There is much talk of whether Joseph Biden was the right choice for Obama's running mate. It seems to me wrong: he is a figure from the past, whereas Obama portrays himself as the future; he is a pro-choice catholic, which will not deliver much of the catholic vote; he has been derided for copying a speech by Neil Kinnock (himself a politician derided in the UK); his experience of foreign affairs goes against Obama's statement that he didn't need experience because it was all a matter of judgment.
Many are saying he should have chosen Hillary. But apart from the problem that she and her husband would overshadow any campaign, I wonder if she was sounded out about the job and refused: she wants to be president and for that Obama has to lose (if he were re-elected, 2016 would be too late for Hillary).
An interesting difference between US and UK politics is the importance of the party. Hillary, in carrying on long after she had lost, has been disloyal to her party to an extent that would earn her censure in the UK. At the same time the party, if it were the UK, would have seen her as more likely to beat McCain and somehow wangled her selection. Now there is no senior figure in the party to keep her under control until November (her husband won't).
These are difficult times for Obama. I hope his nerves are steady.
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