Biden his time

Joe Biden rolls out climate and energy plan

Posted by Brian Beutler (Guest Contributor) at 11:10 AM on 30 Nov 2007

Unless the Democrats manage to blow the '08 elections, or some other calamity strikes, a president who is ready to seriously confront the climate crisis will be sworn into office in January 2009. Following in the footsteps of other Democratic candidates, Joe Biden unveiled his climate and energy plan on November 20, 2007.

Biden's plan looks a little bit generic compared with the offerings we've seen from Edwards, Dodd, Richardson, Obama, and most recently, Hillary Clinton, which are all either more ambitious or more detailed. He sets the right targets, though, albeit with a nod at all of the expected interest groups -- both good (solar and wind) and bad (coal and corn).

Now if we could only get past the whole filibuster problem ...

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Transit and high-speed rail are critical

We need to create a better transportation system where people have choice. Transit and high-speed rail are proven solutions unlike much of what Bidden is pushing for. Good thing he doesn't have much of a chance. He just doesn't get it.

Richard

by racc at 4:24 PM on 30 Nov 2007

Democrats at work

Joseph Biden is a remarkably intelligent, talented and charming statesman, but a highly specialized one too. And his specializations have to do with foreign policy and military policy, for the most part, not with energy and the environment.

Should we be OK with that? Actually, it strikes me as very impressive that a number of Democratic candidates have done a great deal of work in trying to get a grip on various distinct, highly complex and difficult issues: not only energy, but also Iraq and the US military engagement there, and health care reform.

By contrast, the Republican candidates do not seem to be doing much work of that sort at all. All they are engaged in is finding the right words to express what their base wants to hear about fighting abortion and gay rights, explicit immigrant-bashing and implicit Latino-bashing, and fighting the "global war on terror"; and then, researching the records of their opponents on these subjects, so as to embarrass them.

It does not look like Biden is going to be the Democratic nominee. It is not at all impossible, but his numbers do not seem to be likely to move up. And that is OK: We will do very well to continue to have him in the Senate, or else to have him serve in a Democratic administration, perhaps even as VP or Secretary of State.

Chickens deserve our true friendship! So do fish! So do other sentient beings! Let us learn to be kind.

by caniscandida at 11:47 PM on 30 Nov 2007

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