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Obama: Biden 'uniquely suited' to be running mate
AP Photo
A campaign official holds a newly minted "Obama-Biden" campaign button.
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On the Issues
» SPECIAL REPORT: Click here for more of our series on issues of the 2008 presidential campaign
Published: August 23, 2008
Updated: 08/23/2008 11:26 am
SPRINGFIELD, Ill.
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is calling his running mate, Joe Biden, "a leader who is ready to step in and be president."
Obama and Biden appeared together Saturday at a huge rally in Springfield, Illinois, their first joint appearance since Obama tapped Biden to be the Democrats' vice presidential candidate.
Freshly printed signs saying "Obama/Biden" sprouted in front of the Old State Capitol as thousands gathered for the rally.
Obama called Biden "uniquely suited to be my partner as we work together to put our country back on track."
Standing on the steps of the Old State capitol, where he kicked off his campaign last February, Obama said that Biden was that "rare mix -- for decades he has brought change to Washington, but Washington hasn't changed him."
Democrats quickly coalesced around Biden while Republicans recycled the Delaware legislator's less-than-favorable past descriptions of his new political benefactor.
Former first lady Hillary Clinton called Biden "an exceptionally strong, experienced leader and devoted public servant." Clinton, Obama's most persistent rival through the primaries and the caucuses, was an also-ran in Obama's vice presidential search.
The campaign of Republican rival John McCain wasted no time, immediately producing an ad featuring Biden's previous praise for McCain and comments critical of Obama from an ABC News interview last year. Biden had said he stood by an earlier statement that Obama wasn't yet ready to be president and "the presidency is not something that lends itself to on-the-job training."
"There has been no harsher critic of Barack Obama's lack of experience than Joe Biden," McCain campaign spokesman Ben Porritt said in a statement. "Biden has denounced Barack Obama's poor foreign policy judgment and has strongly argued in his own words what Americans are quickly realizing - that Barack Obama is not ready to be president."
Some of Biden's Republican colleagues in the Senate praised the Delaware Democrat, including Sens. Richard Lugar of Indiana and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania. Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., called Biden "the right partner for Barack Obama" and the decision "good news for Obama and America."
The Obama campaign sent a text message announcing his choice to supporters' phones and e-mail addresses about 3 a.m. EDT, the latest innovation by a tech-savvy operation that has deftly used the Web as a fundraising and organizing tool. The rollout was diminished somewhat when word of Obama's choice began leaking out to news media shortly before 1 a.m. EDT.
Obama and his famously disciplined team managed to keep Biden's selection a secret for several days, leading to a frenzy of speculation that mounted throughout the week. Two of those thought to be on the short list - Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine and Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh - indicated Friday night that Obama had chosen someone else.
Biden, 65, is a creature of Washington, a 35-year Senate veteran and chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee whose national security credentials will help patch a hole in Obama's relatively thin resume. Polls show that McCain holds a wide lead over Obama on the question of who is better prepared to be commander in chief.
Biden's straighforward style and working-class Catholic roots in Scranton, Pa., were also expected to help Obama appeal to middle- and working-class voters in battleground states like Ohio and Pennsylvania who favored Clinton in the primaries.
Officials close to Clinton said she was never formally vetted for the No. 2 position. The former first lady, who finished narrowly behind Obama in the primaries, will address the convention Tuesday night and her name will be placed in nomination even though she has endorsed Obama and has urged her delegates to support him.
"Sen. Biden will be a purposeful and dynamic vice president who will help Sen. Obama both win the presidency and govern this great country," Clinton said in the statement.
Biden has established a generally liberal voting record and a reputation as a long-winded orator. As a member of the Judiciary Committee - he was its chairman from 1987 to 1995 - he has played a key role in considering anti-crime legislation, Supreme Court nominees and constitutional issues.
While the war in Iraq has been supplanted as the campaign's top issues by the economy in recent months, the recent Russian invasion of Georgia has returned foreign policy to the forefront.
Biden was elected to the Senate at the age of 29 in 1972, but personal tragedy struck before he could take office. His wife and their 13-month-old daughter, Naomi, were killed when a tractor-trailer broad-sided her station wagon. Biden took his oath of office for his first term at the hospital bedside of one of his sons.
Biden dropped out of the 2008 race for the Democratic presidential nomination after a poor finish in the Iowa caucuses, but not before he talked dismissively of joining someone else's ticket.
He had stumbled on his first day in the race, apologizing for having described Obama as "clean."
Months later, Obama spoke up on Biden's defense, praising him during a campaign debate for having worked for racial equality.
It was Biden's second try for the White House. The first ended badly in 1988 when he was caught lifting lines from a speech by British Labor Party leader Neil Kinnock.
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