Tuesday, October 21, 2008
GirdingGate: Looking at the bright side
FP Passport observes that Joe Biden's suggestion that we "gird our loins" against a possible testing attack early in Barack Obama's presidency is not helpful for the Democrats:
The problem is, seven years after 9/11, and despite several valiant efforts, Democrats still have a hard time talking about fighting terrorism in a way that both tough enough and convincing. Luckily for them, the enormity of the financial crisis is likely to eclipse the fallout from Biden's comments in a few days, but it's a problem that the party is going to need to figure out. Until then, Biden is probably right to just change the subject and wait for this to blow over.
You have to admit, the probable elevation of Joe Biden to the Vice Presidency has its possibilities.
5 Comments:
By 
Steve M. Galbraith, at
Tue Oct 21, 11:08:00 PM:
You have to admit, the probable elevation of Joe Biden to the Vice Presidency has its possibilities.
My guess is that secret bunker that Cheney resides in where he rules America will be put to different uses in an Obama Administration.
By K. Pablo, at
Wed Oct 22, 09:02:00 AM:
I have an alternative explanation:
Joe Biden is savvy enough to realize a lot of national security issues have their own logic and their own momentum. An Obama DOD/State/NSC apparatus is therefore likely to make a lot of the same decisions the "neocons" did, because the popular and prevailing nutroots views would be utterly catastrophic.
Joe Biden is trying to head-off the inevitable criticism that will scream out of the left once Obama has to adopt elements of the Bush doctrine -- for example, pre-emptive strikes against Iran, among 4 or 5 other scenarios.
By 
, at
Wed Oct 22, 09:15:00 AM:
I think that what Biden said and meant was totally opaque.
Despite all the position papers and such, we have no real notion as to the goals and direction of foreign policy under Obama, except
1) re-inforce Afghanistan, whatever that means
2) get out of Iraq because it was a mistake
Beyond that, who knows? "Netroots"? Sure they're unrealistic, but they will influence the semantics of whatever is really done.
-David
By Steve M. Galbraith, at
Wed Oct 22, 10:03:00 AM:
Despite all the position papers and such, we have no real notion as to the goals and direction of foreign policy under Obama, except
Obama says he admires the foreign policy approach of Bush Sr. Pragmatism, realism and all that talk. We must understand the limits of American power (soft and hard) in a complex world. E.g., he points out we can't spend $100 billion annually in Iraq.
Then he goes around talking about how he will "change the world" and "save the world" and "knock down the barriers of the world." He sponsors an act that will increase our foreign aid by over $100 billion per year (Global Poverty Act).
Realist? Internationalist?
If anyone can square this, drop a note to Powell and Adelman et al. I think they'd might want to read it.
By , at
Wed Oct 22, 12:24:00 PM:
