Not All Republicans Are As Enamoured Of McCain As Ron Fournier Is-- Hagel, Lugar And Specter Sing Biden's Praises

The lobbyists and Rovians running the Double Talk Express are trying to keep everyone on message in preparation for the expected firestorm when McCain announces the inevitable, namely that empty suit Mitt Romney, a man he can barely stand being in the same room with, will be his running mate. The message (courtesy of McCain shill Ron Fournier): Obama's choice of Biden is an indication that Obama would make a bad president. Can't wait to hear what Fournier and the rest of the magpie brigade have to say about Mitt on Friday.

I can't imagine McCain and the lobbyists are too happy about what they're hearing from veteran Republican senators who have worked with Joe Biden for years and years. No doubt the comment that rankles McCain most comes from Nebraska Republican Chuck Hagel-- an actual Vietnam War hero, not some loser who got shot down bombing civilians from 20,000 feet and then spent the rest of his miserable life trying to capitalize on his imprisonment. "Joe Biden is the right partner for Barack Obama," said Hagel. "His many years of distinguished service to America, his seasoned judgment and his vast experience in foreign policy and national security will match up well with the unique challenges of the 21st Century. An Obama-Biden ticket is a very impressive and strong team. Biden's selection is good news for Obama and America."

Now, don't expect similar reasonable words from the right-wing extremists like Cornyn (R-TX), Inhofe (R-OK), McConnell (R-KY), Wicker (R-MS), or McCain's Mini-Me (R-SC) and the others who have been as consistently rubber stamping Bush's economic and foreign policies like McCain. However, two other high ranking Republicans with a great deal of credibility have also issued statements of praise for Obama's selection of Biden. Dick Lugar (R-IN) put out a press release: "I congratulate Senator Barack Obama on his selection of my friend, Senator Joe Biden, to be his vice-presidential running mate. I have enjoyed for many years the opportunity to work with Joe Biden to bring strong bipartisan support to United States foreign policy." Arlen Specter (R-PA), who serves on the Judiciary Committee with Biden and often rides Amtrak with him to Washington, was also "off message," at least from a Double Talk Express POV: "No one on the Democratic side knows more about foreign policy than Sen. Biden. He's been an articulate spokesman on the subject. He also knows about domestic policy. He's been a leader on crime control."

And although he's no Joe Lieberman or Zell Miller in terms of controversy, another very respected Republican will be speaking at the Democratic National Convention on Monday evening: Jim Leach, a moderate Republican ex-congressman from Iowa. Currently a professor at Princeton and the interim director of the Institute of Politics at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, Leach served in Congress for 30 years. He was chairman of the Banking and Financial Services Committee and was widely respected on both sides of the aisle as a man with deep convictions, although he has always been reviled by the far right extremists who have turned the Republican Party into a kind of Taliban. Maybe this is why Leach, Hagel, Specter, Lugar and many other decent Republicans are having serious doubts about their own party and, especially, about their own party's nominee, this year and see Obama/Biden as a viable alternative to 4 more years under McSame: