Running Mate

I ran twelve miles today. This is nothing special . . . I have done this before. I ran fairly quickly, getting an 8:39 pace for the day . . . which is pretty good for me, so I was pleased.

I was woken up this morning at 3:30 am by a text message from Barack Obama. He had selected his running mate, Joe Biden, and was filling all of his supporters in via text. I was one of the first to know. Apparently, CNN knew at 12:30, but I was asleep, so I was notified by the text first.

In any case, I was thinking a lot about Joe Biden today as I ran (when you run slowly like I do, a 12 mile run allows lots of time to think!)

I'm not so sure I'm a big fan of Joe's . . . he is, after all, the one who referred to Barack Obama as "clean, a nice looking guy." The most insidious form of racism comes through in our implicit assumptions. He also voted to authorize the war. I respect Obama for selecting someone with whom he does not fully agree, but I find this choice frustrating. Biden is an old school, white male democrat (nothing really too wrong with that), but I'm not sure I see his place on a ticket of change . . . Obama's message has been all about change, and while I know he feels the need to fill gaps in his own experience, he might have done so with someone like Bill Richardson. Richardson also has enormous foreign policy experience, is a person of color, and has broad appeal. Sure he's a little dull, but we have a long history of dull VPs in this country (Al Gore and Dan Quayle come to mind immediately, but they're dull for different reasons . . . )

In any case, I have enjoyed having a my own running mate this past week (thanks Jenna!) and I am looking forward to seeing what kind of moron John McCain selects . . . I think it's starting to look like the Stormin' Mormon!