Joe Biden has one crucial qualification to be the next vice-president of the
United States, at least in the eyes of Barack Obama. He is not Hillary
Clinton. Mr Obama has made the opposite decision to the one made by another
young and relatively inexperienced Senator in 1960. John F.Kennedy
distrusted and detested Lyndon Johnson, but he asked him to become his
running- mate in the election because he thought that Johnson would help to
deliver the Texas vote. He did, and Texas was one of the key states that
took Kennedy into the White House.
Senator Biden is no Hillary Clinton; he presents no threat though little
promise to Mr Obama. In the primary elections, Mrs Clinton gained 18 million
votes. Among women she had a devoted following - and who still believe she
should have been the candidate. If she had been on the ticket, she would
have brought a lot of votes with her, as did Johnson. In rejecting her as
his running-mate, Mr Obama has taken the risk that his margin of victory
might be wiped out.
Mr Biden has himself twice run unsuccessfully for the presidency; in 1987 he
had to withdraw before the primaries; in 2008 he failed to generate any
interest in the Iowa caucuses or in New Hampshire. He has a strong record
for winning votes as a senator in Delaware. There is no evidence he can win
votes in a national election.
This was, no doubt, a difficult choice. If Mr Obama had chosen Mrs Clinton,
the Clintons might have overshadowed his campaign. Their baggage,
particularly Bill Clinton's past scandals, might have been embarrassing.
Like Johnson, Bill Clinton is a big political figure. One can understand
that Mr Obama wanted to emphasise that he was his own man. Yet in rejecting
Hillary Clinton, Mr Obama may have lost the White House. Many Democrats do
believe that.
There are also potential embarrassments about Mr Biden. I am not referring to
the scandals that were dug up by the campaign staff of Michael Dukakis in
1987, though for a politician to be defeated by the Dukakis machine must
have been quite a humiliation. Mr Biden's plagiarism of Neil Kinnock did not
much matter in 1987 and does not matter at all now.
There is however an important political issue that has already been simmering
on the Republican side and could be raised by the Biden nomination. Last
Saturday, when Biden was introduced to the public in Springfield, Mr Obama
went out of his way to refer to Mr Biden's Catholic faith. Mr Biden capped
that by referring to his upbringing as an Irish Catholic boy. Clearly this
is already an important part of the Biden campaign story.
In 1987 Joe Biden was already a senior member of the US Senate. He held the
post of chairman of the Judiciary Committee, the Senate committee that has
to approve nominations to the Supreme Court. On July 1, President Ronald
Reagan announced the nomination of Robert Bork to the Supreme Court. Judge
Bork was an exceptionally distinguished jurist and the first Reagan
appointee on a very liberal court.
The announcement was greeted by a manic response from another Senator, also
Irish-American, Catholic and Democrat, Edward Kennedy. He said that: “Robert
Bork's America is a land in which women would be forced into back-alley
abortions, blacks would sit at segregated lunch counters, rogue police could
break down citizen's doors in midnight raids, school children could not be
taught about evolution, writers and artists would be censored at the whim of
government and the doors of the Federal Courts would be shut on the fingers
of millions of citizens.”
None of these allegations was true, or could be justified on any statement or
ruling of Judge Bork. However, some of them were repeated again and again
long after they had been challenged or disproved. Initially, Mr Biden's
stance as chairman was quite proper. Indeed he said: “I'm not Teddy
Kennedy.” But he had a meeting with Senator Kennedy, which was followed by
hearings that were far from impartial.
Two months before the hearings even started The New York Times reported Mr
Biden as saying that he “would oppose the nomination and would lead the
fight in the senate”. He had not yet heard any of the evidence. He
subsequently published the Biden Report, which again misrepresented Judge
Bork's legal position; it is a merely partisan document. On October 23 the
Senate rejected the nomination. Whoever else got justice, Judge Bork did not.
The underlying issue, which was partly obscured by propaganda, was the law of
abortion. In the case of Roe v Wade (1973), the Supreme Court had taken the
abortion issue out of the hands of the states or Congress and declared an
unqualified constitutional right for a woman to choose an abortion. Because
this was taken out of the ordinary democratic procedures it has remained a
much more divisive issue than it is in Britain. US Protestants, who are
mainly Republicans, and Roman Catholics - the largest religious group in the
US - do not accept Roe v Wade, but cannot amend the law by any democratic
process.
Catholic doctrine is clear. Abortion is wrong. In practice, Catholic women may
disobey the teaching of their church - to which I belong. Yet most Catholics
dislike politicians who promote themselves as loyal Catholics but oppose any
re-examination of abortion law. Catholics see abortion as a moral issue, but
they also resent humbug.
Mr Biden's nomination as vice- president may or may nor reignite this issue.
Yet Mr Biden was chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee in 1987; he did
play a leading part in a grossly unfair campaign against the nomination of
Judge Bork; he does exploit his Catholic religion as part of his political
appeal. His handling of the Bork nomination was an abuse of office for which
he has never apologised.
The nomination of Robert Bork was the beginning of a nomination process that has led to an extremely conservative Supreme Court -- one that stole the 2000 election from Al Gore. A new documentary about the 2004 election will prove that Ohio (like Florida) skewered results in favor of George Bush.
Carol, Chicago, USA
Baloney. If the Clinton's did not have all those ethical issues, she would have been nominated. All of that stuff would have come out again. Biden is a great choice should anything happen to Barack. Which is more than we can say for McCain's VP pick.
Patty, Tampa, Florida
Sen. Biden is a sound choice (Clinton a braver, I agree). Perhaps the Republicans will follow your lead and try to ignite furor over the Bork issue, with unintended consequences. You are incorrect about what "most Catholics" in America think, and I hope you are also wrong about Obama's selection.
Cynthia, San Diego, USA
I agree that Obama made a critical strategic error by not offering the Vice Presidential spot to Clinton. She had a lot of people voting for her in the primaries and Obama will not be able to draw on that large portion of centrist Democrats if John McCain picks a centrist or liberal running mate.
Harry, Saint Petersburg, FL, United States
Mr. Rees-Mogg,
With all due respect, Mr. Bork indeed received justice. He had a very lenghtly paper trail of far right wing positions. America is well served. As a Democrat Protestant who believes in equal rights, Hillary as VP is too much change.
Brian sumpter, Sacramento, USA
The thing about American voters..is they vote for the person. You should be voting for the party who you believe will deliver on their manifesto.
kirk, Rotherham, UK
Many experts seem to for get US of America History! No Obama is no JFK or any other past or present Leaders, but neither are his crticks A Walter Cronkite, or past great writers.
Fact One, Hillary do not have a strong Foreign Policy background, regardless of the portrail the make her look the part.
James C. Higginbotham Jr., Forestville, MD, USA
Appointing Hilary may have won the battle but lost the war. Why would anyone in power want the Clintons working their own agenda ? Obama is better off losing the White House than trying to govern with those two in the background - look at the damage Cheney has done to the US.
john sykes, charlotte, n carolina, USA
Oh yes he is! Biden is a HUGE asset to Obama. You guys don't know what the heck you're talking about. You don't know Biden and you don't know Obama. They will make a great team, just you watch.
Florie, Ralphsdale, US
I am an Australian who has great respect for the legal and political systems of the US. This is a Presidential Election a Democrat MUST win. The pressures from selecting Mrs. Clinton as a running mate are clear but I suspect in not do so they may be greater, even fatal to Mr. Obama's election.
Maynard H. Gill, Sydney, Australia
Biden's political vulnerability: He said the advent of the ayatollahs in Iran was “progress for human rights”. He voted against the Gulf war, the current “surge”, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard as “terrorist”. He opposes Iranian regime change and will enter “unconditional dialogue” with Ahmadinejad, whose nuclear weapons pose no “real threat”!
Lenny, Berkeley, USA
I have also read The Tempting Of America and have a great deal of sympathy for Bork. But this is nowhere close to a political vulnerability for Biden - it is too esoteric. I also disagree that Obama should have HC as his running mate; he could never have let Bill fix him a drink.
Chris, London, England,
The comparison between Clinton and Johnson is entirely spurious. The choice of Johnson brought the support of a huge state with strong Republican leanings - but Clinton only offers the support of female Democrats, many of whom will vote for the Democrat candidate whomever they may be.
Rob, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
I think the analysis has several errors. Hillary Clinton doesn't have the experience LBJ had - if you don't take her time as First lady into account (and you can be sure the GOP won't let that happen). And I'm not sure Obama detests Hillary Clinton, the choice of Biden has more to do with strategy.
Erik, Gothenburg,
Hillary Clinton's vicious attacks on Obama in her desperation to win the nomination, ruled her out as a possible VP candidate. The Financial Times was right on target with its assessment of this issue, months ago.
James Canning, Seattle, USA
Hillary had such a large and loyal following that it would have been right to choose her and reunite the Democrats. It's also time we had a women in high elected office. Imagine the first Afro-American Pres., first woman V.P. and first Pres. with Muslim ancestors!!!
Joseph, Baltimore, USA
The thing I find hard to come to terms with, we have had more critism of OBAMA than the whole of G W Bush 8 years in office no one even questioned if this man was even stable to lead a country. We have had an Illegal war started several thousand people killed due to it.USA wants another WAR why?.
Daphne Kenward, Cambridge, UK
Protestants and Catholics all oppose Roe v. Wade? Christians are 80%+ of the US population, yet this remains a 50/50 issue in this country. This "analysis" is as sound as the rest of this piece. Stick to UK politics, sir.
Ari Levine, NJ, USA
It's truly a sad state of affairs when a man who may become the president of the United States of Ameirca needs a mentor. And to make matters worse, he chose an old blowhard like Joe Biden for the job. Heaven help us all!
Scott, Wasilla, USA
I disagree William Rees-Mogg. In not picking Hillary as his running mate, Barack has simply put his stamp of authority on the Democratic Party - something he needed to do to win the White House!
Everyone, including Sen. Clinton herself, knows that she wouldn't have played a good No. 2. Biden will!
Dr Cahill, Denver, USA
Rubish ! ... if she beleives in democracy and America not only in herself she will make everything possible so that he gets elected ... Im sure she will !
Adam Carson, London,
Clinton was no choice. her history in the white house does not suggest she would be any use as President or VP; the vitriol against Obama could not be ignored - the republicans would not ignore it). and now the Clintons are posturing divisively again. Clinton is a disaster for the Dems.
Neil Murphy, cromer,
It is inconceivable that Obama could have chosen Clinton as a running-mate. The attacks she made upon him during the primaries would have given the given the Republicans a huge propaganda advantage. Biden was the right choice.
Owen Hilton, Sydney, Australia
Amen, bro.
Mediocrity is afraid of talent. And that's what this is about.
Clinton is the choice of the democratic majority.
joe mercer, new york, usa
Biden is likeable, articulate, a political bruiser and an expert on foreign affairs. He is more down to earth than Obama who is generally considered somewhat elitist and exotic. Biden was probably Obama's best choice for VP.
mike scott, NY, USA
The world is entering into what might become the longest and hardest recession since 1929. The world economy needs a republican government to navigate us out of this recession. We cannot afford to raise taxes and increase protectionism in this environment, this would make it worse for everybody.
Hallgeir, Bergen,
I am very happy that Robert Bork did not become a US Supreme Court Justice. Bork carried out Nixon's orders to fire Watergate Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox in the "Saturday Night Massacre", a last ditch attempt by Nixon to cover up his involvement in the Watergate scandal. Go Biden! Go Obama!
G W, Brewster, USA
I'm sorry but Bork is just no longer relevant here in America, and he was a dodgy nominee for the Supreme Court anyway. That will not hinder Biden in any way, and he is a far less polarising figure than HRC.
People will vote for McCain out of hatred for HRC, and that is not true with Biden.
Eric, Laguna Niguel, CA, USA
Hillary stayed too long in the primary. Had she left early there would have been less animosity between the Obama and Clinton camps. I think Bill Clinton caused a lot of the friction with his intemperate outbursts
The only person who ever thought Hillary would be the VP was Ralph Nader.
E. Elder, Tampa Bay, Florida, USA
you people have to realize. STOP BLAMING "THE BITTERNESS ISSUE" of Hillary supporters for the reason why we are not voting for Obama. He has just proven in these past two months, what we have known for over a year and a half, which is that he knows nothing! and that he is not ready to be President!!
Tony, Frank, USA
I agree with Rees-Mogg that Obama has taken a gamble in not choosing Hillary and also think he's right that he didn't want to deal with the Clinton baggage. Even though I wanted Hillary, I didn't want Bill!! I'm pretty sure there were others like me.
Lee, Boston, USA
Sometimes promoting and selling the obvious is harder than selling a dud.
Obama is the choice for America and it would be better for all if people just started to get on with preparing for a fresh start.
Hilary - too divisive, just look at the posts.
McCain - Not good enough, the same as Bush.
Ben, NY, USA
To all you McCain backers: Are you really ready to vote for a candidate who actually thinks Iraq and Pakistan share a border? I'm not making this up:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NC0Y7zMcn_4
Jet Travis, Barboursville, USA
'We don't live in a country like the U.K. We live in a country with checks and balances' Paul, Elko
That's right, the US government keeps writing the checks and the tax payers have to keep making up the balances.
Ray, California
Ray Brown, San Diego, California
In 1960 JFK's selecting LBJ was critical because JFK couldn't win due to his Catholicism; in 2008 Obama's selecting Biden is about winning the working-class Catholic vote in key states. Biden also provides critical foreign policy experience. And Obama doesn't have to watch his back.
Margaret Henry Pokusa, Alexandria, VA, US
Obama is playing with fire. He could have unified the Democratic party, instead he chose to be divisive. If this guy can't even unite his own party, how can he unite our country? He disgusts me: I am no longer a Democrat.
Jane, Ohio, USA
'We don't live in a country like the U.K. We live in a country with checks and balances' Paul, Elko
If you know nothing about another country's system of government, best not to mention it. You know nothing about the UK and, I guess, have never been outside the States.
Ian, London,
As always Rees Mogg is completely out of touch. Hillary is viewed in the US as a leftwinger. Biden is seen as middle of the road. The vast majority of Hillary's supporters, after making a lot of noise, will hold their nose and vote for Obama. With Biden he hopes to attract the independents.
Ian, Frederick, USA
Senator Biden represents a state with two one-thousandths of the population of the USA. In the last election he received 135,253 votes for 58% of the vote. He has never been exposed enough to the national population to realize much let admit he is as narcissistic as former Senator John Edwards.
Steve Weiss, Stevenson, Washington, USA
Voters of the US, as usual, will make another bad choice by electing OBAMA as the next president, and there will be NO RECOURSE, BUT TO SAY, THEY GOOFED AGAIN, JUST LIKE IN BUSH. Will they ever learn? Probably not. Is ignorance bliss? Thank the LORD, I'm now an Independant.
Rudolph J. Antala Jr., Eau Claire, USA
What's McCain going to do? start a war with RUSSIA? start a WAR with IRAN, whose SON'S & DAUGHTERS are going to fight in these wars? whose lives will be thrown away this time? who is going to pay for it? Where is America going to get the money? America is alrady BANKRUPT.
Daphne Kenward, Cambridge, UK
Bork is an extremist. We don't live in a country like the U.K. We live in a country with checks and balances applied to individual branches of government. In order for a President to confirm a Supreme Court Justice it requires "the advice and consent" of the Senate. Bork didn't have it. Get over it.
Paul, Elko, NV, USA
Hillary supporters fail to recognize a few facts. First, not one cross-over republican or independent voting for Obama would do so with Hillary as VP. Second, Hillary would cause a massive turnout by conservatives for McCain. Hillary and her husband are polarizing figures. Start thinking rationally.
Chuckles, Seattle, USA
THANK YOU! I am driven crazy by politicians like Biden, Durbin, Leahy and others, who tout themselves as Catholics and then openly support policies that are in direct contradiction to it's fundamental teachings. If you don't agree with the RC Church fine, but stop using it to get votes.
Joann, Anchorage, USA
Lyndon Johnson was a powerful leader who could get things done. Hillary Clinton has failed in every endeavor, starting with her hair-brained health-care scheme. She would have been a mill-stone around Obama's neck.
Marvin Sussman, Chicago, Illinois, USA
The fact is that Obama's V.P. doesn't matter. America is still highly sensitive to racial voting and demograpics. I am 99% certain that Mc Cain will sweep through despite the dreadful situation left by the current incumbent administration, where as if Hilary was running Dems would certainly win.
Oliver Cowley, London, England
The truth is Biden is more Presidential material than BHO. But it still wont make up for the inexperience that is Obama. He is barely qualified to be a Senator. His state is over budget and with the highest state taxes around. Even with this limited experience we can peruze, BHO comes up way short.
Marc, Cincinnati, USA
Jim, Milwaukee;
If a six-term senator is not going to be any help to (Senator) Obama then what is it that makes John McCain so 'prepared' for the job?
Gabriel, belfast,
Au contraire. Choosing Hellary as VP would have been the worst thing Obama could have done. There is a huge base of us women voters who found Hellary's campaign an embarrassment. She set the Feminist Movement back several decades. She is the prototype of how NOT to behave.
Kasha, Lawrence, USA
The role of a VP is to be President if something happens to Obama. If the country wanted Biden they would have voted for him when they had the chance. The Clinton's may be personally easy to dislike but I'll bet both candidates would rather be inheriting the country they left at the end of his term.
John, BC, Canada
I think Bork was treated appallingly, but Biden's misrule is irrelevant to this election. Biden is an asset--this year. Hillary would have been a disastrous VP candidate, making Obama look small. She would almost certainly wreck his campaign -- as she did her own.
WFH, Washington, DC, USA
Barack Obama will not win this election. He does not have the full support of his party. HRC supporters feel disenfranchised because the DNC favored Obama and Nancy Pelosi ordering Super Delegates to storm out before all voting was completed. This was a process where Obama was selected.
Rebekah Chauhan, Los Angeles, California
Republicans love to spread the word that somehow they have the last word when it comes to the Clintons. The truth is that they are more popular today than when they were in the White House.
They did spread the same Hillary-hate preaching when she run for New York Senator. Result: She won big!
John, San Francisco, USA
dear sir, I don't think so
Hillary has, more than once, stabbed in the back Senator Obama and I agree deeply with his smart choice.
He's young and the running mate is not, he's expert and wise.
on the other side, nevertheless, jaws Mc Cain, is very old and not so much in good health. think about it.
edoardo chioni, Rome, ITALY
The Hillary-LBJ comparison is faulty: Johnson helped shore up Southern electoral votes (the South was then still largely Democratic) while Hillary's appeal is almost exclusively within her own party. Biden's opposition to the Bork nomination will have absolutely no bearing whatever on the election.
David, New York, NY, USA
This is the most abortionist ticket ever. These guys are so in the tank for NARAL. At least Biden had the sense to vote for the born alive bill while Saint O is still trying to defend his views against it.
Kabookey, PITTSBURGH,PA, usa
Here is the bottom line about barack obama: the u.s. is not
some half-baked socialist republic. At least not yet, anyway.
That's why he won't win, and thank God for that.
mike o'connell, basking ridge, new jersey, usa
You say Joe Biden is no Hillary Clinton - correct. More importantly, however, Barack Obama is no JFK.....
Chris, London,
Hi,
Biden is no threat to Obama - but no asset. On the contrary is admission of weakness. Mr. Biden is an experienced tough guy in foreign policy, something that Mr. Obama has not. The Clinton factor is a calculated risk.
Regards Dr. Terence Hale
Terence Hale, Zandvoort, Holland
I wish people would stop talking about Hillary. She lost for God's sake. If the shoe were on the other foot, no one would even mention Obama.
Jacqueline, Pontiac, USA
You cannot win the presidency without the South. This was a bad choice for Obama. Another "northern" Liberal Senator hugging the Mason-Dixon line. Hillary would have been just as bad. I would have suggested a Southern Governor.
M, Milwaukee,
if obama is not strong enough to control hillary clinton is he strong enough, and smart enough, to control the country? who was it that said you should keep your friend close and your enemies closer?
sam, norwell, usa
Voters vote for President not VP. That said, Biden brings nothing with which to bolster Obama's utter lack of preparedness for the job and total lack of policies. Most Americans don't even know who Biden is. That sound you're hearing? It's Obama circling the drain.
Jim, Milwaukee, USA
Hmmmm....you really believe that is what happened in the Democratic primary process? Really? They went out and found Obama for the specific purpose of defeating a woman? Laughable.
anasazi, New York, USA
The best result for the GOP would have been the selection of Hillary Clinton by the Democratic Party. It would have pushed the swing vote towards the Republicans, and galvanised their wavering supporters. HRC is hated outside her core constituency, for the reasons others here have explained
max parker, Boston, MA
I was rather hoping the smug Obama would lose this election - now Rees-Mogg has predicted at least his failure to reach a sweeping victory, I fear Obama will succeed triumphantly!
Liam, Sheffield, South Yorks
Hillary has balls. None of the other candidates have them. World peace will not always be best served by being a nice chap . So the Catholics will be insisting that the already burgeoning population grow even faster in the most environmentally expensive and selfish country in the world,fab
not
Julian, London, UK
Biden wreaks of arrogance, of the kind that is so used to political status it would be an empty shell without it. Obama always was arrogant but his flamboyance took your eye off it. Now, with a whiter and older version of Obama alongside, the comparison in political arrogance is glaring.
Dominic, London, UK
Biden is a Kennedy friend. Old, rich and white Senators poised to stop the woman. They found a man who could undermine her appeal with the African-American vote, turn them away from a candidate who since meeting Martin Luther King as a young girl had dedicated her life for civil rights.
Sylvia Johnsen, Oslo, Norway
Wrong. Republican turnout would be much higher with Hillary on the ticket. They may not care much for Obama but they positively dislike her.
R James, Clifton, UK
What is so special about Hillary Clinton? She lost the nomination because she arrogantly thought she was entitled to it because of her husband. If she had won and then become president that would have meant at least 24 years of 2 families occupying the white house. That isn't democratic.
Mat, Leeds,
Biden WILL be a threat to Obama. The most striking line in his introduction of Biden was: “Joe Biden is what so many others pretend to be — a statesman with sound judgment who doesn't have to hide behind bluster to keep America strong.” Now... err...who do we know who pretends to be a statesman?!
Mike, Berkeley, USA
I always read this comedy section by WRM w/ great amusement. Sure, the Republicans WANTED Hillary on the ticket. Why? So much to attack. A full 50% of Americans WILL NOT vote for her in any circumstances (latest NY Times poll). Adding her to the ticket would be a death blow for Obama.
MS, A Yankee in London,
What utter bilge. Bork was a dishonest right-wing extremist, and the Senate was right to keep him from the Supreme Court. That Hillary Clinton is the equivalent of LBJ is a-historical nonsense. Hillary is the most divisive politician in America, and Obama will easily win New York without her.
T. Haggerty, New York, United States
Biden will not pull votes & McCain will be able to exploit the fact that Biden does not in his heart actually respect Obama except for his political aura. Like most Democrats he is so self centered; neither hold a candle to the self sacrifice & love of country that is John McCain & he'll win easily.
Eric, Leavenworth WA, USA
I cannot believe the juvenile thinking of people who will vote for McCain over Obama because he didn't choose Hllary. How short-sighted. Wait until President McCain loses his temper and gets us involved in another expensive war we don't belong in. He'll be a disaster for US/international relations.
Kathy Celer, Chicago, USA
We won't know till the elections and whom the electoral college votes for since America is a Repubic and not a Democracy so we won't know till the votes are tallied. I would have preferred Chuck Hagel for VP but maybe he'll become the secretary of defense. No one has a crystal ball.
Blake Southwood, San Carlos, California, America
With Hillary comes Bill, and America doesn't need another 4 years of Bill's escapades to distract us.
Mike, chicago, US
Should he win, Obama could not have the Clintons
setting up a shadow presidency in the vice president's mansion. The Clintons also come with a load of tawdry drama as baggage. The fact that he is turning the convention to Hillary has me rethinking my support of him.
Bruce Northwood, Silver Spring, USA
Unfortunately, Mr. Rees-Mogg, Judge Bork, like fellow authoritarians Rehnquist, Scalia, Roberts, and Thomas seem never to have read the 9th and 10th Amendments in the Bill of Rights, The Founding Fathers made it very explicit that the list in the Bill of Rights was NOT exclusive by any means.
EdA, Boston, U.S.
Interesting. Like Rudy (Noun-verb-9/11) Giuliani and many other Republicans who certainly don't hope for Obama's election, Mr. Rees-Mogg thinks that Obama should have picked Senator Clinton instead.
EdA, Boston, U.S.
Hogwash!
There was NO WAY that Mrs. Clinton was ever going to be on that ticket, or ever going to be an asset to the next President , the Hon. Barack Obama.
Mr. Obama must have someone that he can trust as his running mate. Hillary and her sorry feminists were simply NEVER going to cut it
Melvin Cox, Oakland, CA , USA
Paris Hilton, I like it, LOL.
I tried not to comment on the American elections but my fingers got the better of me.
If Obama had opted for Hillary as his vice he would have to live with a constant thorn in his side, so Hillary was out from day one I think. God Bless.
Mike, London, UK
To have the two Clintons--yes,TWO Clintons--scheming their restoration inside the Obama White House would be political suicide. Yes, Hillary could deliver some votes, but having her on the ticket would make Obama's presidency not worth having. The Clintons think of no one but themselves.
Ward, Tucson, USA
Mr. Rees-Mogg overlooks the more important asset that Biden brings with him. He is white. This will presumably make the Obama ticket an easier pill to swallow for more traditionally-minded (to put it nicely) white American voters. This 'Judge Bork' nonsense is not remotely controversial.
Gabriel, Belfast,
Mr. Obama was indeed in a spot. Yes, Mrs. Clinton was an impossible candidate. Mr. Biden was possibly the only choice. Given the re-emergence of an agressive Russia foreign affairs may be a top campaign issue. Alas, Mr. Biden is a blowhart and will hurt more than help the candidate.
DANIEL WILLIAM SULLIVAN, RIO DE JANEIRO, BRASIL
Despite of her strong support among women and professionals it is impossible for someone living outside the US to truly understand the degree to which Hillary Clinton is detested by the lower (and mostly male) middle class. She is virtually unelectable.
Robin Hale, Gainesville, Georgia, USA
To be fair, i dont think many people are going to care about Biden's handling of Bork in the 80s. It is true that he may upset catholics and protestants alike, because of his ruling on Bork and how that is related to his opinions of abortion, but in truth,it seems like an insignificant event
Josh, SS,
In the 2008 presidential race, Biden had a grand total of less then 10,000 votes TOTAL. Shows how much the American citizenry thought of him!
Callie, Williamsport, Pa., U. S. A.
Biden is proof that Obama lacks experience. He was chosen to offset this in the minds of the voters. However, Obama woud be the president not Biden, therefore, McCain is the only sensible choice.
Louis, Safety Harbor, USA
Jason,
Perhaps the publishing of Lord Rees-Mogg's article in an ENGLISH journal of opinion might not need to be perceived as a devilish conservative effort to poison the political climate in the United States?
We don't vote in the United States. Something about '1776'.
John Swaine, Malta, Malta
I too would have voted for Obama had he had the wisdom to choose Hilary. If McCain doesn't choose a liability for VP, I will vote for him....and I'm a devout Democrat. Otherwise, I'll stay home on voting day.
John, NY, USA
1) Those Clinton voters who say they won't vote for Obama are people who were less voting FOR her than AGAINST him. Clinton on the ticket wouldn't persuade them. 2) An overwhelming majority of those open to voting Democratic are pro-choice. Biden's position doesn't hurt at all.
Peter Gruber, San Diego, USA
William Rees-Mogg has, as we say in the States, hit the ball out of the Park. Yes, Obama had in 2008 the same opportunity JFK had in 1960. He could pick as a running mate a man he personally detested, and achieve victory, or refuse to bend to expediencey, and lose. Obama's pride will be his undoing.
Jim Silberman, New York City, USA
What Bah Hug So the VP nomination is more impt. than the War? The economy and on and on. Biden like Johnson is a seasoned politician unlike Obama and a big critic of him in primaries.
William himself misses the point that the Cliton's would have taken away from the FOCUS The focus on winning WH!
NICK I. Quidwai, Newbury Park, CA
the old saying that people get the government they deserve may come true again here in the USA... those backers of Hillary...a fine candidate who should get a serious job iunder Obama, not VP.. will ensure America really leaves the tracks by helping McCain win... incredibly blinkered and selfish
GARRY SOUTHERN, WATERMILL, NY
I would have voted for Obama if Hillary was on the ticket now I am voting for Paris Hilton there is no choices
Sharon, Chattanooga, Hamilton
Bias can't be disguised, no matter how many opinions are set forth as facts. As a conservative politician from England Mr. Rees-Bogg should reserve his ill-will for his Country's own politicians. We have a enough hate and fear-mongers dividing this Country already.
Jason, Ft. Lauderdale, USA