Barack Obama named Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware as his vice presidential running mate early Saturday, balancing his ticket with a seasoned congressional veteran well-versed in foreign policy and defense issues.
Obama announced the pick on his Web site with a photo of the two men and an appeal for donations. A text message went out shortly afterward that said, “Barack has chosen Senator Joe Biden to be our VP nominee.”
Biden, 65, has twice sought the White House, and is a Catholic with blue-collar roots, a generally liberal voting record and a reputation as a long-winded orator.
Across more than 30 years in the Senate, he has served at various times not only as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee but also as head of the Judiciary Committee, with its jurisdiction over anti-crime legislation, Supreme Court nominees and Constitutional issues.
In selecting Biden, Obama passed over several other potential running mates, none more prominent than former first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, his tenacious rival in dozens of primaries and caucuses.
He’s as liberal as Obama. I don’t know how that will play out.
McCain Camp. already has a Obama-Biden [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDVUPqoowf8]ad out[/url] using Biden’s words against Obama and for McCain.
Ouch, that ad’s gonna leave a mark.
Before commenting on the choice made, it strikes me that the grand plan to announce it via text messaging directly to millions of supporters fell very flat. (The prevailing attitude around my dinner table was “Big Whoop!”) In marketing terms, this may be the equivalent of “the colored sugar water problem.” In this classic selling challenge, the product is indistinguishable from the competition so the seller has to spend most of his effort generating excitement, suspense, “a buzz,” in other words, prior to the introduction of the new fizzy drink. Witness: “The Pepsi Generation, Coke Classic” (which came out very quickly when the new Coke failed to sell), etc. In the case of Senator Biden, he is a very well known commodity and, at least to most young voters, very “stale beer.” To try to market him in such a high tech fashion may have only served to highlight the contrast between product and promotion. We will see, of course, as the campaign plays out.
Apparently, Sen. Biden brings foreign policy expertise to the ticket, which isn’t a bad stategy given Sen. Obama’s lack of experience in that area. However, if memory serves, Pres. Bush choose Dick Cheney in 2000 for exactly that reason. I doubt the comparison will help the Democratic cause all that much.
All the buzz over the e-mail release of the announcement and then they let it fly (from the news accounts I heard this morning) at 3 a.m. What a stupid move. Why not high noon last Thursday? It would have generated two more days of buzz.
It may be the Obama camp didn’t want all that much buzz over a guy who has been so critical of their candidate. I have to admit, I’m totally confused.
Senator Biden’s remark is going to come back and bite Obama.
Let’s see.
Didn’t Biden support actions aiding and abetting the dismemberment of the former Yugoslavia?
If I were an Iraqi and Biden were to strongly influence U.S. foreign policy in a Democrat presidency, I would be seriously considering the possibility of Iraq being dismembered into its ethno-religious constituencies.
This of course would result in a geo-political version of “52 scatter” in which the outcome would be unpredictable and de-stabilizing to the entire industrialized world.
Senator Obama’s choice of a long time Washington insider isn’t a great one, re Jim K and the marketing of sugar water, more of the same. Senator Obama was supposed to represent change. I think maybe Jim Webb could have brought experiance ans well as helped with southern states.
Sooo…yet another instance of poor judgement?
Shades of Kennedy picking Johnson….only difference is that Johnson could deliver Texas. But the idea of new and experienced was one of the reasons. And believe me Johnson said a few choice words prior to the convention about Kennedy – all was forgiven and forgotten even though the Nixon camp tried to use LBJ’s own words about Kennedy against the ticket……more important that a man know how many houses he owns….teehee
Biden??? BIDEN??!??
The vacillating gift that keeps on giving. McCain is already running Biden’s video quotes where Biden doesn’t believe that Obama has the right stuff, and in fact Biden ENDORSES McCain. WHAT A JOKE!! Out of 300 million people why do these parties keep recycling has-beens and the problem-larded?
This will be ripped to shreds and Obama deserves it. Tim Kaine or Mark Warner of Virginia are both much more honorable and level…ooops. What was I thinking?
A Washington insider for someone selling a brand called “Change.” hmmm. Still it was a safe choice and Biden will make for a good “backdrop” in a way that Hillary Clinton wouldn’t have.
Who is Obama’s campaign manager? Rove? It seems that, since July, Rove has been calling all the shots in the Obama campaign. Rove, you are one magnificant son of two unmarried people! 🙂
Biden has so much baggage and can’t keep his mouth shut. This is yet another strike against “hope” and “change.”
YBIC,
Phil Snyder
Joe Biden was selected for his foreign policy experience and gravitas? Does that mean that Senator Obama admits that his recent swing through Europe didn’t have the effect that people claimed that it did?
I wonder how many of the comments were for people already voting for Obama?
Although its not my choice, there were good reasons for Biden. Obama’s criteria were not for a winning state – but someone who would supplement his candidacy, who was a team player, little ego and experience in Washington. The only electoral issue was would it motivate the Democratic base. It doesn’t make much sense to select a VP that will alienate democrats, and as the comments suggest, no VP – no matter how conservative – would bring in Republicans.
Biden is a team player and is aggressive. Personally, that Biden doesn’t keep his “mouth shut” is a good thing. Often, good leaders aren’t people who say whatever people want them to say. Like McCain (who would still be a much better leader than George Bush).
Add that Biden has run campaigns and has experience in Washington, you have someone who could be an effective president if something happened to Obama.
Jim Webb took himself out of the running, and he’s more effective as a senator. He’ll be an attack dog.
It also shows that Obama doesn’t hold grudges and can deal with people who think differently.
Actually, if I were looking for balance, I might have gone for a governor. Granted, we elected a pair of senators in 1960, but just barely, and we’ve elected governors or vice-presidents since then.
I am interested that we don’t have a lot more of “Hooray!” type posts here from Democrats. This doesn’t seem to be the kind of pick which will energize the base.
Dee in Iowa, the only problem with the analogy to Kennedy and Johnson making up after the convention is that now we have You Tube. There will endless replays of Biden criticizing Obama or his views and supporting McCain. I can remember a recent meeting at Davos, Switzerland, in which Biden and McCain together defended US foreign policy (i.e., Bush).
[blockquote]It also shows that Obama doesn’t hold grudges and can deal with people who think differently. [/blockquote]
Why didn’t he just pick Neil Kinnock and get the original?
Commentators in the media are starting to discuss the fact that Obama–supposedly the new, issues-oriented, change guy–has gone negative and personal. Same old low road. Where’s the beef?
For any Romney fans, I think McCain’s Biden ad pretty much rules him out. The Democrats would have a ton of McCain/Romney primary warfare to draw from.
I’m not sure how thrilled I am about Biden, but the McCain campaign’s relentless negativity has completely lost me. I think he’s going to turn off a lot of independents with his relentless attacks.
I see this as a “safe” choice for Obama.
It will be interesting to see how excited some of the earlier posters get when McCain announces his pick. McCain has the same choice Obama had: play it safe (Romney=Biden) or try something really different and risk it all (Lieberman=Hagel).
No. 21: Yes, a hard call for both of them. Not sure how safe a choice Biden is, though. Yes, in one way. But his selection points up Obama’s inexperience and perhaps even self-doubt. And Biden has some of the Hubert Humphrey-style logorrhoea problem. Also, how will the selection of a Senate insider go down with Senator Clinton’s supporters?
If I were McCain, I’m not sure who I’d go with. His bullpen is less richly populated than Obama’s was. If I’d been Obama, I’d have gone with Evan Bayh. Bright, personable, a centrist–and psychosocially balanced enough not to run for president! I admit that my choice there is not an exciting one.
One would think that a man with the first name Barak and the middle name Hussein and the last name Obama would pick someone with a last name other than Biden.
Obama-Biden — Osma bin Laden
That would be too close for comfort for me! The internet is going to be buzzing with this one!
“The internet is going to be buzzing with this one!” (no. 23)
Let’s hope not.
My two 20-something American teammates here didn’t even know who Biden was when I told them who Obama had picked as his running mate. Very interesting… I’m 45 and can thus well remember Biden’s earlier Presidential runs, and the plagiarism scandal that forced him to drop out of one race…
#22
Yes, I’m less interested in how people who aren’t going to vote for Obama react to Biden. I’m quite interested in seeing how Clinton-supporters react because that will be the real make-or-break for his campaign. We’ll find out soon enough!
If I were Obama, I would have shown I was serious about moving past Roe and picked Bob Casey. What a message that pick would have sent…
If I’m McCain now, I play it safe and go Pawlenty (or maybe Portman). Neither are well known (but how well-known is Biden?) but they are choices who won’t tick-off the base.
Yes, St. Cuervo, I’m hoping McCain goes with Pawlenty.
Alta Californian, do you disagree with the substance of the McCain ads against Obama? Is it somehow wrong to point out things that are true about one’s opponent? Negative ads containing untrue statements are bad, but what’s wrong with the true ones?
I have to admit that I was somewhat shocked when I got up this morning and learned of the pick. I thought Biden was actually one of the weaker of the potential picks. Granted he has convincing foreign policy experience, but only if you are a dove to begin with. Granted Obama does not any, so that is a plus for him.
However, Biden has a lot of baggage. He isn’t known around D.C. as the “Mouth of the Potomac” for nothing. The man is a treasure trove of misspoken sound bytes. As McCain has already tipped his hand that he is willing to go the route of the attack ad, I do not understand this pick. People say he’s a safe pick, but there are a lot of political flaps that will arise as Republicans start digging up Biden quips.
I also don’t understand this pick in terms of strategy. From all the polls I have read, McCain and Obama are pretty much in a dead heat with Virginia a toss up. I thought the Governor of Virginia would have been a better stop gap method in picking up Virginia, which very well might put either candidate over the top in delegate votes at this point.
I also think Obama just completely undercut his method of attacking McCain as “too old.” Biden is retirement age himself, and not that much younger than McCain. I think such attacks now are virtually moot.
I also do not follow the Biden logic in terms of the “Change we can believe in” jingle. The only entity with lower approval ratings than Bush right now is Congress, and so Obama picks one of the longest serving and partisan Washington insiders in the entire US Senate?
I just don’t understand this pick at all. Loud mouth, loose cannon, and Washington establishment seems to balance out any pluses on the foreign policy credentials argument. I am curious to see is Obama gets a bounce from this in the poles or people are just resigned to the “Well, it could have been worse” ho-hums.
#28
One thing you are forgetting on Biden’s plus side is that he is well regarded by the base and the party establishment. You mention Governor Kaine as an alternative, but he is seen by the pro-abortion elements in the party as being “soft on choice.” Picking Kaine could turn-off a lot of activist foot-soldiers that Obama will need to draw on between now and election day. Biden, on the other hand, is held in high esteem by these same activists for his work on the Judiciary Committee with Judges Bork and Thomas.
And it is true that neither McCain nor Biden are spring chickens but Biden is six years younger than McCain which is a significant age gap. He also hasn’t had the health problems McCain has had and, in my opinion, looks younger and healthier than McCain. I think Obama will be able to safely play Biden’s experience in a positive way.
You are also right that he isn’t a great fit with the “change” slogan but, if Obama picked a Washington outsider, he would be open to a charge of having an inexperienced ticket so he is in a Catch-22 here. Republicans would complain no matter what Obama did in picking a DC-pro or an outsider.
And even Biden’s mouth is a both plus and a minus. Sometimes he slips up but sometimes he nails it: I lean Republican but even I smile (BECAUSE IT IS TRUE) when I think about the “noun, verb and 9/11” comment… I expect the media to give Biden a pass on his bad slip-ups and play up any whitty repartee anyway.