Sunday, October 21, 2007

Analysis: Democrat Joe Biden says he's the most qualified to be president. Why hasn't his campaign been more successful in recent polling?

There is a Republican debate Sunday 10-21-07 at 8:00 p.m. (on Fox News).


Check out questions and answers of Joe Biden at the following address:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2007/10/04/DI2007100401628.html

42 comments:

Vlad said...

What candidate would say they're not as qualified as the next guy (or girl)? Joe Biden is simply saying what every other candidate says.
I believe that Biden's campaign hasn't been as successful as the other candidates' because he doesn't have such strong funding as Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama. Outside of the little blurbs here and there in the political media you don't really hear much about him. Was his face on the cover of GQ like Obama's was? No. Does he get constant media attention for being unique (ie a woman?)? No. He's just another old man with white hair running for office, same as Dodd, Gravel, etc. Maybe his racist comments on Barack Obama - from last year - have something to do with his little success.

newkirk said...

I think that his campgain hasn't been that successful because people haven't heard about him. I honestly didn't know that Biden was in or out I have only heard of a few of the candidates. And mostly the ones who are running that you wouldn't think of to run. So maybe he needs more publicity to be more successful, otherwise I don't know

Christina S said...

It seems to me that the reason that Biden hasn't been successful is because of the lack of funds. In order for him to gain publicity and get his name out there, unfortunately he needs more money. Also, there's nothing unique about him which could be hurting his success.

CoreyA said...

First off, let me state that I do not in any way like the idea of stating why one person is better or worse than another when all I have to base my opinion on is a page of nothing but good things that one of the people has said. But as he himself stated multiple times, he does not have the money to put his name out there. He said it himself, "the only senators who are known have been those who have been able to raise 10s of millions". Right now, it's about money and attention. He has neither.

Unknown said...

This kind of relates to the last topic-money being a HUGE problem in politics. What if Joe Biden truly IS the most qualified to be president. Just because he hasn't been able to get the money needed, he may never get the chance. Money is the problem here, no questions.

mente said...

The idea that a candidate is "the most qualified to be president" is up for debate. What exactly makes you the most qualified to be president? I believe the only qualifications are that you have to be older than 35 and you have to be born in the United States. So with that in mind anyone with those qualifications are "the most qualified to be president."

Biden's campaign hasn't been more successful because he hasn't been putting his name out for the public to hear. This is most likely due to lack of sufficient funds, but it could also be because qualifications aren't the only thing that are put into consideration when people are looking for a presidential candidate: people are looking for someone who is charismatic and is a leader; Joe Biden apparently doesn't fulfill that in most people's minds.

jzurko said...

"I believe the only qualifications are that you have to be older than 35 and you have to be born in the United States. So with that in mind anyone with those qualifications are 'the most qualified to be president.'"
... really?

Obviously those are the only requirements in the Constitution... but do you really think every 35 year old United States citizen born in the good ole' us of a is just as qualified as the next? I know you're trying to be literal here but I just thought it sounded a bit silly.

With that said, Biden has a lot more experience in Congress than Obama and Clinton, but he doesn't have the money or the face time they do. Vlad expressed my thoughts on the matter perfectly. Clinton and Obama can generate a lot of attention and that translates into money, which translates into support.
Even though I don't think there's a chance he'll be elected I still think Obama/Biden is a good ticket... you know if you ignore the racist comments.

MorganJ said...

Joe Biden is the most qualified to be president. His campaign has not been successful in recent polling because of money. It's not because his is running out of money-- he's not one to pull a "McCain"-- it is because his campaign budget looks nonexistence in comparison to Sen. Clinton and Sen. Obama.

My respect and liking for Sen. Biden has grown even more after reading his answer to the question regarding 30-and-under voters. Biden said, "But, up until now, the only senators who are known have been those who have been able to raise 10s of millions of dollars, and I doubt very much whether the young voters of America think that is the way we should choose a president." I'm glad to see he is not underestimating the younger voters. This is exactly what our country needs, someone who has confidence in the younger generation!

To reiterate, the reason for Biden’s "unsuccessful" campaign is not because he is not qualified, it is because he does not have the same level of funds as Sen. Clinton or Sen. Obama.

MorganJ said...

Oh, one more thing. If Biden doesn't win the Democratic presidential candidate position, I definitely think he should start is own "Bull-Moose Party!"

Mr. Bretzmann said...

Instead of basing opinions on one page of nice things, some people might do additional research to find out more. That seems like a good idea.

Erica C said...
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Erica C said...

http://www.ontheissues.org/Joe_Biden.htm

Why hasn't Joe Biden's campaign been successful? He's a complex guy. Personally, I had a hard time trying to figure out exactly what the man stands for based on his statements and voting record. His views on two of the most controversial issues--abortion and gay marriage--are unclear at best. If a candidate cannot make a clear stand on two key issues, he or she doesn't stand a chance. Add to that the staggering difference between his funds and those of Democratic front runner, Hilary Clinton. There is just no way that Biden can gain a lead, even with his strong pro-pubic health care and pro-public education voting records. Peace out, Joe Biden.

cmorgan said...

As quite a few before myself stated their beliefs that the reason for Biden's not so successful campaign compared to his opposing candidates was in the result of weak funding, I agree in part. Of course funding, publicity, and media do factor in when it comes to popularity in the campaign race, but I do not believe its the main reason for a candidate being more successful in this upcoming election. It's my opinion that what people want is a someone new and radical to lead our country. I agree with how Vlad put it as Biden being just another "old man with white hair". Of course I do not agree with how people want to go about picking a president on how "radical" they are(if you didn't get that I was talking about the fact that a women and a black man are in the presidential race). I can understand if the people want a new leader with different and radical beliefs though. So all in all I don't think it is purely because Joe Biden's lack of funds that have caused his not so successful campaign, but rather a hopeful aspiration by the population that a new and more "radical" president will solve our nation's problems.

Johnny B said...

One reason would be the controversial things that he has said. Now a days, people seem to get offended easily and he seems to be doing a good job at it.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13757367/
With his quote, "you cannot go to a 7-Eleven or a Dunkin' Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent." he angered a lot of Indian-Americans. When backing up what he said, he still repeated himself. It was his office that actually made what he was saying clear.

http://blogs.usatoday.com/ondeadline/2007/01/biden_on_obama_.html
He also remarked about Barack Obama. "I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy ... I mean, that's a storybook, man." With comments like these, Biden only seems to be making people mad. That definitely doesn't help with polls.

Alex D said...

Every canidate believes he or she is the best for the job. However the democrtic race has become a two, possibly three canidate race. Unlike the many canidates running for office on the conservative side, which has opinions between canidates that change more than John Kerry's stance on on troop funding, has very little variation. If you look at the democrats stance on the issues many of them look as though they all took them from the same book. With many canidates with the same views its not surprising that many of the democratic supporters flock towards the leaders. Why support what seems to be a losing cause? When the public hears about HIllary Clinton all day and or Obama they inturn get the support. If biden wants the election he should distance himself from being another cookie cutter canidate and start the push to get his name out there, and focous on his expirance. Maybe even try to get more of the moderate vote, but then again that would be flip flopping...

Vlad said...

I think many people are unsure about this, so is pt. II of the test on Monday?

tomj said...

I think Joe Biden's campaign has not been more succesful because he seems a little bit to full of himself. People who are over confindent in themselves usually are not the best people to be in a position of power. Some people don't like people who try to make themselves seem like they are the best in what ever it may be. Also, he plain and simply is not one of the forerunners in the campagin race.

Anonymous said...

I think the reason that he hasn't been as successful as Obama or Clinton is because he is seen as the old, and I think people are really looking for something new and revolutionary in the next president

KellyH said...

Joe Biden's campaign hasn't been more successful in recent polling because he is a lazy man who has shown in the past just how much he can't handle hard work, he doesn't take clear stances on all the issues, and he doesn't always think before he speaks.

http://www.time.com/time/2007/candidates_books/biden/
Joe Biden has said he was more of an athlete than an academic person in high school. So it was no surprise that he barely got in to Syracuse University College of Law because he was so lazy at the University of Delaware. He never showed to class and only because of his wife did he graduate 76 out of 85. He said the reason was because "The work didn't seem so hard, just boring". His campaign's lack of success could be attributed to Biden's lazyness.

http://pewforum.org/religion08/compare.php?Issue=Abortion
As Erica said, Biden's campaign isn't going well also because he can't take a clear stance on issues such as abortion. He has been in favor of Roe v. Wade in the past, but has said many times that his view is aligned with that of the Catholic church that life starts at conception. His views are foggy and hard to understand. Lack of a clear position on key issues is a strong indicator as to why his campaign hasn't been very successful.

http://politicalhumor.about.com/od/election2008/a/dumbquotes.htm
Biden's offensive statements also might be another reason why he hasn't been very successful. Along with the two comments Johnny talked about, Biden was also quoted as saying "I got tested for AIDS. I know Barack got tested for AIDS. There's no shame in being tested for AIDS. It's an important thing." His doesn't think before he speaks sometimes, and can you imagine him in office trying to have peace talks or talking diplomacy with leaders from other nations? What if he says something offensive to them? That could be another reason why Biden hasn't been very successful in his campaign.

jzurko said...

Ok heres my opinion. Biden has misspoken more than a few times and angered a few groups. But, thats not really the main reason he hasn't been so successful. People like Obama and Clinton generate a lot of enthusiasm and then you're left with only supporters that don't really get caught up in their campaigns. Plus those teeth... intimidating? scary? i don't know, but they're something.

arletap said...

Qualified or not, the man manages to get under a lot of people's skin. People don't hear too much about Joe Biden compared to other candidates; however, the few snippets they do hear are the bits of information that make Biden stand out negatively, (funny how free publicity seems overabundant when the event or statement is socially unaccepted). Due to limited campaign funding, Biden can't right his wrongs and must simply accept others' conceptions of him, hence the lack of success in recent polling.

arletap said...

Kelly - "A lazy man"? I'm unsure as to how far you could argue that point... especially when stating his work bored him, rather than challenged him. Saying that only creates an image of a man who wishes to be provoked, stimulated, and empassioned by a project and/or idea. Not exactly laziness in my eyes.

Vlad said...

There's something special about Clinton, Obama and Giuliani. They are so popular because they've already sparked the attention of millions of Americans prior to the '08 election. Clinton was the first lady, Obama was the young senator who persuaded thousands with his speech at the DNC and Giuliani was the mayor during the most tragic day in the history of the U.S. Biden - ?

I also disagree with many of the people who've stated that Barack Obama is getting so much attention because he's African American. There have been African American candidates in previous elections who haven't received so much attention and Alan Keyes, a current candidate, is not getting any attention. But I do remember reading about and seeing a lot of Keyes in the '00 election.

Lisa Marie said...

I belive his campaign has not been successful because not many people know who he is and he does not have as much money as the other candidates. For people to know who he is he needs to get more funding, and money as we sort have learned, is helpful to get ahead. If you have money, you can put your name any where you want to, and people will learn more about who you are. I haven't been keeping up to much with the campaigning, but I have not really heard anything about who he is.. except when we mention him.

KatieKso said...

Joe Biddden may feel he is the most qualified but so far he hasn't impressed very many people. His campaign hasn't been successful because he doesn't seem to have the funds or the support necessary to get his name out to the public more often. I think a lot of people are wondering who he even is because his name doesn't come up as often as Obama or Clinton.

Unknown said...

I totally agree with Ryan and Vlad. Money is a huge issue in Joe Biden's campaign BUT his name hasn't been out there to begin with. His competition isn't unfamiliar with having their names out their in the spotlight. Sure, Biden may think he's the most qualified to be president....but that will get him nowhere if America doesn't think so. He needs to get his name out there.

Erica C said...

I was reading an article on msnbc.com from the New York Times. Here it is:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21422385/

I thought this was a great article for many reasons. It forced me to think further about what makes a "good" presidential candidate. Which is more important, candor or policy? (Obviously, they are both incredibly important. Which is more important to you?)

Angelina said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Angelina said...

People know who he is, it's just that he doesn't have that much money, as some candidates, so he can't promote himself as much. It's sad because to have a good campgain you need lots of $$ money. You need to make yourself look serious, and to do so you must have the money.

Tom B. said...

I feel that Biden hasnt been successful because who is Joe Biden. In all honesty besides his name only ringing a bell when the topic of politics is brought up i would have no idea who this guy is.I think thats his main flaw. even though he could be a good candidate, is that he does not have that big name like Obama and Clinton to get him recongnition.

CoreyA said...

I agree with Vlad on this. Joe Biden does not nearly the claims to fame that Hillary or Rudy have. Rudy has 9/11 & Hillary was the first lady. We have been hearing about these two in major issues for years. We've been hearing about Biden for a year or so, and that year he was competing for attention with several other people. He needs to do something that none of his other competition has done. Major publicity stunt any one?

Jake_H said...

Biden's campain has not been successful for a few reasons. The reason is not how qualified he is; he is a very qualified candidate. The biggest reason is his small bank. Because he does not have as much money as Obama or Clinton he does not receive as much media. Another reason is that he does not have anything special about him. Clinton would be the first woman presidant and Obama would be the first African American presidant. Biden would be the 44th white male presidant; not quite as amazing.

Jake_H said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
BrookeS said...

Years ago, running for office was a less complex scheme. As years progressed, and campaigning became candidates sole concern, money was the number one issue. Joe Biden's funding is on a tight budget and therefore, his campaigning is weaker than other candidates. It's a shame that running for a political office has become an issue of money, and lesser of one's views. However, Mr. Biden's views, in my opinion, seemed to be somewhat unstable, (even from a few of his remarks in the post.) A portion of his unsuccessful campaigning may be due to contributers' uncertainty in his views and ideals.

amandak said...

If Joe Biden said he is the most qualified candidate for president, then it must be true. Why would a politician say something that wasn't true?

I think Biden hasn't been successful in polls because he hasn't gotten his name out there. I guarantee you if I were to ask my parents they wouldn't know anything about him beyond maybe recognizing his name. The reason he hasn't gotten his name out is because he hasn't gotten the funding. The reason he hasn't gotten the funding, in my opinion, is because he's competing against some pretty popular people. There are a lot of organizations that want to see a woman as president and a lot of people that want a black man as president. Also, people knew Hillary even before she decided to run, and Barack is very charismatic and I think as a result may boost him in the polls in the eyes of people who don't know too much about the candidates yet and are basing their vote on what is basically just a first impression.

I'd also like to publically thank my sister for saying something totally unrelated that somehow triggered my memory that I have to post. 20 minutes until deadline, that was a close one!

Alex the Great said...

i think that joe biden needs to raise more money so he can become more well known through the media. in order to be president you need people to understand (and agree with) your ideology.

Unknown said...

Corey is right. A major publicity stunt is a necessity. I'm almost postitive that money wouldn't really matter then. It's more than just the money though I think. He can do it without the money. He just needs to do something- or say something that people will remember on voting day.

Anonymous said...

I agree with my peers in saying that there really is no clear cut "most qualified" presidential candidate. First of all, we have some time before we have to vote for president. (One year from today!) Who knows who will join the race or drop out of the race? Who knows who is "most qualified" based on one sided debates? There is no way Joe Biden can prove he is the best candidate. As he said himself, he does not have enough money to be recognized as much as the other front running Democratic candidates. He hasn't gotten the most attention during Democratic debates. Many people do not know his viewpoint on important issues. How can you vote for someone to represent you when you don't even know what they stand for? Personally, I don't think Joe Biden is most qualified to be president. Call me crazy, but I'm not too fond of Joe Biden's 3 Point Plan (which has been changed into Joe Biden’s 5 Point Plan, by the way).

DanielleT said...

The way for the public to really get to know a candidate is through pulicity. We have already established that one main ingredient in becoming more known to the public is through money. A comment that Biden made in a response of his was that the reason why so many other senators and candidates are recognized by the public is money related. However, I agree with Biden that a president shouldn't be based on how much money they have. Unfortunately, without having multiple campaigns, no one is going to know much about certain candidates. This seems to be the case with Biden. Quite honestly, I didn't even know if Biden was a democrat or repulican until I read the article...

MorganJ said...

I'm starting to get excited. I've been hearing talk among my peers about Joe Biden! They haven't gotten his name down yet, but they are starting to know that there are other democratic candidates other than Obama and Clinton. It is thrilling that is his name is getting known among the younger generation. This means that he may receive a lot of the 18-25 demographic. I'm not sure, this may be wishful thinking. However, whoever wins over the younger demographic will have a huge advantage because more and more young people are wanting to see a change in our government.

katiekso said...

Democrat Joe Biden isn't very successful in his campaign because he isn't relating very well to his voters. He isn't getting his name and his ideas out there. He may feel he is the most qualified to be president but the voters are not seeing it.

aly mac said...

I believe that Democrat Joe Biden hasn't been successful for a number of reasons. First, he hasn't gotten his name out as much as the other candidates he's running against. With opponents like Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama it will be extremely difficult for him to get his name out in the fore front. Secondly, he lacks the funding many of the other cadidates are running with. Finally, he needs to watch what he's saying. There have been numerous times he's opened his mouth to find out what he said came out completely wrong. If he keeps offending people, I am pretty sure that his chances of being elected will be very slim.