Well, now we know the reason for picking him:
QUOTE (Associated Press Writers) |
August 22, 2008 WASHINGTON (AP) -- Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware is Barack Obama's pick as vice presidential running mate, The Associated Press has learned. Biden, 65, is a veteran of more than three decades in the Senate, and one of his party's leading experts on foreign policy, an area in which polls indicate Obama needs help in his race against Republican rival John McCain. The official who spoke did so on condition of anonymity, saying they did not want to pre-empt a text-message announcement the Obama campaign promised for Saturday morning. |
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This is from an email I received from the McCain campaign regarding Biden:
QUOTE |
Senator Barack Obama announced he has chosen Senator Joe Biden as his running-mate, adding his own harshest critic to the Democratic ticket. Senator Obama's choice in a running-mate once again brings up his questionable judgment when faced with making major decisions. Senator Biden doesn't believe that Senator Obama is ready to serve as president. When asked about Senator Obama's lack of experience he said, "The presidency is not something that lends itself to on-the-job training." The fact is, there has been no harsher critic of Senator Obama's lack of readiness to serve than his new running-mate, Senator Joe Biden. Senator Biden has long been a leading critic of Senator Obama's lack of foreign policy experience. He's criticized Senator Obama for his lack of leadership and judgment on Iraq, Afghanistan and his commitment to meet unconditionally with the leaders of rogue states. Paid for by the Republican National Committee. 310 First Street, SE - Washington, D.C. 20003 - (202) 863-8500 www.gop.com Authorized by John McCain 2008 |
QUOTE |
Here are five things the selection of Joe Biden tells us about Barack Obama. 1. He's fixing for a fight. Obama has been knocked for being too soft and too enthralled with rhetorical fancy. But the past few weeks provided a glimpse of his tough-guy Chicago side. He went negative the moment his campaign felt wobbly. Biden is a brawler - and the Obama camp is eager to unleash him. 2. He's a lot more conventional than advertised. Obama has promised a different and more consensus-oriented brand of politics but more often than not has done what most politicians do: switched positions to soothe voters, dodged the unpredictability of town hall meetings and gone for the jugular when he sees it. The Biden pick - the most important choice Obama has made to date in his public career - was safe and traditional. Two male career politicians from the Senate is hardly transformational. |
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Thanks for the update, so then what are we to make of this... sleeping with the enemy? Are we saying this is going to hurt the Obama revolution? Obama must have spoken with Joe Biden before announcing his name and the title of "VP" twitched his ears. I wonder if Obama will now look like the 'weak' one with a strong VP?
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Name: Aaron
Comments:
QUOTE (FarSeer) |
Biden is a career politician, in the Senate for 35 years, elected at age 29, and has been serving on the Foreign Relations Committee. He's actually "friends" with John McCain. |
Yes, Aaron, it does say that. Perhaps he had a birthday before he was actually sworn in and serving? I'm just repeating what the news is reporting.
JB, I think Obama needed help with his "inexperienced" critics, and he's getting it in a big way. I don't think Biden is an enemy; the critical comments he made about Obama were when Biden was still in the running for president. And, yes, there are hoops these VP candidates have to go through before even being considered - financial status is one factor - so it's not like a big surprise that he was chosen. Only time will tell how this goes forward.
International Level: Ambassador / Political Participation: 595 59.5%
Biden likely to strengthen Obama in many areas
But the voluble Biden is not a risk-free running mate for Obama. Republicans were quick to remind people that during the Democratic nomination battle, Biden described Obama as not ready to be president. More significantly, they also see Biden as a potential gaffe machine likely to distract attention from Obama. That view, stated more gently, was shared privately even by some Democrats on Saturday as they assessed a choice that in almost all other respects drew widespread praise within the party.
Ref. Source 3
Why did Barack pick Biden?
We're told Joseph Biden brings the needed experience to Obama's campaign. Glenn goes through all of Biden's fabulous accomplishments and asks "Which one of these couldn't have Barack Obama done on his own?" And the really important question: "Why not just choose Jimmy Carter to be your VP?"
Ref. Source 9