Joe Biden was done in by the Iowa system
The nitwitty Iowa caucuses are thankfully history and Delaware's Joe Biden has left that state.
"I feel no regret," Biden said in his concession speech. "Not one single, solitary ounce of regret. ... Let me make something clear to you. I ain't going away. I'm still chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee."
And with that the presidential campaign of Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. came to a sudden and disappointing end.
In losing his first political contest ever, he couldn't even muster 1 percent of the caucus vote. I guess Iowa Democrats never realized he was the only adult among the candidates who pestered them unmercifully for months on end.
Forget about the sputtering start to the Biden campaign being a reason for failure (the "articulate and clean" Barack Obama comment). Most of the media and the Democrats in Iowa obviously did.
What happened in Iowa had nothing to do with Joe Biden as a presidential candidate, and everything to do with the stupid system Iowans have been pawning off on the country and the media for three decades. Had Iowa Democrats held a real primary vote, instead of playing musical chairs in the upright position, Biden would more than likely have come in a strong fourth with enough momentum to raise more money.
Ah, the money. For his losing effort, Biden spent $800,000. He was outspent by the top-tier candidates by more than 20-1. Unfortunately, that's what we've come to even in godforsaken Iowa and its caucuses.
John Edwards has been campaigning in Iowa since 2004. Obama and Hillary Clinton raised tons of money before the serious campaign even began. Biden and the rest of the bottom tier were left to do what they could with little in the way of expendable cash.
It's the way things are. And because of an old and pesky document that guarantees our right to spend personal money on political campaigns, it's a game that will always benefit those with the most.
To raise money, you've got to start with money. For even the best of candidates, the process becomes a bit Catch-22-ish.
It's why Biden is not going to test all that effort he already exercised in New Hampshire and South Carolina, two states that would likely have given him lots of room on the stage.
Nobody in Delaware -- including me -- gave Biden a sliver of a chance to win the nomination. It was an avenue to position himself for secretary of state, this presidential primary thing.
But as the Democratic field narrowed and the candidates began to show themselves, Joe Biden began to look like the only real deal standing. In the debates, on the stump, in television interviews, even among the pundits, the Biden vibes rang positive. Had he been able to raise real money, Biden's future might have been different.
Too bad he publicly denied that he was running for secretary of state. Whichever Democrat wins the White House is going to need a good one.
Whatshisname is at it again
Republican gubernatorial candidate whatshisname is at it again with the nasty, hate-filled anti-Republican pink post cards -- except the ones he sent out over the Christmas season were green. A nice touch.
Oh, I almost forgot. All those "little people" who supposedly sent hundreds of $99 contributions to whatshisname's 2006 Senate campaign so their names didn't have to be reported to the Federal Election Commission? That's not all that wasn't reported. The FEC sent whatshisname no fewer than three notices of failure to file required forms in July, October and December 2006.
His mother, who's in a nursing home, was recorded as contributing $2,100 and he loaned the campaign $30,000, which he later forgave. No little people to be found.
Contact Ron Williams, assistant editor of the editorial pages, at
[email protected] or (302) 324-2904.
maybe we need to contact this writer....just a thought...http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080106/OPINION05/801060317/1106/OPINION
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