Back to School

I enjoyed this brief from Richardson's school stop in Manchester today, notably the following passage:

His plan for healthcare may have got lost in translation, but when the New Mexico Governor stated he would get rid of junk food in schools. A monumental groan swept over the room. One eight year old saying, “I don’t like that.”

Although the Governor’s classroom audience was below the legal voting age,
he found a way to ask for their support.

“You got to tell your mom and dad. More so than your friends,” he said
playfully.

It reminded me of Billy Madison*. Oh yeah.

What do you think about that, Mr. Blue Duck?
That's quack-tastic!

By the way, I've been thinking. On the grand political scale of things, what weighs heavier, the positive of working in a bi-partisan manner to pass a bill about the partitioning of Iraq for political purposes...or the negative of doing so with Sam Brownback? I've been drifting toward the latter ever since the GOP debate.



*Campaign fun fact: Adam Sandler is from Manchester, NH**


**Campaign lame fact: He is a Giuliani donor.

When Biden Attacks!

Concord, NH -

As Mark Murray at MSNBC.com reports, Joe Biden is picking a "for real" fight with Bill Richardson. No shit.

Biden called out Richardson's gubernatorial experience in a relatively small state of 1,954,599 at Friday’s AARP forum, quipping "That's like saying, you know, I played halfback when I was in high school, I can play in the pros -- a different deal." In other words, his executive experience means Bo Diddley on the national stage.

That's all just debate banter. The real fightin' words came by way of direct assault. Earlier that day the Biden campaign put out a press release accusing the New Mexico governor of flip-flopping on Iraq. Worse, they did this with a spin on Richardson's latest slogan. Check this, pulled directly from the release:

“Governor Richardson is right that he represents both experience and change – he has a lot of experience changing his mind on matters both large and small,” said Biden for President Campaign Manager Luis Navarro.

Youch!

It didn't stop there. The very next morning Biden released another jab through the press, this time attacking Richardson on his health care record in response to his debate claim that he was "the only one here that has actually dealt with health care directly as a governor." Biden brought up the fact that Richardson had overseen a bed tax on retirement homes to make up for a budget shortage, though they don't mention it was later repealed. He also repeatedly calls it a "scheme" and worse still, compares Richardson to Bush:

“Governor Richardson likes to tout his gubernatorial experience as his principal qualification for president, but, as we have seen from President Bush, gubernatorial sleight-of-hand is not going to solve the problems of our nation."

What gives?

Well, according to the Biden campaign it was nothing but a tactic to achieve a level playing field. They told MSNBC that Richardson has "gotten a free pass from the press. And we're not going to let that continue."

Well well, we didn't even have to wait until Wednesday to get the spin going. Richardson has been beaten up by the press far more than Biden. Certainly, he has made his fair share of mistakes on the campaign trail so far, from Meet the Press to HRC to SEIU, but those were all very well documented by the media.

As for his record, does bringing up an obscure and short-lived fiscal fix really that worthy of an attack? Furthermore, it was exposed as a New Mexico GOP talking point from the last election. Hardly a noble source among primary votres. And for what? A chance to move up toward 4th place?

Senator Biden was on Letterman last Thursday night, the same day as the AARP forum, and he looked and sounded deflated. It is clear that Joe Biden just flat out cannot believe he is getting such a big ol' whoopin' in the polls this time around. I can just see him telling his inner circle, "Joe Biden has been in the Senate for 35 (y)ears, gawddammit!"

I mean, this is a guy who thought he should have won it back in '88, and can't believe he is doing worse this time around with 20 more years under his belt. I would feel deflated, too. So it isn't surprising that Biden is making a push at something. His debate performances have been solid, his fundraising has not. His press has been good, there just hasn't been much of it.

But why Richardson? Conventional wisdom is the experience thing. Richardson is taking the mantle of best resume among the Dem contenders, and Biden wants a piece of it. He sees himself as the true statesman of the bunch and is getting tired of not getting credit for it, in part because he doesn't have any good catch phrases like Richardson does. Makes sense.

My theory, though, adds in a little sumthin'-sumthin' called the personality thing. I think that the Biden crew thinks that they can go after the personality and maverick vote, currently well within the aegis of the Richardson campaign. Both are more personable than most, chummy and chatty, and better yet able to elicit a good belly laugh every few minutes. Honestly, I think Biden resents that a little bit, too.

Problem #1, face time. You can't be that if you only come to New Hampshire every other month. And you can't help that if you are required to vote all the time and commuting from Delaware to do it. Enter the attacks.

Problem #2, Iraq. Despite Biden's attempt to paint Richardson as a flip-flopper, even a quick examination of the articles cited can be seen as either an evolution of ideas or simply the filling of a massive void in the policy arena. Over a year ago, when the American people elected a congress to end the war it wasn't as pertinent for a Presidential candidate to be making bold claims to remove the troops because it was implied that our elected officials in Washington would get'er done.

Unfortunately, over the course of a few months it became clear that it wasn't going to happen. Enter a major doorway for someone, anyone to step into and be the man to advocate a true end to the war.

With his commitment to a "responsible" pull out, Biden will never be that person. Argue what you will over the true definition of responsible, ranging anywhere from McCain to Richardson, but in Biden's case it doesn't mean an immediate withdrawal, and there are a lot of people who want that. I mean a lot. That is where I think a big chunk of Richardson's support is coming from, and little jabs at minor bits of record aren't going to do anything to change that.

But hey, if the feud makes for a few more jokes in Hanover this Wednesday night, I won't complain too much.

Another Point for Dodd

While Politico examines the sickbed that is Joe Biden's campaign, little known 02138 magazine has an interview with Al Gore where he says, "odds are that I will (endorse during the primary)." Coming on the heels of the IAFF endorsement (as well as fellow NH Blogger Vargas) Gore also singularly mentions Chris Dodd, albeit as part of a general failure by the Democrats:

I don’t think anyone has given it the emphasis that it should have. But Chris Dodd deserves credit for proposing a CO2 tax—I’m convinced that we should eliminate the payroll tax and replace it dollar for dollar with a CO2 tax.

In other news, I will be shunning the GOP debate live-blogging scene in order to assert 3Q's dominance on the Concord Pub Trivia circuit. I'll be at the Barley House starting at 8PM (and most every Wednesday hereafter). All bloggers and campaign workers are welcomed to bear witness, and even potentially join the team. Tryouts will be held throughout the month of September, and beginning in October I hope to have formed the team of champions. Bring it, Granite State.

Pop Your Collar

Watch Biden clean house in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Photo from the Des Moines Register. Seriously, what a pimp. Pop that collar and holler.

Biden Uncut

Cotuit, MA -

Ho ho! No sooner do I say those comments about Senator Biden do I find out that he just contradicted me in a Newsweek interview! Witness:

Which Republican in the current field scares you the most?
I could tell you off the record but it sounds too presumptuous to answer something like that. Plus, I think we can beat them all.
What about Rudy Giuliani? Couldn’t he put more states in play than any other Republican? No. Giuliani’s signature position on national security is the place he’s most vulnerable, based on how little he actually knows about foreign policy.
Would you feel unfulfilled in your career if, as some observers are predicting, you ended up not as president but as secretary of State under the next Democratic president?
I promise you, I don’t want to be secretary of State. If I did, this is certainly not the best way to go about it. I’m going to be taking sharper and sharper exceptions with my colleagues. And it won’t be easy to then turn around and ask to be secretary of State. The truth is, I will be upset only if I don’t say what I think during this campaign. I can die a happy man not hearing “Hail to the Chief.”

Yes! Break out the Cutcos! Bring on the sharp stuff!

Holy crap, its a Quabbin media feeding frenzy down here in shark country! Now if I could only get around to writing that McCain article!

Giddy at the library (and keepin' it pasty indoors),
BTB

NH 2008Pic of the Week

I found this pic on http://nh2008.blogspot.com/ although they just took it down in favor of the Clintons, but what a classic shot of the healing powers of politics. Go Joe.

Biden the Titan, Part 2

Kensington, NH -

Just a quick turn off of the small, rural Rte. 150, in the heart of the little place we call Lamprey Corners down in the Seacoast region sits a house with Nantucket shingles and a living room with big French doors opening into a view of great, hay-strewn fields and hardwood forests that had recently been put into a conservation easement. The house belonged to Jim Webber, Democratic candidate for state representative from the southeastern most district in the state. Webber was hosting the house party as part of a concurrent event to kick off his general election campaign with the help of Joe Biden and whatever media coverage and excitement that might entail.

Webber nervously began his stump speech, which he repeatedly promised would last less than three minutes, once word had arrived that the Senator was near the house, about a half hour after scheduled. I guess he was too close, or else Jim was too loquacious, or both. Halfway through the presentation, Joe Biden had arrived.

In he walked, from the far side of the room from me, decked out in seersucker pants and a navy polo shirt, with tiny brown wing tips on his feet. "Who's this Jim Webber guy, anyway?" Joe demanded to know with a big smile on his face as he walked up to the center of the room and poked the lesser candidate in the chest before disappearing into the kitchen to let Webber finish his speech. A few minutes later, he emerged sipping a can of Canada Dry ginger ale and munching on a bavarian pretzel. He swallowed, smiled, and announced, "to put it bluntly, I'm here to audition."

And audition he did, talking about the importance of the 2008 election and the need for Americans to pick the best man or woman for the job. "There is no room for error," as the Biden rallying call goes. He spoke of the loose nukes and prevalence of fissile material in the world right now, as well as the de-democratization of South America. As the next President of the United States, Delaware's senior Senator promised, he would restore America's place in the world and re-invigorate the middle class.

Biden immediately went on to talk about the necessity of a political solution in Iraq, touting his own plan as the best and only of such. He talked about the need for a weak federal and strong local way of governing Iraq, and cited the Dayton accords as the best evidence for how political solutions are the only way to solve long-term violence: "The Balkans were the most violent region in the world from Vlad the Impaler to Milosevic. But, knock on wood, there has not been one death at the hands of Nato forces since then."

From there he went on to talk about his vote for funding the war, mention his son's role in the Army Reserves and his recent notification of deployment. Funding the war, he argues, is a misnomer. It really is funding the troops, and Biden sees the only legitimate way to end our role in Iraq is to convince enough GOP senators to get out from behind Bush's shadow and make the right decision. Biden estimated that fewer than twelve Republican senators truly believed that Bush was doing the right thing, and that the rest would come around sooner rather than later. In the meantime he stressed the need to fund the transformation of our military transport vehicles from flat-bottomed death traps to v-shaped IED deflectors. He dismissed the idea of impeachment, saying to loud applause that "history will impeach these guys," and for now it was most important to make the right decisions on the ground.

With the stage now set, full of stories about military brain injuries and the potential horrors of a withdrawal of troops and our responsibility to see it out correctly, Biden became gravely serious, hushing his tone and squinting his eyes. There will be NO margin for error. Our next President had better be smarter than the advisers. It was a chilling moment, from a man whose sense of drama had clearly been concocted over years and years on the stump, and decades worth of firsthand knowledge of what sorts of bad things can come from foreign policy. But chills and spills will only get a candidate so far.

I, for one, left without convincing in spite of the earnest and heartfelt plea of the Great Blue Hen Orator. Despite his recent claim to eat Rudy's lunch in a debate, which he mentioned again (and I tried to get an interrupting round of applause going when he said it but was only joined by one other woman who sat distantly in the kitchen), Joe sounded a little Rudy-esque in his fear mongering. Although I appreciated what appeared to be a real belief in the Biden way to responsibly solve the mess in Iraq, I couldn't help but feel a tad unsettled by what seemed to be his charge that if we pick the wrong person we will be fucked. I've heard it before, from the likes of George W. Bush. I didn't like it then, and I don't really like it now.

Besides, how is he so certain that he won't make an error? If there truly is no margin for error, then aren't we all screwed? No one is infallible, and certainly no Presidential candidates, what with their money-whoring and triangulating. I even have reason to believe that Biden isn't the best on foreign policy, as he likes to think is the position that has been bestowed upon him by the people. So does no margin for error mean that a slight mistake will lead to American deaths beginning in January, 2009? How many more errors can Bush make before we are damaged beyond repair? Certainly there has to be a limit, or it is all a moot point.

Getting on to the 67 votes reasoning of Joe Biden, it is quite possible that he is too caught up in the senatorial way of thinking. 34 years is a long time, and perhaps he doesn't sense the urgency of the American people to get out of Iraq. Or even the mindset of folks like Ron Paul that our continued presence in the Middle East is making it more deadly, v-shaped hummers or not. Or, does he have the true vision that only true knowledge of the system can allow? Joe Biden certainly thinks so, and he'll be on the stump in Iowa and New Hampshire for six more months telling people that they had damn well better make the right choice. The best the rest of us can do is hope that he has made a mistake in his reasoning. It might not be too far-fetched of a hope.


Back on the Sawmill, a Smuttynose and a lot of sweat. Its a hot, hot summer day.

BTB

Biden the Titan

Brattleboro, VT -

Not wanting to go back to Portsmouth, 30 minutes in the opposite direction of the Qabin, I opted instead to go West. Due West. So Brattleboro it is, some three hours after the house party, and in time for gallery walk. That said, McNeill's is on point and a couple of old Mohawk warriors are tradin' war stories. This post is to be resumed later.

DE(bat)ES Nuts!!

All eight of our Democratic presidential hopefuls squared off last night in the first of who knows how many debates down at South Carolina State. Today the press corps came out with a number of "winners" and "losers", so I figured that we should do the same here at 3QHQ. Everyone from The Fix to Slate to Joe Scarboro had their say on the winners and losers. Not that we give a shit. Here is our take.

Obama received mix messages. Many found him reluctant and milquetoast, trying too hard to maintain his status quo as the up-and-comer and drastically afraid to say something stupid when his already-strong momentum is crucial in catching Hillary Rodham in the first two weeks of February 2008. Yet there were plenty of others, like Chris Matthews, who found him sophisticated and deep. Then there was John Edwards who found him "high falutin'" or some such. HRC seemed to get positive reviews across the board, and that comes as no surprise. If you are looking for a careful, intelligent, centrist candidate she is your person. As a result, she will do well in every debate. This one was no different. Edwards was also mixed. He is hard to dislike with his old southern charm and $400 good looks. He also took it to the rest of the big 3 more than any of his compatriots (Barack and HRC, that is), but that awkward pause in the moral leader question certainly didn't help him. While we are on it, I reallllly felt that Obama looked around before raising his hand on the "global war on terror" question. Bush league. That was certainly my biggest critique.

Of the second tier, Billy Rich was the clear loser. He couldn't keep his words under control and he was gesticulating like a Valley Girl. Plus he appeared to be sweating profusely. Dodd was uneventful. Biden did well, but that is no surprise. Biden is a tight dude. Everyone loved his "Yes" answer, and his silver-haired patrician looks, and he certainly has good things to say. He is a longshot to win the nomination, but I presume he will come out of this fray with goodwill from a large faction of Americans. Meanwhile, someone in the blogosphere finally picked up on our friend at BHC's mantra that Kucinich deserves respect on account of his wife. She certainly towered over him on the stage last night. But seriously, Kucinich was arguably the biggest winner of the night from our vantage. He really brought the Quabbin Qabin down with his story about living in the same $22.5K Cleveland house that he bought in the early 90s. Take that, Edwards and Clinton! Imagine if Kerry was in the house. He spoke forcefully about the war, and his pocket Constitution gimmick was endearing, if a little contrived. Lastly, Gravel is a kook and need not be included in any more debates. In other words, bring out the hook!

Speaking abruptly from the Haymarket before it closes, we look forward to more debate. Stay legit.