Mr. October?
13 September 2008 12:50 pm by Scott Hopkins
Guest post by Scott Hopkins
Anyone who’s been wondering where Lunch Bucket Joe has been lately won’t have to wonder much longer.
The vice presidential nominee you aren’t hearing so much about, Democrat Joe Biden, is planning a more prominent role to help validate Barack Obama among white working-class voters and criticize the Republican rival he’s long called a friend.
…Biden’s focus will be on McCain, not Palin, campaign officials say. They are calculating that the election will be determined on voters’ feelings about Obama and McCain. Biden is in a unique position to help convince voters that McCain is the wrong choice, they say, because of a relationship that goes back even beyond their 22 years of working together in the Senate.
Judging from her interview with Charlie Gibson, I’d say the smart strategy is to let Sarah Palin keep stepping in it while direct aim is taken at the man at the top of the ticket. And as seen dramatically on The View yesterday, Mudslinger McCain is ripe for some heavy pushback at this point. If Whoopi Goldberg can take down his judicial philosophy with one sentence, how hard can it really be for Joe?
Biden’s argument will be that he knows McCain well enough to say that even though he’s right on character, he’s wrong on the issues, advisers said. He’s scheduled to give two major speeches framing the race before the presidential debates get under way — one on domestic policy Monday in Flat Rock, Mich., and another on national security Sept. 22 in Baltimore.
…Biden spokesman David Wade said the Delaware senator will be “Mr. October.”
“He’s a closer,” Wade said. “He’s the vice presidential nominee you want slugging it out in the late innings when proven campaign skills, intestinal fortitude, expertise and experience matter most.”
Joe Biden as the Reggie Jackson of 2008?
