The hour is quickly approaching when Barack Obama will announce his running mate. Most political commentators expect John McCain to take his time in making his own decision, since the Republican Convention takes place after the Democratic event. Some believe that Obama’s choice might impact the decision McCain will make in selecting his own, would-be VP. My theory is that McCain’s primary concern is to avoid selecting anyone taller than himself. The McCain camp has made a point of limiting his traveling companions to Senator Lindsey Graham and Joe “The Tool” Lieberman. Both of these men stand at approximately the same height as McCain. Since “The Tool” is not really a Republican and, worse yet, was Al Gore’s “kiss of death” running mate, I have my money riding on South Carolina Seantor Graham.
As for Obama’s choice, the rumors have it that the Democratic candidate has narrowed the field down to a final three: Virginia Governor Tim Kaine, Indiana Senator Evan Bayh and Delaware Senator Joe “Glow Stick” Biden. Early enthusiasm about Governor Kaine began to fade, as critics focused on a “lack of national security experience”. Once the attention turned to Evan Bayh, there was an outpouring of disgust that a co-sponsor of the Joint Resolution for the Use of Military Force in Iraq would be considered as a viable choice for the VP slot. Activist Steve Clemons was one of those leading the charge against the selection of Bayh, with his plea that those opposed to Bayh should communicate their opinions to the Obama campaign. Clemons now reports from his blog, The Washington Note, that his sources from within the Obama campaign have informed him that the “surge of concern” expressed on the Internet about Bayh, has pushed the Indiana Senator out of contention. As a result, the last of those three, still believed to be standing, is “Glow Stick” Biden.
You may recall Biden’s earlier efforts in the current Presidential campaign. Immediately after his one-percent showing in the Iowa caucuses, he dropped out of the race and allowed his hair plugs to return to their naturally-white color. His January 31, 2007 remark, characterizing Barack Obama as “the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy” became a celebrated gaffe. That remark confirmed the longstanding diagnosis of his Cerebral Flatulence Disorder — too many “brain farts”. This disorder had become apparent during his 1988 bid for the Presidency, when he claimed, in a speech, that his father had worked as a coal miner. Reporters easily refuted this claim with uncontroverted evidence that, in fact, his father had managed a car dealership.
In 2002, Biden introduced the controversial Reducing Americans’ Vulnerability to Ecstasy Act, also known as the “RAVE Act”. A notable aspect of this failed piece of legislation was its provision outlawing the use of “glow sticks” which had become popular at “rave” parties and nightclubs. Perhaps Biden’s sense of cause-and-effect had become altered to the point where he believed that the use of glow sticks was actually causing young people to use the drug, known as “Ecstasy”, at these events. The absurdity of this proposal motivated Glenn Reynolds from (of all places) Fox News to write an article called “Raving Lunacy” on July 25, 2002. It is indeed difficult to understand how an individual, who had served as an adjunct professor of Constitutional Law at Widener University Law School, would see no First Amendment problem with this incursion on the rights of glow stick aficionados to express themselves. I was reminded of that fiasco while watching the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics on August 8. I could not overlook the irony that in the Communist police state, we saw approximately eighty per cent of the 90,000 people sitting in Beijing’s Bird’s Nest Stadium, waving glow sticks in accordance with the program created by director Zhang Yimou. I could not help but wonder what Joe Biden thought of this. If only China had its own counterpart for him – perhaps a Security Enforcer named Cho Bai Den, storming through the Olympic stadium yelling: “No grow stick!” . . .
With Senator Biden on his way to Tbilisi, Georgia, as Obama’s surrogate to offset the efforts of McCain’s Lieberman-Graham duo, we see him emerging as an apparent choice for an important cabinet position in an Obama Administration. Should he find himself standing before the crowd in Denver’s Pepsi Center as Obama’s Vice-Presidential nominee on August 27 – there could be only one appropriate way for the audience to celebrate: by waving glow sticks.
Because He Is A Tool
November 13, 2008
The “Tool Watch” continues. In the days after the historic 2008 Presidential election, intrigue abounds as to the future political career of Joe “The Tool” Lieberman. Lieberman was re-elected to the Senate in 2006 as an Independent candidate (after having lost the Democratic primary to Ned Lamot). The Tool realized that his betrayal of the Democrats could result in the loss of his many important appointments, should Obama get elected. Joe had already “sold his soul” to Bush, Cheney and Rove in his quest for re-election. At that point, he had no choice but to “go for broke” by endorsing John McCain. However, The Tool went beyond that. He spoke ill of Obama at the Republican Convention. He followed McCain around throughout the Presidential campaign, giving rally speeches himself, in addition to serving as McCain’s “nodder” when McCain would question Obama’s patriotism. The Tool questioned Obama’s patriotism with his own allegations that Obama placed allegiance to the Democratic Party ahead of his allegiance to the country. The Tool evoked further outrage from Democrats by campaigning for “down ticket” Republicans, while stumping around the country for McCain and Palin. Now that Obama has been elected President, many Democrats are hungry to avenge The Tool’s malicious acts by stripping him of the appointments earned while in good standing as a member of the Democratic Party. The most notable of these is his chairmanship of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. President-elect Obama has expressed his desire to see Lieberman remain in the Senate Democratic Caucus. Obama has said nothing about The Tool’s numerous committee and subcommittee memberships or chairmanships. In keeping with his “No Drama Obama” image, the President-elect appears to have distanced himself from any “blood feuds” involving Lieberman.
My animosity toward The Tool is based on the fact that he is a pathetic ass-kisser. He knew that his committee appointments would be in jeopardy in the event of an Obama victory. Accordingly, he didn’t simply endorse John McCain. He followed McCain around as a stray dog, looking for a new home. Those of us with the experience of having worked with such people, know that these individuals don’t deserve much in the way of respect. One of the reasons we enjoy watching “action movies” is because the “ass-kisser” is usually the first person to get killed (by either the hero or the villain). It seems as though justice and karma are well-served in these movies, when such cretins get their due.
Many people who consider themselves “liberal Democrats” seem anxious to make The Tool an example for future, would-be defectors. On November 12, MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow expressed her concern that the Lieberman case could set a precedent, regardless of what action the Senate Democrats might take in light of The Tool’s transgressions. Her November 10 program included an interview with Steve Clemons of The Washington Note website. Mr. Clemons suggested removing Lieberman from his chairmanship of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs because of the The Tool’s fear mongering on the subject of homeland security throughout the 2008 campaign. Clemons emphasized the proposition that Lieberman should not be able to use homeland security or national security as a foundation to batter Democrats who want a smarter national security policy.
Rachel Maddow discussed this subject again on November 12, with Indiana Senator Evan Bayh. Senator Bayh discussed the possibility that Lieberman might be unwilling to suffer the indignity of being stripped of his appointments and thus relegated to the status of backbencher. Bayh worried that under such circumstances, The Tool might self-destruct: resign from the Senate and allow Connecticut’s Republican Governor (Jodi Rell) to appoint a “pure Republican” to replace Lieberman. To Bayh, this would be a more undesirable alternative than putting up with a traitor. His logic seems based on the rationale that because Lieberman is such a tool, the Democrats could make him their tool once again. Bayh suggested a two-part compromise. First, Lieberman should be allowed to retain his chairmanship of the Committee on Homeland Security with “oversight”. Bayh pointed out that a committee chairman could be replaced at any time. If those overseeing The Tool reached the conclusion that he should be ousted, it would only then become appropriate for such action. The second part of Bayh’s proposed compromise would involve an apology from Lieberman for his antics during the 2008 campaign. I would like to suggest another alternative. In the event Lieberman might be unwilling to make such an apology, the Senate Democrats should demand that The Tool have the word “Craftsman” tattooed on his forehead.