Joe Biden update: The guy's getting old, bless him

Saturday was Joe Biden's birthday. He completed his 68th year.

Happy Birthday, Mr. Vice President.

That makes Biden fully 19 years older than his boss again.

By the time Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012, rolls around, JB will be about to start Year 71, almost the advanced age that so totally disqualified John McCain from being in position to become the nation's chief executive. But, of course, being a Republican, different rules apply there.

Joe, as we call him, says that Barack, as he calls the president of the United States, has already asked him to be on the Democratic ticket next time. And that's probably true -- today. Today is also about 20 months before the party's convention in Scranton or somewhere.

So there's a lot of time for Barack to change Joe's mind.

Tomorrow Joe is taking Barack with him to Kokomo to talk more economy at an automotive transmission plant belonging to Chrysler, which hopes next year to pull the same kind of IPO on investors as GM just did.

It's Thanksgiving week and more than 40 million Americans will....

...be going somewhere to see someone if they don't drive and don't mind some strange security person groping them.

No one will be touching the Obama and Biden junk before Kokomo. You may have heard that neither one of them is happy with the economic recovery that both promised would be so much farther along by now.

Just by his lonesome this fall, Joe talked about the economy at more than 100 campaign events, mainly races for House seats whose candidates would rather have the voluble, backslapping VPOTUS than the less popular aloof POTUS.

All that campaign talk about the economy worked so well for Democrats that Republicans picked up more House seats on Nov. 2 than anyone has since four years before Joe was born in Scranton.

So, having learned that lesson, J and B are doubling down and doubleteaming Kokomo tomorrow.

Kokomo is in north central Indiana, an important battleground state that the Obama-Biden ticket won by just 28,300 votes two years ago out of about 2.7 million. Indiana is run by 61-year-old Harley-riding Mitch Daniels, another one of those non-charismatic Republican governors who promise to cut public payrolls, create jobs and balance budgets without new taxes -- and then just goes and does it. But come 2012, what chance could such doers stand against a Real Good Talker?

Indiana is also the home state of Democratic Sen. Evan Bayh, who's decided to leave Washington come January to do something else the next couple of years. He says Washington has gotten so partisan and rancorous and badly needs change.

Bayh, by the way, is only 54.

-- Andrew Malcolm

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Comments

[joe blow]

dude, what have you been smoking? better let your friends at the hopeless gop know your view that by making us all work until 70 and beyond will result in a completely hapless workforce. remember the great recession, dude? the one caused when your buddies were in power? read his book, yet? run sarah run.

[lankee]

"...cut public payrolls, create jobs..." Does the left hand know what the right hand is doing?

[Bill Galligan]

So, who is Andrew Malcolm and why are we supposed to care what he thinks? I don't know his age, but from the rambling structure and his snippy, woeful, and wounded attitude, I'd be concerned about his future rather than Mr. Biden's. I would further suggest that Mr. Malcolm's time might be better spent in a writing class that emphasizes structure, focus, and continuity.

[Crust]

McCain is 74 and would have turned 80 in office had he been elected to two terms. Yet he was not "totally disqualified" on the basis of his age as you strangely claim. Sure, his age was an issue in both the primary and the general, but far from the dominant one. If Biden runs for president in 2016 I'm sure his age will be an issue too (and legitimately so); this is not about different rules for R's and D's.

[stewart]

Andrews not too subtle dislike is palbable, his contmept for Bidens seniority ignores the fact that Biden has given over his life in service to the People of Delaware and that Biden has earned the #2 slot the old fashioned way, through decades of experience which is much more than others who ran for the office as of late can claim?
Joe is okay by me, why Joe is okay by probably more than half the world leaders with whom he has interacted with over three deaces, except maybe a few despicable characters whom Biden faced down at one time or another as chair of the Foreign Ralations Committee, you remember, notables like Milosavic and Huessein to name but a few?
This president and this country could do worse than have a man Bidens age, or Jerry Brown;s for that matter at the levers of power than some of the new faces that arent even aware of the nuamces of governance to begin with.
I'm with Joe thanks.

[stevefromsacto]

Gee, do you really think that the President and Vice President should just sit at home and allow the Republican lies about the economic recovery go unchallenged?

[angellight]

Happy Birthday Mr. Vice President and many, many happy more!

[Barry Hussein]

Happy Birthday Biden,

Enjoy your time in the White House because a justifiably outraged electorate is going to be kicking Obozo and your sorry self out of Washington come November 2012. It 's still not too late to try to talk some sense into your boss although I think it is probably impossible. I wish you all the best of luck on such an impossible endeavor.