Is Biden “Very, Very Liberal”?

I’ve seen some criticism of Obama’s decision to choose Joe Biden as his running mate that goes something like this – Obama should have picked a real Democrat. Well - Fred Barnes wants to assure you that Biden is a real Democrat in the following sense:

But what Mr. Obama has done is create an all-liberal ticket -- a very, very liberal one, at that -- in a nation whose electorate is still center-right ... and liberal Democratic presidential tickets usually lose, as John Kerry did with John Edwards as his running mate in 2004 ... Once regarded as a centrist, Mr. Biden was rated by the National Journal in 2007 as the third most liberal member of the Senate. Mr. Obama was rated the most liberal. Neither has a record of bucking the wishes of liberal interest groups or promoting bipartisanship.

No mention of the bankruptcy bill – huh? Oh well. Now you might just be saying – “c’mon PGL, don’t you spot the agenda that Barnes has here. He is a rightwing hack who loves to tarnish folks with the L-word. Don’t you get that the National Journal ratings are quite simplistic.” Well, it would seem Brendan Nyhan agrees with you. OK, you’re correct – Fred Barnes is a rightwing hack.