Report: Joe Biden is Barack Obama's Vice Presidential Running Mate
The Obama campaign kept the decision close to its vest in order to build enthusiasm, energy and momentum going into the party's convention next week in Denver.
An alleged short list also included Sen. Hillary Clinton (New York), Gov. Katherine Sebelius (Kansas), Rep. Chet Edwards (Texas), and Gov. Edward Rendell (Pennsylvania) along with Kaine (Virginia) and Bayh (Indiana).
Up until late Friday night, the Obama campaign seemed to purposefully keep pundits, reporters, supporters and the public in the dark in an effort to build a frenzy around the choice.
How He Helps Barack Obama: Joe Biden, Vice Presidential Running Mate
Biden, 66, is regarded as a tough-talking, sometimes bullying maverick. The choice bulks up Obama on foreign policy, a side of his campaign that John McCain, the presumptive GOP nominee, has repeatedly criticized.
Biden is also somewhat of a political pit bull. Obama, seen as too soft and too willing to pull punches, is often attacked (especially by members of his own party) for not being aggressive enough in challenging McCain. Biden, as a VP choice, would seem to alleviate that.
How He Doesn't Help Barack Obama: Joe Biden, Vice Presidential Running Mate
Biden is from Delaware. It's not a swing state. It's not a big state. Other VP picks, such as Kaine or Rendell, would have made more sense in that arena. Biden also is not Hillary Clinton, whom many said would shore up Obama's support with women.
Also, early in the primary campaign, Biden, according to many media outlets, said of Obama: "I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy. I mean, that's a storybook, man."
Biden apologized for the remark, but it's possible McCain's campaign could try using it to its advantage.
A Short Biography: Joe Biden, Vice Presidential Running Mate
Biden was elected to the U.S. Senate from Delaware in 1972 at the age of 29, the 5th youngest senator in U.S., according to the senator's Web site. He is married to a Delaware teacher and has three children.
Published by Tim Skillern
I am the director of news-editorial for Yahoo! Contributor Network on Yahoo! News. Before that, I was a videographer, copy editor and/or sportswriter for the Rocky Mountain News, the Boulder Daily Camera and... View profile
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9 Comments
Post a CommentI am having a hard time with this one, as Joe Biden is pushing 66 and McCain is "too old"? Biden and McCain could both collect Social Security checks... I am totally stumped on this one.
Oh, man. Obama blew it.
Great article, though. :)
This was a great article and I was most impressed with your information about the possible downside of the choice of Biden compared to the essentially myopic view I took in an earlier article about Biden's possible selection. Further, it is great AC was represented by such comprehensive and quick reporting. It is great to read, among other things, Mr McCabe's assertion.
Biden is definitely more of an attacker. It will be interesting to see who McCain chooses.
I cannot imagine a worse pick. The guy who tells us that we need "change" in Washington picks a guy who has been there for nearly forty years, who is prone to sticking his foot in his mouth and holds a rather superficial understanding of our Constitution. Biden will be fodder for 527 attack ads from now until November. He brings absolutely nothing to the campaign except a lot of baggage. He's not extreme enough to please the far left, but too liberal to bring in independents. Back in the day a VP pick could balance the ticket and bring in states that the candidate had trouble in, but those days are over. Now a VP pick can do a lot more harm than good and Obama has failed to learn this lesson.
I title of this article should be "Obama picks Rich Old White Male as VP Running Mate." Oh the irony.
You are very quick. I just wrote about Biden as VP pick too. I think many commentators would agree with your analysis of how he helps Obama but I have my doubts. If he is perceived as tougher- and as it happens, better qualified in foreign relations- it tends to draw attention to Obama's lesser experience. I don't know anyone who has ever voted for a President based on perceived advantages that the VP offers. I think an older, more experienced man as VP is likely to undercut Obama and his youthful message of change. He should have picked a woman because then his candidacy would have been truly revolutionary. Guess we'll find out which factors really matter in Nov.
Oh yeah, it seems like a good choice.
Hi, I've been writing articles for several hours and I was wondering about Barack Obama's pick. Then, I saw your article, at 2:05 am on Saturday morning. You really got that out quickly. Not only that, but the article is very informative, intelligent and interesting. AC's credibility as a news source is growing. I'm an am radio and television news geek and I actually learned about this and Isaac Hayes' death through AC articles. Very good work.