Obama and Crisis Management

Joe Biden has a long history of service to his country as a senator.

He possesses a depth of knowledge of the issues facing this country that is unmatched by almost anyone else in political life.

Even if he were not running for vice president, he would have made a fine addition to the next administration as attorney general or secretary of state.

And, to the chagrin of the Obama campaign, the vice presidential nominee is gaffe-prone.

Lately, spectacularly so.

With two weeks to go before the election, the Democrats did not need him to remind people that Obama's lack of experience could encourage foreign adversaries to manufacture a crisis early in his presidency — in much the same way that John F. Kennedy was tested shortly after taking office.

It gave John McCain the opening to focus attention on his long record of service to the country, which he says would discourage America's foes from testing him. But Obama, he says, is a different story.

"[T]he thing that probably may encourage them a little is that Sen. Obama has been wrong," McCain told CNN. "He was wrong about the surge in Iraq. He still fails to acknowledge that he was wrong."

On the other hand, McCain said, "They know I've been tested. I've been tested many times."

McCain's supporters seem to have taken the cue.

Kirsten Powers asserts, in the New York Post, that Biden's remarks are being shrugged off by a "biased" media.

The Oklahoman ponders the possibility that the Democrats may choose to put a muzzle on Biden for the rest of the campaign.

"You’ve got to wonder if Joe Biden will be seen or heard much between now and Election Day," writes The Oklahoman.

"If Obama wins, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Castro brothers, Hugo Chavez, Kim Jong Il, Vladimir Putin and others will try to size him up early, and it won’t be anything like community organizing in South Chicago," The Oklahoman tells its readers. "This concern is unique to Obama. His is the thin résumé; he’s never faced live fire.

"On the other hand, John McCain would come to the Oval Office with more world experience and a track record that would give adversaries pause, not invite mischief."

If there's one thing the Democrats don't need with less than two weeks remaining in the campaign, it is to remind the voters that they're running against a war hero.