The Biden Bid

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The best thing to say for Barack Obama's choice of Senator Joseph Biden as a running mate is that it might have been worse. OK, a lot worse: Joe Biden is not Dick Cheney, after all. But neither is he the mythical character portrayed by reporters--a senator who is wise and thoughtful, deeply experienced and always affable, loyal and liberal, blah, blah, blah.

Biden is a club member--the old Washington club that Obama says he intends to displace. Choosing him has limited political merit, and is mainly to reassure folks that an Obama White House will include an experienced old hand who has chaired the Judiciary and Foreign Relations committees. Biden knows the way through the Washington labyrinth, a valuable asset for a less experienced President. But, as usual, the Washington press corps got carried away in extolling Biden's virtues simply because he's a guy they know.

For many years, Biden has carried water for the credit-card industry and its usurious lending practices. He helped engineer the draconian bankruptcy bill, which has tightened the screws on millions of families sinking into debt. Odd that this accomplishment is usually left off his résumé. Defenders would say the senator was merely representing his home state, where several of the largest credit-card banks are located. Delaware has long been famous as a legal free-fire zone for corporations. If President Obama sets out to reform corrupted corporate capitalism, he will have an expert at his elbow. The mainstream press is also trumpeting Biden's appeal to the common man, hailing his blue-collar Scranton roots--even though Biden supported the key "free trade" bills of the 1990s, including those producing NAFTA and the WTO, which have harmed workers everywhere.

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