Take it easy Joe

                            

                Senator Biden needs to take it easy with the truth in the upcoming debate and following month. He needs to focus on the facts, stick to the facts, and take liberties only with humor. He has an ability to successfully inject the latter, but, like many an experienced politician, sometimes at the expense of truth. One thing that this campaign has come down to is credibility, and Joe, in his enthusiasm, sometimes stretches the truth just beyond what the American public is willing to tolerate. Because he isn’t quite as likely to wind up President due to death of Obama as Palin is due to death of McCain, Senator Biden can afford a few liberties, but not many. Joe needs to understand, though, that Hillary lost a lot of support, as has McCain-Palin, over the credibility gap.

  It seems to this writer, and much of America, that the Obama campaign has, in large part, successfully answered the McCain challenge to rise above the fray in terms of honesty. Although, there have, as in any campaign, been some errors in truth, some honest some not, the Obama campaign has managed to avoid the outright story-telling fabrication that doomed Hillary Clinton and is currently hurting McCain. Joe Biden needs to reinforce that perception.

 But now, Joe Biden will be stepping out in front of America in a media venue that will bring him into sharper focus. The McCain campaign has prepared for this by diminishing expectations for Sarah Palin and increasing them for Senator Biden. Joe Biden cannot allow himself any mistakes in the credibility perception. He, and the campaign, cannot afford any of the freewheeling, seat-of-the-pants oratorical style that has in the past hurt Hillary Clinton, John McCain, Sarah Palin, and, yes, Joe Biden. 

The American people want substance, and they want truth, to the best of one’s ability. Being technically wrong or honestly mistaken is one thing, but intractable ignorance and dishonesty are not going to be taken lightly. Joe Biden must refrain from some of his questionable traditional speech and debate tactics and stick solidly to the truth. America needs and wants the change that the Obama-Biden ticket offers, but they don’t want it if it comes with more outright deception. Joe Biden has in the past, even recently, been guilty of lying; he needs to stop that right now to enhance his ticket’s electability.