Welcome To The Ice Age of Biden and McCain

"Someone's gonna cry

when they know they've lost you.

Someone's gonna thank the stars above."

The stakes couldn’t be higher. Its their last chance at the dream of their lifetime. Joe Biden will likely never be President but one shot at becoming Vice-President. John McCain, burdened by age and linking his wagon to the legacy of an unpopular Bush Administration, is within striking distance of winning or losing it all. Now McCain’s colleague and friend from the Senate becomes a most formidable opponent. Biden is a hard charging, tough fighting, skilled debater and lover of campaigning. His street smarts, foreign policy experience, domestic policy achievements, grey hair, Irish Catholic identity and ability to relate to real people all help tell the American people that Obama is "okay." There really isn’t credible precedent to suggest a running mate actually winning the election for the nominee but Obama, and McCain, need all the help they can get. Biden will help Obama.

McCain needs help. He has had the edge and may continue to. With Joe Biden a credible guy to talk about kitchen table issues at a time when John McCain doesn’t know how many kitchen tables he has is a problem for McCain. McCain not knowing how many houses he owns was his answer to President Bush I not knowing what a grocery scanner was in 1992.

The heat is on for McCain to make a good pick. Few people match Biden’s debate acumen. Two people I have watched debate him skillfully over the years on Meet The Press are Lindsay Graham and Joe Lieberman. Graham and Lieberman are the two people closest to McCain. I would pick Graham. I think Mitt Romney is a mistake now more than ever. If pro-lifers (of which I am one) are opposed to Tom Ridge (of which I am not) for being pro-choice, shouldn’t they oppose Romney for being pro-choice until he ran for President? That is my argument for Ridge, not against Romney. My argument against Romney is that he and McCain don’t like each other and running mates don’t actually deliver states. Two guys with 12 houses between them is a campaign nightmare. I would go with Ridge, Graham or Lieberman. Graham is youngest, southern, safest. In the end, McCain should have who he likes and can work well with. Anointing Romney as his heir apparent, win or lose, is a bad move. The Biden pick should also rule out McCain's choice of Bush league-ers (no pun intended) like Pawlenty (MN), Portman (OH), Sanford (SC), Crist (FL).

No one in the Senate knows McCain better than Biden. Until know they have been good friends and fans of each other. The gloves are off and one will win all, one will lose all. I can’t get the old Glenn Frey song, "The One You Love" from 1982 out of my head. "Someone's gonna cry when they know they've lost you. Someone's gonna thank the stars above."