kind as if he's obviously right, and his opponents are obviously wrong and stupid. There's real value in that. At the same time, I think putting someone on the ticket who voted in favor of the 2002 AUMF would prove problematic. I don't see an open and shut case for or against Biden or most of the other people I've seen. But certainly he should be used as a national security surrogate in a high-profile way, one way or other -- it's simply useful to have someone up there who's hungry and eager to deride Republicans on national security issues.