SPRINGFIELD, ILL. — Barack Obama said Joe Biden, his newly picked running mate, is a leader with a “distinguished record and a fundamental decency,” who will be his partner in putting the country “back on track.”
Biden, a 65-year-old senator from Delaware, “is a hard-worker who will continue to work across the aisle,” shares Obama’s belief in open government, and is one of the leading voices on national security.
“Joe Biden is that rare mix — for decades, he has brought change to Washington, but Washington hasn’t changed him,” Obama said at a rally at the old Illinois State Capitol, the same place he announced he was running for president more than 19 months ago.
“He’s an expert on foreign policy whose heart and values are rooted firmly in the middle class. He has stared down dictators and spoken out for America’s cops and firefighters. He is uniquely suited to be my partner as we work to put our country back on track.”
Biden, who is chairman of the Senate’s foreign relations committee, is widely viewed as adding some national security and international affairs bona-fides to the Obama ticket.
The two are not scheduled to campaign together until after the Democratic National Convention. Biden is returning to Delaware this evening and is expected to appear in Denver on Monday. His vice-presidential speech at the Pepsi Center is Wednesday night.
The choice of Biden, who has been a senator for more than 30 years, indicates that experience, not change, was what Obama believed was needed to bolster his campaign.
Biden, a Catholic from a working-class family with Pennsylvania roots, is expected to help Obama deliver his message to blue-collar voters throughout the country. Obama struggled to connect with those voters during the primary, losing many of them to Clinton.
The father of three and grandfather of five was formally offered the job when Obama called him Thursday night. The pick remained a secret until nearly midnight Friday evening, when the news started to leak. The Obama campaign sent out a text message to thousands of supporters announcing the choice around 3 a.m.
There were some glitches: many people who signed up for the text messages reported not receiving them, and some who did not sign up said they did get the text message.
Obama spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the campaign would disclose the “size of the e-mails or the text list.”
Democrats resoundingly backed Biden as vice president. New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, who ran against Obama in a hard-fought primary and was considered a potential VP pick, said Biden is “an exceptionally strong, experienced leader and devoted public servant.”
Republican John McCain’s campaign immediately reacted to the choice, picking up on comments Biden had made while running in the Democratic primary.
“There has been no harsher critic of Barack Obama’s lack of experience than Joe Biden. 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,” said McCain spokesman Ben Porritt in a statement.
And Republicans jumped on the news, putting out a video showing Biden criticizing Obama for lacking experience in international affairs.
Karen Crummy: 303-954-1594 or kcrummy@denverpost.com
