Saturday, August 23, 2008

Biden His Time

By the choice of Senator Joseph Biden to be his running mate, Barack Obama, in the space of a few short months, has accomplished a remarkable achievement: the lightening transformation from starry-eyed idealist into jaded political hack; this in spite of his young age, his scant, four-year Senate experience and his paper-thin resumé (most prospective hacks achieve hoary veneration by forcing the entire country to pay for numerous and unneeded bridges, highways and office buildings in their home states or districts).

It remains to be seen whether this abrupt change was a wise one for Senator Obama, whether the newly transformed Barack will still be the saviour to whom America beseeches. Should the senator have miscalculated, however, and go down to defeat this November, his timely and skillful metamorphosis into Washington warhorse should assure him a pleasant alternative: filling the opening created by the imminent retirement of Senator Kennedy. At only 47 Obama is broken in yet sufficiently hidebound to assume the mantle of that awesome Ciceronian of the Democratic left. Senator Biden will be furious.

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