For Wasserman Schultz, it’s back to Biden (UPDATE)

Capital J

By Ron Kampeas · August 25, 2008

For Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Joe Biden's clinch of the vice-presidential spot on Barack Obama's ticket is like the – what – prodigal mentor?

"He's like mishpoche!" the Florida congresswoman enthused to JTA, contemplating the Delaware senator's clinching of the vice presidential spot on the Democratic ticket, alongside Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.)

Back in 1987, Wasserman Schultz explained, she was a member of the Florida chapter of Students for Biden. That campaign went down early in the primaries after Biden's temper and plagiarism allegations got the better of him.

Now, it's make up time, and Wasserman Schultz thinks Biden, a familiar of the schmeer and schmooze circuit up and down the East Coast, will do a great job winning over older Jewish constituents embittered by the loss of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) to Obama.

"He'll come down and move around the bagel places and the condos," she said. "It'll be like a son." Of the prodigal kind?

Here's audio of Ron Kampeas and Eric Fingerhut's interview with the congresswoman:

[audio:/images/archive/wasserman.mp3] Audio sound funny? Upgrade your Flash player.

To subscribe to JTA's Behind the News podcast, click here.

UPDATE: Wasserman Schultz's enthusiasm and efforts ob behalf Obama are especially worth noting, considering the increasing talk about Hillary Clinton supporters (and the Clintons themselves) still being upset about her loss to and treatment by Barack Obama.

Asked Sunday at the inaugural meeting of the Obama campaign's Colorado Jewish Community Leadership Committee in Denver about rumors of Clinton backers disrupting the convention, Wasserman Schultz – a big Clinton backer during the primary – quickly dismissed the idea as silly and also utilized her one-time support of Obama's opponent as a selling point.

"As someone who did not support Barack Obama during the primary, I can assure you I have 100 percent confidence in his support for Israel," she told the more than 200 people in attendance.