Biden Has Tense History with Granite Staters

Sen. Barack Obama’s selection of Delaware Senator Joe Biden as his running mate is unlikely to help the Democratic ticket in the Granite State.

Biden, known for his caustic, shoot-from-the-hip style, had a nasty run-in with a New Hampshire voter during his 1988 presidential campaign, which Biden was later forced to abandon due to a plagiarism scandal.

“I think I probably have a much higher IQ than you do,” Biden barked at his citizen inquisitor at a typical New Hampshire house party. He then proceeded to recite his entire curriculum vitae in painful detail.

Conservative blogs lighted up on Saturday with the video of the exchange.

Things did not improve for Biden almost twenty years later during his most recent campaign for the White House.

Biden publicly expressed a preference for campaign in Nevada rather than New Hampshire.

A Reno Gazette-Journal story on Sunday titled, “Biden called Nevada more important than New Hampshire,” reveals Biden stated in a telephone interview with Gazette-Journal reporter, “"In truth, most of our time is going to be spent in Iowa, then Nevada, then New Hampshire, sort of in that order."

Biden received 638 votes in the January 8th New Hampshire Democratic primary.

(The author is a consultant to the McCain campaign)