If that seems a long time ago, it retreated further in the distance when Team Obama admitted yesterday that running mate Joe Biden had a son consulting MBNA, a credit company who had a lot to lose if a bankruptcy bill Obama opposed became law. Biden actively supported the bill, which made their investment in consultants look wide indeed

Maybe I’m missing something here, but don’t you mean MBNA had a lot to gain by the passage of the law? A) That would be much closer to the reality of the situation, as the credit card companies lobbied fiercely for passage of this bill. B) It would be more consistent with JB’s strong support of the bill.

I marvel at how the mind contorts. Boo-urns indeed.

Too bad it ain’t me — it doesn’t seem like a bad gig: During the years that Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. was helping the credit card industry win passage of a law making it harder for consumers to file……

His IQ is too high!

In late 1996, the company hired the younger of Mr. Biden’s two sons, Robert Hunter Biden, known as Hunter, who had just graduated from Yale Law School, as a lawyer. The company promoted Mr. Biden to senior vice president by early 1998. And after the younger Mr. Biden worked at the Commerce Department on electronic commerce issues from 1998 to 2001, MBNA hired him back on a monthly consulting contract to advise it on such issues, aides said.

I wonder how much money he made as a Senior V.P. (I’m guessing a lot) and why he would leave that job to work for the Commerce Department (not much?).

Related, here’s a very interesting piece from Byron York, written in 1998 but reprinted two days ago in honor of Biden’s achieving running mate status. It appears that there is a question about the sale of Joe Biden’s house (oh no!) in addition to questions then about his son’s ties to MBNA.

HoosierCon on August 25, 2008 at 11:22 AM

How many carbon credits would you need to off set that act? Oye

- The Cat

Some are hinting at a Quid pro quo.

See Citizen Wells for that bit of news.

Does Biden remind anybody else of Sonny Corleone?

Mini14 on August 25, 2008 at 12:02 PM

Yeah, and BO reminds me a lot of Clay Davis from “The Wire”.
“Shiii….., ya’ll”

Good report. Hope they keep digging on slo-joe. Some of those MBNA real estate deals in Delaware way back when had a real funny odor…

everyone needs to just embrace greasy Joe until after the convention

On the other hand, if Obama dumps Biden, just days after naming him, he will shoot what little credibility he has left to heck and back.

So much for his claims of having superior judgement.

In chemistry, we say that “likes go with likes”. That is, molecules tend to go to the environment in which they are suited. For example, salt dissolves in water, but fat does not. I think you can draw the relevant parallels yourself.

I’m no fan of Obama or of Biden, but why does everyone think that they must agree on every issue?

bridgetown on August 25, 2008 at 11:45 AM

You’re right; they don’t. But for Obama to focus his campaign on a certain type of populist rhetoric and then bring on a politician who could ostensibly have been the very target of his rhetoric is remarkable hypocrisy.

For the definition of hypocrisy in this context, see every public statement Obama has made since declaring that he had secured the nomination. He is making John Kerry look like a granite pillar of principled resolve.

Joe Biden was always going to support MBNA’s agenda in the Senate. It’s by far the biggest employer in the state. Many other banks are technically HQed in Delaware because of its lenient banking laws. Tom Carper, Delaware’s other senator, is on the Banking Committee and has also been a reliable friend of the banks. It would be political madness for any Senator not to support his state’s biggest employer especially in a small state like Delaware. Tim Johnson also supported the bankruptcy bill because Citibanks’ credit card operation is one of South Dakota’s biggest employers.

My concern is that Joe Biden strong-armed MBNA into giving a huge consulting contract to his no-talent son. This happens more than you think.