Obama Picks Biden, Candidates Appear in Springfield, IL, where Obama Launched Campaign
Elections-US, Politics-US, Video, Vote 2008
Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) has chosen Sen. Joseph Biden (D-DE) to be his running mate. Biden brings a wealth of experience from nearly 36 years in the US senate, including work on military and foreign policy, as well as Constitutional issues and the Senate judiciary committee. The two appeared for the first time as running mates in front of the old Illinois Statehouse, in Springfield, where Abraham Lincoln launched his candidacy, as did Obama fully 18 months ago.
Originally played by some in the press as likely to be a small event with some 2,000 Obama backers attending, the Springfield crowd ballooned to 30,000, twice the number that attended Obama’s history-making campaign launch in February 2007. Democrats have been quick to tout Biden’s fame as a “blue-collar” senator —he has the lowest net-worth and resides at his nearby Delaware home, not a 2nd Washington residence—, and his tendency to attack when he believes there’s an injustice to be righted.
While Biden is widely respected and many Republicans have said they see the value in the choice, especially as Biden brings vast experience at the national and international level to the ticket, some critics say the choice is an admission by Obama that he has an experience-appearance problem. Democrats have challenged critics to look at the overall strengths of the ticket and question the choice from that perspective, betting that the combination of change-agent and statesman, of visionary and hardened legislator, can reassure the public that an Obama-Biden White House would have all the criteria for credible leadership.
So what does Biden mean for the Democratic campaign? He is both an asset and a challenge: Biden was critical of Obama in the primaries, but has praised him since then, and Obama has said he wants a running mate who will challenge his point of view and give him fair criticism. And, Biden’s forthright rhetoric has at times been unpolitic or unfiltered, something that makes party operatives worry about his discipline in delivering a passionate defense of the platform and of his running mate, without generating “distractions” from Obama’s message in the fall.
But Biden has evolved into a sort of statesman-like figure in recent years, seen as an excellent candidate for top diplomat or even top cop according to some, after his own 2008 campaign failed to win widespread support. He demonstrated extreme discipline in keeping the secret up until the very last moment, something many said was unlikely to happen, should the running mate be a senator — as senators’ offices are known to be hotbeds of convenient leaks to the press.
“Baggage” from Biden’s 1988 presidential run, in which he was accused of using the words of other politicians in some speeches, may become fodder for Republican attacks, but the McCain campaign has been adamant in its assertion that questions about McCain’s record from that time —namely the “Keating Five” scandal— should not be raised in 2008. So old baggage may be neutralized by virtue of the fact that Obama’s opponent is John McCain, specifically, another senator with a long track-record.
Both Sen. Obama’s introduction of his running mate and Sen. Biden’s speech accepting the role featured the stories of humble beginnings and the “fight” to achieve and to bring about change through their life’s work. Obama praised Biden’s accomplishments and dedication to results and Biden praised Obama’s wisdom, judgment and vision, as they laid the groundwork for a campaign collaboration that will likely draw from both of their strengths, to reach out through the vast network of Obama supporters —over 2 million individuals have donated money to his campaign so far— to make their case.
Sen. John McCain may be forced to rethink some of his campaign strategy, as the Obama-Biden ticket now includes the wealth of experience he has so long claimed is his greatest asset. The option to choose contrast as the foundation of the Democratic ticket may also influence the choice McCain will make for his VP, though his campaign insists he will not take cues from the Democrats or from public opinion surveys and will use his own best judgment to make his choice.