(Photos from left: Kristoffer Tripplaar-Pool/Getty Images, Edward Linsmier/Getty Images)

By Andre Showell

Recent moves by both President Obama and Republican hopeful Mitt Romney are making the distinctions between the two candidates crystal clear. In what seems to be an effort to appeal to their base constituents, the campaigns are intensifying efforts to clarify exactly where their candidates stand. Are they liberal or conservative?

Mitt Romney’s announcement that Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan is his pick for vice president was aimed at showing Romney in a different, perhaps brighter, GOP light. The former Massachusetts governor was widely believed to be a moderate in a climate that has forced many elected officials to hop the fence and pick a side. The selection of Paul Ryan, a fiscal conservative bar none, may help to put questions about Romney’s conservative chops to bed.

Obama, amid criticism about his own liberal street cred as it relates to same-sex marriage, gave a televised interview clarifying his position of support. He had expressed his opposition to the military’s “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy and strengthened hate crimes legislation within the Department of Justice in the past, but he felt the need to dispel any doubts about exactly where his own opinions lie in regard to same sex marriage.

As we march toward Nov. 6, I wonder if this is only the start of attempts to draw distinctions between the candidates in a race that seems to be providing voters with clearer choices.

(Photo: Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images)

By Andre Showell

Vice President Joe Biden has never been known as a quiet man. He’s one who speaks his mind, sometimes at his own peril. Over the weekend, he caused quite the dust-up after making comments that raised questions about President Obama’s views on same-sex marriage and then this week Biden captured headlines when he again proved that the mic is sometimes not his friend.

In an attempt to praise the current administration’s foreign policy stance, Biden inadvertently threw daggers at the United States’ position under President George Bush. He said, “We were the problem,” suggesting that somehow America had something to do with Iran’s march toward nuclear weapons.

Opponents pounced on Biden’s words like sharks feasting on chum, accusing him of blaming the dictatorial regime’s problems on the United States. And while President Obama has called for sanctions against Iran, it should be noted that so did President Bush.

I’d put money on the fact that such infamous statements probably spark bursts of celebration among Republicans as the man who is supposed to be a valuable player on Team Obama makes yet another comment that puts the White House in the cross hairs.

This is an election where every vote counts. I wonder how long it will be before the powers that be on the Obama campaign begin to reel Biden in, realizing that loose lips are often a liability during an election year.