THE TOTAL BANKRUPTCY OF ULTIMATE INSIDE THE BELTWAY HACK JOE BIDEN

These 2 insider hacks should be kept as far away from policy as possible

When one thinks of "Senator Joe Biden" and "bankruptcy," the first thing that comes to mind is his slavish support for corporate contributors like the big banking and credit card industries. Biden took the Republican position that has destroyed American families and he did it for his big campaign contributors. (Interestingly, Biden is also the only Democrat who is getting the kind of relative support between corrupt insiders and the grassroots that Republicans get.)

That said, Joe Biden is not a serious candidate for president. He's a quintessential Inside-the-Beltway windbag who is auditioning to be Hillary's Secretary of State. Like Richardson, that's why he's running for president and wasting people's time and money. Would he make a good Secretary of State. No, he'd be as terrible as Condoleeza Rice. Early in tonight's debate Biden was asked which Republican he would consider for VP if he had to. He picked Chuck Hagel-- and then he gratuitously threw in that he thought Dick Lugar would be a good Secretary of State, presumably whether he had to appoint a Republican or not. Before we talk about Hagel, and because Biden aspires to be Secretary of State himself, let's take a look at Lugar's foreign policy voting record in the Senate:

* Iraq: total Bush-Cheney rubber stamp
* Respect for International Law and the U.N.: a perfect zero
* Arms Control treaties: another perfect zero

Dick Lugar may be a friendly and collegial insider, like Biden, and I'm sure the two of them have far more in common with each other than they do with any of us. And neither should be put anywhere near our country's foreign policy.

As for Chuck Hagel, look at his ultra-reactionary voting record and remember that Biden was suggesting we place a heartbeat away from the presidency who is a total corporate hack, who is violently opposed to environmental legislation, who has rubber stamped the entire Bush-Cheney agenda (despite his WINO moaning) in Iraq, and who is 100% anti-choice, anti-union and always votes against the neediest and for the greediest. The only candidate I wouldn't vote for among the Democrats in Joe Biden. Other than Biden though, any of the Democrats would be a far better choice than one of what Newt Gingrich calls the 9 or 10 of the pathetic bunch of pygmies. It looks like most Americans would rather vote for a Democrat than a Republican. The latest Zogby poll, in fact, shows that Americans assign blame to almost all of America's problems to the GOP.

• War: 62% blamed Republicans vs. 14% Democrats
• Global Warming: 56% blamed Republicans vs. 10% Democrats
• Prejudice: 52% blamed Republicans vs. 22% for Democrats
• Poverty: 49% held Republicans accountable; 29% Democrats
• Corruption: 47% blamed Republicans vs. 31% Democrats

CNN has the transcript of the whole debate up.