WASHINGTON - With just under a year until Election Day, Democrats are crafting a campaign strategy for Vice President Joe Biden that targets the big three political battlegrounds: Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Florida, states where Biden might be more of an asset to President Obama’s reelection campaign than the president himself.
The real president like Dick? Please, no (as blogger slumps in chair).
The plan underscores an uncomfortable reality for the Obama team. A shaky economy and sagging enthusiasm among Democrats could shrink the electoral map for Obama in 2012, forcing his campaign to depend on carrying the 67 electoral votes up for grabs in the three swing states.
Yeah, they are probably out after one term.
Obama won all three states in 2008. But this time he faces challenges in each, particularly in Ohio and Florida, where voters elected Republican governors in the 2010 midterm elections.
The president sometimes struggles to connect with Ohio and Pennsylvania’s white working-class voters and with Jewish voters who make up a core constituency for Florida Democrats and who view him with skepticism.
Biden has built deep ties to both groups during his four decades in national politics, ties that could make a difference.
As a long-serving member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Biden cemented his reputation as an unyielding supporter of Israel, winning the respect of many in the Jewish community.
Yes, he's famous for saying you don't have to be Jewish to be a Zionist (ugh!).
And Biden’s upbringing in a working-class Catholic family from Scranton, Pa., gives him a valuable political intangible: He empathizes with the struggles of blue-collar Americans because his family lived those struggles.
That was a while ago, and that reminds me of the debate last night. Only Romney owned up to not suffering privation while all the rest of the candidates told these growing-up, walked 12-miles-through-the-snow-to-get-to-school stories. The fact is the only one that really has a connection to regular people out here is Ron Paul.
Anyway....
“Talking to blue-collar voters is perhaps his greatest attribute,’’ said Dan Schnur, a Republican political analyst. “Obama provides the speeches, and Biden provides the blue-collar subtitles.’’
While Biden’s campaign travel will not kick into high gear until next year; he has already been making stops in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Florida this fall, speaking at events focused on education, public safety, and small businesses, and raising campaign cash. Behind the scenes, he’s working the phones with prominent Jewish groups and Catholic organizations in those states, a Democratic official said.
Biden is also targeting organized labor, speaking frequently with union leaders in Ohio before a vote on a state law that would have curbed collective bargaining rights for public workers. After voters struck down the measure, Biden went to Cleveland to mark the victory with union members.
Related: Biden's Boast
I was just wondering how long labor was going to stand for the lip service.
The Democratic official said the vice president will also be a frequent visitor to Iowa and New Hampshire in the coming weeks, seeking to steal some of the spotlight from the Republican presidential candidates blanketing those states ahead of the January caucus and primary.
And while Obama may have declared that he won’t be commenting on the Republican presidential field until there’s a nominee, Biden is following no such rules. He’s calling out GOP candidates by name, and in true Biden style, he appears to be relishing in doing so.
During a speech last month to the Florida Democratic Convention, Biden singled out “Romney and Rick,’’ criticizing former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney for saying the government should let the foreclosure crisis hit rock bottom, and hammering Texas governor Rick Perry’s assertion that he would send US troops into Mexico.
Also see: No Justice For Perry
Democratic officials said Biden will follow in the longstanding tradition of vice presidents playing the role of attack dog, allowing Obama to stay out of the fray and appear more focused on governing than campaigning.
Oh, I am so sick of the political fooley show.
The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Why is that never a problem for agenda-pushing shills or war-promoting liars but is for bloggers?
I'm only commenting on their own public information, and exposing the lies and hypocrisy when necessary.
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