It was an obscenely hot day and they could have been nervous, but there wasn’t much room for error at the debut of the Obama-Biden ticket.
For most of his speech, Obama played it safe – sticking to his prepared remarks so much so that he often sounded a bit scripted.
“Today, I have come back to Springfield to tell you that I’ve found that leader, a man with a distinguished record and a fundamental decency,” he said rigidly.
But at the end of his speech, Obama made the very blunder that his opponents were seeking.
“So let me introduce you to the next President,” he said, quickly catching and correcting the mistake, “Vice President of the United States of America...”
Just moments later McCain spokesman Ben Porritt, responded: “Barack Obama sounded as though he turned over the top spot on the ticket today to his new mentor....the reality is that nothing has changed since Joe Biden first made his assessment that Barack Obama is not ready to lead.”
Biden, who made up for some of Obama’s stiffness, made his own quirky comments and gaffes.
“My wife Jill, who you’ll meet soon, is drop dead gorgeous,” Biden said and then joked, “My wife Jill, who you’ll meet soon, she also has her doctorate degree, which is a problem.”
The crowd appeared a bit confused, some laughing but most just watched with some confusion.
Biden’s ultimate gaffe came near the end of his speech, when he called Obama, “Barack Amer..” It wasn’t clear whether he intentionally wanted to call his running mate, Barack America, or if he forgot his last name.
Had he called him “Barack America”, Biden could have had a new campaign slogan on his hands. The crowd seemed to pick up on the mistake, quickly chanting “Obama, Obama.”
The RNC, who already a running list of Obama’s gaffes, has now cheekily started a Biden “gaffe” clock on its website, counting the time before Biden's next "gaffe."
Joe Biden? I feel the same way I did at the end of the last episode of "The Sopranos." Sure, some people considered the go-to-black ending nuanced, but as far as I was concerned, the producers punted. They chose a non-ending because they couldn't decide on a strong ending.
I confess. I thought Barack Obama would pick Hillary Rodham Clinton as his vice presidential running mate, not because he likes her - word is, he doesn't - but because he needs the backing of the 18 million or so voters who supported her.
It would have been the smart move for victory in November. My second wrong guess was Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine.
A gutsy pick that would have gone against the punditry argument that Obama had to pick a candidate weighted with experience and may have put Virginia in play. Such a pick would have reinforced Obama's message of change.
Instead, Obama chose a man who, months ago, was shooting for a third- or fourth-place finish in Iowa - but came in fifth, and dropped out after he failed to garner 1 percent of the vote.
The Clinton contingent is not going to like this. And thanks to this extended roll out of the announcement, the ladies will be showing up in Denver having just learned of the arrangement. Hide the ashtrays.
Yes, Biden is considered a statesman with strong foreign-policy credentials. Also, in a political world teeming with craven opportunists, Biden is a very decent man, who has been able to work with Democrats and Republicans.
Alas, he also is a statesman with a gift for putting his foot in his mouth in his own backyard. Like the time he quipped that you can't work in a 7-Eleven unless you have an Indian accent.
Or when he said Obama is "the first mainstream African American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy."
In picking Biden, Obama clearly decided to play it safe. He may have played it too safe.
I am quite surprised — nearly shocked — at the pick of Biden. I believe Obama has made an error — not just hope so, believe. And he had so many good options for the veep slot (unlike John McCain).
He could have gone Kaine, Bayh, Sebelius, Boren, Edwards (Chet) — he had many good options. It was practically impossible to screw up.
I never thought that Biden was a decent option. James J. Kilpatrick used to call Howard Metzenbaum “Senator Obnoxious.” (He would write, “Senator Obnoxious (D., Ohio).”)
Biden is another Senator Obnoxious — boastful, boorish, self-loving. The file on Biden is very thick.
Pat Caddell, back when he was a golden-boy political handler, loved Biden — thought he could make him president. Biden always looked good on paper — but then got in his own way.
I believe that Barack Obama will not wear well. Indeed, I think his act has been wearing thin for weeks.
And I think that his vice-presidential nominee will wear even worse. I’m not sure why he went with Biden — maybe he likes him, personally, which is not the worst thing in the world.
It’s helpful if a president likes his vice president (or at least doesn’t dislike him). But I don’t see what Biden gains him.
Biden is a slightly risible figure, what with his hair plugs (or whatever) and his many, many examples of public obnoxiousness.
All politicians have sizable egos, but this may be the most self-loving ticket ever. There’s an old saying, “He’ll die in his own arms” — that can apply to both of them. (I’ve thought of it in connection with McCain, too.)
And Obama and Biden are two of the gassiest politicians in all the land — they are rhetorically impossible.
The verbiage ticket, this is, and the arrogance ticket, and the emptiness ticket. McCain and his running-mate-to-be should really take them. Don’t you think?
Of course, McCain can screw up, too. And I caution that I’ve been wrong before: I thought Bill Clinton would be a one-term president, an accident of the Perot candidacy, which won almost a fifth of the vote.
Still: I don’t believe that Obama’s choice will serve him well.