VP Choice

While reading Wayne's "The Road to the White House 2008" I realized that I hardly knew anything about Obama's running mate, Joe Biden, compared to how much I knew about Sarah Palin. In chapter 6 Wayne talks about what factors play into a presidential candidate picking his vice president. Wayne says on page 181 that "picking an experienced, well-respected person who might have been or perhaps could become a candidate for the presidency sometime in the future usually suggests a willingness to delegate power as well as share some decisional responsibility." After doing some research, this sounds exactly like Obama's and Biden's situation. Biden was a former candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination and is also considered very exerienced.

Wayne also talks about the political benefit that vice presidential choices bring. He says on page 182 that "occasionally, demographic variables are also considered such as gender and age." We all know that this sounds like McCain's choice of younger and female Sarah Palin.

One of the vice presidents biggest obligations is to take over the presidency if something happens to the president. I feel that it is irresponsible to pick someone who might have to take over the presidency based on demographics. Without a doubt, McCain could have found someone more ready for the presidency than Palin. I am not saying that she has no experience, but if she would have run for president this year, she would have been a joke. When it comes down to it, I would rather have Joe Biden as president over Sarah Palin.

For more information on Joe Biden, visit:
http://www.barackobama.com/learn/meet_joe.php