YAWN: Obama Picks Biden as His Running Mate

Everyone's favorite political rookie, Barack Obama, teased America for weeks over his choice of his vice-presidential running mate. The announcement of Joe Biden as his running mate has been met with a collective yawn from the public and befuddlement from talking heads. By taking so long to inform the country of his decision, many expected a more exciting choice, not someone who has several failed presidential runs under his belt, during which he rarely earned more than 10% of the vote from fellow Democrats.

While Democratic die-hards will try to play up the selection as smart and the best choice, the truth is Democrats could name several more exciting choices, Hillary Clinton chief among them. One could also mention Bill Richardson or even Indiana Senator Evan Bayh as better choices. Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine could have put his state into play for Obama. Biden, at best, can deliver only Delaware's three electoral votes; he has little influence or pull even regionally.

Why did Obama pick Biden? Obviously, Biden brings experience and his status as Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. That is certainly not a bad thing, the man knows politics. However, the potential backlash here is that Biden's lengthy experience may make Obama's relative inexperience much clearer.

It was long discussed among political pundits that Obama may need a more experienced running mate, and he made the safe choice here. It could also call Obama's judgment into play: he recently has had to change his positions on oil drilling in America and the Georgia invasion so much that it looks more like John McCain's. After playing it safe with a vague statement on Russia's aggression in Georgia, he had to issue a new, tougher statement more in line with McCain's initial response. Voters may have a problem with a candidate who can't seem to get the response right the first time. After hearing Biden's name, many may wonder "Why not Hillary?"

Choosing Biden also brings with it a number of "baggage" issues that voters may have forgotten about. The L.A. Times, no friend of John McCain, called Biden a "gaffe machine." In a foreign relations committee hearing he said about America: "We have no credibility." He promised to give Georgia a billion dollars in U.S. aid. During the primaries, Biden enraged many by saying Obama was "the first mainstream African American (candidate) is articulate, bright, and clean." It wasn't the first time Biden has been racially insensitive. He once was caught on camera joking that "You cannot go into a 7-11 or Dunkin' Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent." While running for President, he even bragged in an interview that he would do well in the South and not be pegged as a northern white liberal because "My state was a slave state, it was a border state."

Biden also has a history of being rude and disrespectful, even with fellow Democrats. During a debate, he criticized Obama's run by saying "The Presidency is no place for on the job training." His words will no doubt echo time and again between now and election day.

They say that a vice presidential choice should do no harm. It remains to be seen if that will be the case for Obama. For now, the pundits will play "would've, could've, should've" over his pick, while the rest of the country, even Democrats, will meet his pick not with excitement, but with indifference.