Joe Biden: Happiest Guy This Campaign Season

by Melissa Clouthier | August 27, 2008 3:17 pm

You can’t hate him. He’ll say something embarrassingly stupid, but you can’t hate him. Joe Biden is the guy at the bar, a combination of obtuse know-it-all Cliff Claven and the former high school jock who got by with his winning smile but usually lost the big game. He has great stories about the old days, though.

Biden knows, as no one else does, that he’s hit life’s lottery being the vice-presidential candidate to Barack Obama. He’s been around long enough to also know that this isn’t really going to happen, but if, by some lucky chance, it does, he’s in a nice position.

My husband mentioned that even though Biden babbles like a buffoon[1], gives overly-enthusiastic and inappropriate hugs[2] and grins like an idiot at all the wrong times, he just can’t hate Biden. Biden reminds me of Jack Nicholson. He loves the camera. He loves the attention. He knows it’s transient. He’s far exceeded his own expectations for his life. Hell, he’s old. It could be over any time.

So when he exclaims[3], without irony:

“Wasn’t that the most incredible speech you ever heard,” Biden, who addresses the convention on Wednesday, a day before Barack Obama steps to the podium, told a breakfast meeting of convention delegates from Biden’s home state of Delaware.

“Mark my words,” Biden said.

“When this convention is over and three to four years from now they are commenting on why the Democrats won, they are going back and say the single most significant event that occurred at the Democratic convention is Michelle Obama — not Barack Obama, not Joe Biden, not Ted Kennedy — but Michelle Obama’s speech.”

Snort. Of course, Michelle and Barack Obama are the smartest people, ever, ever, ever! They picked meeeeeeee! Wheeeeee! I’m the luckiest guy in the world! And the smartest! And the all-around bestest! And finally, someone sees the awesomeness too! And the fact that Barack Obama sees my awesomeness makes him superfantastically awesome!

Joe Biden has injected childlike glee into this campaign. And for that, I like him. He’s an old guy, he’s been around, and he knows when he’s taking the ride of his life. Who can blame him for putting the top down and letting the wind blow through his hair plugs?

Cross-posted at MelissaClouthier.com[4]