It was always my opinion that forcing John to be a placeholder would be the height of disrespect, even if he was willing to do it as reported. John Carney is no placeholder. He is a man who has served Delaware for decades, who is a capable and qualified public servant and who was enormously gracious in defeat to Jack Markell. He deserved better than being a placeholder so that a legacy could take his place.
So if the appointment to replace Biden was to be a placeholder, than I am glad it is not Carney. Now, I hope John will form an exploratory committee for Congress post haste.
But since the appointment is a placeholder for Beau, the choice of Ted Kaufman couldn’t have been a more transparent example of blatant cronyism, unless Ruth Ann Minner had appointed her dog to the post. I am sure Mr. Kaufman is a nice man. I am sure he is intelligent and capable. But his long tenure in Joe Biden’s employ essentially makes him a Biden proxy. Indeed, there will always be a question as to whether a Senator Kaufman is voting for himself, or voting the way Papa Joe wants him to. It is one thing to want the Governor to appoint a placeholder so that your son can have a legitimate chance at running for and winning the seat in two years. It is quite another for you to insist on the appointment of an underling to the job as that placeholder.
Ted Kaufman will never be his own man in the Senate. People will not ask for his opinion or counsel on important Senate votes. Instead, they will go to the cloak room, where I am told Vice President Biden will spend a lot of time in the coming years encouraging the passage of President Obama’s agenda, and they will ask Joe for Ted Kaufman’s opinion.
Joe Biden failed Delaware today. I am used to such failure from Ruth Ann, but not from Joe.