Well, I was born a coal miner\u2019s daughter<\/span> My daddy worked all night in the Van Leer coal mine<\/span> Daddy loved and raised eight kids on a miner\u2019s pay<\/span> In the summertime we didn\u2019t have shoes to wear<\/span> Yeah, I\u2019m proud to be a coal miner\u2019s daughter<\/span> Well, a lot of things have changed since way back then<\/span> \n<\/p> If you don\u2019t get the joke, Google Joe Biden<\/em>\u00a0coal miner<\/em>. \u00a0And that\u2019s just one of many, many treats to come, should he run. \u00a0If people have doubts about Hillary\u2019s veracity, what will they make of the inimitable Mr. Biden<\/em>?<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u00a0 \u00a0 I hereby express my\u00a0enthusiasm for a possible Joe Biden presidential candidacy. \u00a0 He would bring youth, diversity, and a fresh face into the Democratic competition \u2014 elements that are sorely needed. \u00a0 And his history of fascinating comments, and the promise of many more, would provide excellent material for cartoonists, opposing political ads, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27300","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
\nIn a cabin on a hill in Butcher Holler<\/span>
\nWe were poor but we had love<\/span>
\nThat\u2019s the one thing that daddy made sure of<\/span>
\nHe shoveled coal to make a poor man\u2019s dollar<\/span><\/p>\n
\nAnd all day long in the field a\u2019 hoeing corn<\/span>
\nMomma rocked the babies at night and read the Bible by the coal oil light<\/span>
\nAnd everything would start all over come break of morn\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n
\nMommy scrubbed our clothes on a washboard every day<\/span>
\nWell, I seen her fingers bleed, to complain there was no need,<\/span>
\nShe\u2019d smile in mommy\u2019s understanding way<\/span><\/p>\n
\nBut in the wintertime we\u2019d all get a brand new pair<\/span>
\nFrom a mail order catalog, money made from selling a hog<\/span>
\nDaddy always managed to get the money somewhere<\/span><\/p>\n
\nI remember well the well where I drew water<\/span>
\nThe work we done was hard, at night we\u2019d sleep \u2019cause we were tired<\/span>
\nI never thought of ever leaving Butcher Holler<\/span><\/p>\n
\nAnd it\u2019s so good to be back home again<\/span>
\nNot much left but the floors, nothing lives here anymore<\/span>
\nExcept the memories of a coal miner\u2019s daughter<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
![\"Mr.](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2015\/10\/800px-Biden_2013.jpg\")
<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n
I hereby express my\u00a0enthusiasm for a possible Joe Biden presidential candidacy.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
He would bring youth, diversity, and a fresh face into the Democratic competition \u2014 elements that are sorely needed.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
And his history of fascinating comments, and the promise of many more, would provide excellent material for cartoonists, opposing political ads, and late-night comedians.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
I\u2019m guessing that his entry into the race would hurt Hillary far more than it would hurt Bernie Sanders; the Bernistas are committed to their dream of a socialist America, and Joe Biden wouldn\u2019t get them there nearly as fast as Mr. Sanders, who, be it remembered, chose to spend his honeymoon in the Soviet Union. \u00a0(Of course, by some significant measures, the United States are already at least as socialist as Denmark<\/a>.)<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n So maybe Joe Biden would give the Democratic nomination to Bernie Sanders. \u00a0That would be fun.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Or he would get\u00a0it himself. \u00a0That would be fun.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Or perhaps he would weaken Hillary but, in the end, she would get it anyway. \u00a0That would be fun, too.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n But it would be a lot more<\/em> fun with a good Republican nominee.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n And I\u2019m \u00a0very afraid that we\u2019re not going to get one.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n I would be happy\u00a0with Carly Fiorina.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n I would be happy with Marco Rubio. \u00a0I think he\u2019s Reaganesque. \u00a0(I wanted him as the vice-presidential nominee in 2012.)<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n I don\u2019t think Ted Cruz has a chance.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n I doubt that Jeb Bush is going to catch fire.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n I like Rand Paul. \u00a0I\u2019ve actually had dinner with him, and he\u2019s very personable and good-humored. \u00a0But I worry about his foreign policy positions and, anyway, his campaign seems to be on life support.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n And so forth.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n I like Ben Carson a great deal, but one of the many concerns that I had about Mr. Obama back in 2007-2008, his lack of any executive experience at all, applies to Dr. Carson, as well. \u00a0(It\u2019s a concern about Senator Rubio, too. \u00a0But there are mitigating factors in his case.)<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n As for Donald Trump \u2014 who, by the way, brayed insults at Mitt Romney<\/a> and Jeb Bush and George W. Bush<\/a> over the weekend \u2014 I continue to see lots of boasting but little if anything of substance in what he has to say, I don\u2019t see him as a real or reliable conservative, and, if he has a presidential temperament, I\u2019m a radish.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n If he wins the Republican nomination (which he might do, though with at most a relatively small plurality of the vote), I\u2019ll face a real moral dilemma come November. \u00a0(Think \u201cBernie the socialist versus Trump the demagogue.\u201d) \u00a0And I think he\u2019ll lose.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Sigh.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Maybe we\u2019ll come to a deadlocked Republican convention, and the party will turn to somebody with high national name recognition and a cadre of loyal aides and donors all ready to go on short notice. \u00a0Someone who doesn\u2019t \u201cneed\u201d the office but who has a long record of service in both the public and private sectors.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n One can dream.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n By the way, presidential campaigns typically have official songs. \u00a0Here\u2019s my suggestion for the Biden campaign. \u00a0It was written and performed by Loretta Lynn:<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n