It's Official: Obama Picks BidenUPDATE: Text message received at 2:46 AM Central Time:
"Barack has chosen Senator Joe Biden to be our VP nominee. Watch the first Obama-Biden rally live at 3pm ET on www.BarackObama.com. Spread the word!"____
So much for a head-fake. The writing had been on the wall for a couple of days now.
It's a good choice. The media will love Joe Biden. He passes the ready-on-day-one-test. Older voters like him, which means that Pennsylvania probably isn't a swing state anymore, but that Florida might be.
(official Senate photo)
Was he the best choice? I guess we'll never know. From among the five or so candidates who seemed plausible in the endgame, I think Hillary gives you the best chance of occupying the White House in 2009. But maybe she doesn't give you the best chance of governing effectively, maintaining a majority in the Congress in 2011, or getting re-elected in 2013. Maybe the Obama campaign had some oppo on her, and that's why she (allegedly) wasn't vetted. But I would hope that Chicago at least took her seriously.
Evan Bayh? I still think he got a raw deal from the left. But he wasn't going to generate much enthusiasm from the base, wasn't going to generate much enthusiasm from the press, and from what I'd heard, is not all that well liked in Washington circles. One wonders whether Steve Clemons' reporting is correct, that Bayh was at one point the leading choice, and that the Obama campaign had second thoughts.
Tim Kaine? Never quite understood what made him Veep material, but he'll be an effective surrogate for Obama and certainly raised his national profile. The fact that the Obama campaign may have made a late push to get Mark Warner into the game was a tip-off that he wasn't likely to be picked.
Kathleen Sebelius? I found her a persuasive choice personally. I have no idea how she'd have gone over to the other 304 million Americans. She would have required a careful and deliberate roll-out process, and with the choice apparently having been made fairly late in the day, that had probably become impossible.
Was Brain Schweitzer considered seriously? Was Wesley Clark? Bill Richardson? Were they interested in the position? Were they vetted and disqualified? We have no way to know, so we'll just have to take a pass.
At the end of the day, Joe Biden is that one choice that is in fact fairly safe but nevertheless feels fairly bold. I'd expect Democrats to wake up tomorrow morning feeling pretty good about him.
Note: Edited for clarity.
252 comments
NYTimes is confirming this also:
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/08/23/obama-chooses-biden-as-running-mate/
I wanted Sebelius. She'd have been perfect. But Biden is a good guy. Still, imagine an Obama/Sebelius White House.
I think Biden follows the first rule of VP's "do no harm". While his mouth gets him in trouble sometimes, he's a foreign policy expert and an old Washington insider who helps Obama somewhat but may make some PUMA's mad. I guess we'll have to wait and see.
Good choice, tomorrow should be interesting in Springfield.
IMO best remaining realistic choice Obama had. The collective GOP just tugged at their shirt collars thinking about the soundbytes Biden will generate on the stump, not to mention the future VP debate.
The republiClown concern trolls will be here any minute now talking about how Obama made a "huge mistake" of course. Have to collect enough MAC-Action-Points to get that lifetime supply of Saltwater Taffy!
If the Dem convention causes the percentage of the base that supporters Obama to rise from 75 to 82-85, it's over for mcCain.
Biden's not the worst pick. I'm just happy that it wasn't Bayh. Still, I'm fearing what "going negative" will look like against Biden in a national general campaign.
Biden will be great!
relating to PUMA stuff....
Hillary and Obama - I liked them both, and I respect that as the nominee, it is Obama's choice to make. Hillary I am sure will do a good job shepherding those of her supporters (excluding the republican fakers stirring up trouble - just look who founded and still currently funds PUMA to see that for what it mostly is) to support a candidate who shares her policy views almost in their entirety.
I actually think that the extreme outcry of the many legitimate and fake (see above) Hillary supporters may have forced him into considering her less than he may have wanted to, because he could not risk the public perception that he was forced to take her on. Just like Hillary said, the Democrats have said they want a fighter this time - we can't have it both ways. Thankfully, Obama isn't easy to bully.
Fierce old motormouth scrapper Biden. Just the man to balance out ethereal exotic young intellectual Barry. "Storybook" match.
I've been in Obama's camp since before he entered the race, but even with that built-in bias, I always thought that Biden won, on the merits alone, pretty much every presidential debate the Democrats had. He'll be a fierce surrogate on the stump, on the news, and in the VP debate.
(when Drudge had the Obama/Bayh bumper stickers up a few hours ago, I was convinced Bayh was the choice, and had to have a drink.)
Could have wrapped it up with Clinton. Too bad.
Don't worry about those PUMAs, James.
Despite the Concern Troll's attempts to make it seem like an issue (Operation Chaos 2.0?), now that McCain has pigeonholed himself as a "pro life president", the amount of undecided former hillary supporters that will break for McCain will be minimal. Easily negated by the independents that were turned off to mcCain after saddleback.
If Hillary has a really good and sincere speech at the convention, this narrative will be pretty much put to sleep.
Bahahaha,
At least the VP can comment how "clean" his running mate is, you know as compared to all of the other black congressman are, such as Rangel et al.
He can also bring in all of the Indian American vote by commenting on how you have to have an Indian accent to work at a 7-11.
This is sweet. You have a closet racist against a black presidential candidate all on the same ticket.
Do da...do da...do da....
I should also note: my wife has been rooting for Biden since Obama locked the nomination. She loves his perspective and his one liners.
One House, One Spouse:
Obama/Biden
Being from Delaware and a huge Obama supporter I am very happy the choice is Biden. To me the best chice he could have made.
Not sure how I feel about Biden and his mouth. He's been accused of saying some rather racially insensitive things in the past (none of which I have ever heard personally), and he is far from representing a change of the old guard. I'd really like to know Obama's reasoning behind this choice, if this is indeed his choice.
Bahahaha,
At least the VP can comment how "clean" his running mate is, you know as compared to all of the other black congressman are, such as Rangel et al.
He can also bring in all of the Indian American vote by commenting on how you have to have an Indian accent to work at a 7-11.
This is sweet. You have a closet racist against a black presidential candidate all on the same ticket.
Do da...do da...do da....
Akonache,
I agree. I'm glad it's not Bayh, Chet Edwards, or HRC, but I'm not thrilled it's Biden either. That guy's been in Washington too long to not have an unholy number of skeletons in his closet.
well it was basically expected, but a good choice nonetheless. I don't think it gives McCain anyone to counter with in any real way, so thats a positive.
I'm pretty anxious to hear Biden's acceptance speech though. I think it'll be very important in persuading the base, so we'll have to see.