"Just the Ticket" -- Obama/Clinton 2012 -- Bill Keller, New York Times -- 1/9/2012

[karynnj]

31. I agree in general - and for the Obama/Hillary case

I do think that Palin actually hurt McCain because I know people who were on the fence in my majority old money Republican county, who reluctantly voted for Obama because she was pretty scary.

I also agree on the air of desperation.

In addition, it ignores that Biden has - often quietly done an excellent job on important issues. For instances, in an anti-Romney foreign policy oped that Kerry wrote this weekend, he says:

"Our presence in Iraq now is a diplomatic one because our challenge there now is diplomatic; we’ve left behind a robust civilian presence to help the Iraqi people shape their future. It will require frequent and frank discussions with Iraqi leaders that Vice President Biden has had time and again, urging them to make smart decisions."

Read more: http://thepage.time.com/2012/01/08/kerry-reporting-for-duty/#ixzz1izFwBOjb

This is a rare public mention of the fact that it was Biden, who was the point man for Obama in Iraq. This was an important job and although initially there was talk of one of the special envoys handling this country, it was Biden who handled it, instead of the state department.