Editor's note. Please also check out Part Two, which discusses pro-abortion Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's bizarre comments on "Meet the Press" yesterday, and Part Three, "Obama v. Biden on partial-birth abortion, tax-funded abortion, and Born-Alive Infants Protection Act."

The choice of pro-abortion Sen. Joseph Biden as pro-abortion Sen. Barack Obama's vice presidential running mate is fascinating. Let me mention just three of 50 considerations we could talk about.

#1. By now we all know that Sen. Obama is routinely referred to as the Cool One--aloof, under control, deliberate, and above mere politics. Sen. Biden is in your face, routinely out of control, a freight train whose brain is no match for his runaway tongue, and intensely partisan. Curiously, he is always described as the Establishment Press as a model of the good old days when senators could disagree agreeably.

Why do I mention this first? While Biden has many portfolios in this campaign, near the top in importance is hammering pro-life Sen. John McCain. Biden is supposed to do the nitty-gritty heavy lifting, allowing Obama to continue to float above the fray. However Biden is, when riled, not a pleasant, nice man, but an arrogant bully with a mean streak as wide as his ego is large.

Mark my word, we will see this side of Biden early and often.

#2. Biden, who is Catholic, is supposed to make Catholics who are uncomfortable with Obama think twice. I am not Catholic and wouldn't pretend to understand the nuances and subtleties of another faith. (For a brilliant, informed analysis, I would strongly suggest you go to http://www.creativeminorityreport.com/2008/08/bidens-cultural-catholicism.html.)

Here's what I do know.

On the issue of abortion, Biden's selection will ultimately have the same effect it'll exert on so many areas: it will make Obama look even worse. For example, as National Right to Life pointed out (see part three), while a strong supporter of Roe v. Wade, Biden has drawn the line at several critically important points. Biden has usually voted against federal funding of abortion and voted for both the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act and the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act.

To say that Biden's "divergences actually illustrate some of the extremes of Obama's record" is to state something that is as self-evident as it likely to be hidden by most reporters.

#3. Building on #2, let me summarize the thread that runs through dozens of interesting considerations that come to mind with the selection of a man who has been in the United States Senate since 1973. Biden is supposed to provide ballast to a legislative lightweight --foreign policy credentials, long years in the Senate, the ability to talk (and talk and talk and talk) without the aide of a teleprompter. And understandably so: Obama has left virtually no footprint either as an Illinois state Senator or a United States Senator.

But the likely impact is just the opposite: Biden will be an anchor dragging down Obama. Why do I say that?

Contrary to what the "mainstream media" obviously believes, people are not stupid. They understand that Obama would be president, not Biden, and that Biden's attacks on the Republican ticket are attacks from the Democratic ticket. Obama will get a free pass from most media outlets but not the American people.

Likewise, a vice president is supposed to complement/supplement the man at the top, not be his stand-in on all the issues that require substance and expertise. If the youngish Obama needs adult supervision--which is clearly the message of the Biden selection--how will that make the average voter feel?

We'll be talking about what comes out of the Democratic National Convention all this week.

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Send your comments to me at daveandrusko@hotmail.com. Thanks!

Part Two -- Pelosi's Disastrous Appearance on Meet the Press
Part Three -- Obama v. Biden on partial-birth abortion, tax-funded abortion, and Born-Alive Infants Protection Act