VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN?

by Marilyn Boskey (Drake)
August 23, 2008

Barack Obama has chosen Senator Joe Biden to be his Vice Presidential nominee. I have to say I am a little disappointed with the timing. 1:37am Mountain Time. I had been looking forward to a swell of vibrating alerts during a morning lecture session or on a crowded Regis bus headed downtown. At 1:37am there was no hushed whispering, no debate about whether he had chosen well, no Biden fans jumping out of their seats. It doesn't help that several hours earlier someone had already leaked that it was Joe Biden to the press. I had been so looking forward to that text message, and it was a little disappointing.

Joe Biden was definitely not a surprise pick. He's older and wiser and has experience under his belt. While I know that the Vice President plays a large role in the unfortunate event of something happening to the President, in our history it is a rather rare event that the Vice President really plays any role in the Executive Branch. The VP's most exciting duty, breaking ties in the Senate in his function as President of the Senate, hopefully won't be necessary due to a swell of Democrats taking those seats this election cycle. Furthermore, I fully hope he doesn't take the Dick Cheney approach to the office, in which he controls the Executive Branch. No, hopefully Joe Biden can and will serve as a mentor to our young presidential nominee - someone he can turn to when Russia is at the brink of war or national security might be threatened.

But that brings up another question. Should a President need a mentor? When you are in the highest office in the world, shouldn't you be the mentor to others? I don't think so. In such a powerful position, I would hope the President would look to others who have more experience for advice and help. Obama needs a philosophy, not just an appeal for change. I strongly believe in a strategy that we created in our small group here at the Washington Center; Obama should campaign with the people he will surround himself with in the White House. He needs to campaign with the people who are wise enough to help him create the changes he wants to make. Hopefully Joe Biden can be his mentor and help contribute to a victory on November 4th and a strong Presidency for the next four years.