Joe Biden. I don't really know anything about him. gonna research now.

http://tinyurl.com/6786or

What what WHAT???!!!

Anyone else want to see "Mr. Dood"?

I have to do more reading about his politics, but my brother filled me in on his personal life -- how when he was first elected to Senate, his wife and baby daughter died in a car accident, and how he made the trip home to Delaware every night to be with his remaining two sons. I had no idea.

DoD, it's "Dodd", but I like yours better.

He's BRILLIANT. I am so excited. There is nobody out there who can open a can of foreign policy wup ass like Joe Biden, and he was my primary contender of choice until he said some ill-considered things about, ironically, Barack Obama. Ohhhhh, this is gonna be good. Especially since the "best" McCain can do would be Tim Pawlenty (boring boring boring boring) or Mittens Romney (ready to see the small-mindedness of the American right come back to bite itself, everyone?).

There's a lot of talk it'll be Lieberman, even, which would be my extra happy holiday special.

Shauna - I imagine it's his foreign policy experience and expertise, and how that satisfies what many see as a deficiency on Obama's part, that got him the nod. He's also familiar and has been around for quite some time.

I'm pleased.

I'm glad to hear good things about him, since I wasn't sold by my quick glance over his wikipedia page. He promotes abstinence education, which I think is a load of crap, but at least is pro-choice (which you need to be if you're going to promote the useless sex-ed programs). He seems middle of the road on gay rights issues too. So, again, not enthusiastic, but if people think he will be a good and successful candidate than I will be hopeful.

My only worry about this is that Obama will look weak for having chosen an experienced VP. He'll be viewed seeing himself as inexperienced enough to need Biden. Does that make sense? Also, an old white guy!? I guess they didn't think America was that ready.

I'm sure that's not why he picked Biden and that he's looking for someone to lead with more than someone who'll look good on a ticket.

I'm with Shauna. I was initially a Biden supporter and was so until he dropped out. Plus, in choosing him, Obama has demonstrated that he will put his money where his mouth is and start healing on divisive racial issues, as he claimed during his Philadelphia speech. Biden is the one who chose words awkwardly when he claimed Obama was the first "clean and articulate" African-American candidate. I was ready to let that slide as a slip of the tongue.

Also, Biden has a long track record of bipartisan legislative effort. His substantial experience in that regard might help Obama get policy through the Senate. If Obama had chosen someone young who seemed like an outsider, he might have ended up in a stalemate with Congress, even though his own party may have the reins. Like Jimmy Carter.

He may not be a progressive liberal lion like Ted Kennedy, but, then I don't think Obama was ready to cede the entire middle of the playing field to McCain, who is fairly popular with independents and centrists, rightly so or not. Had Obama gone with someone too liberal, he would have pleased his base and potentially alienated enough people to lose the election. Don't forget the politics of those working class voters who were turning out for Hillary, who are generally economically liberal but pretty conservative on social issues. Biden may also appeal to many of them.

thanks for the info, everyone. i love that i totally forgot he'd been a candidate. i was all "gosh, where do i know his name from?". the american public has a short memory, indeed.

Biden gives Obama lots of foreign policy street cred.
Although the news reported this AM the the McCain team is already running ads with all the stuff Biden said about Obama in the primary race, not that it's relevant, remember George Bush calling Reagan's economic plan "voodoo economics" before he became the VP?
I think it was a solid choice, but I have to admit I was surprised; I figured he'd pick one of the rust belt governors, but I think Biden was the better way to go.

Bethany, ads like those would seem to suggest there's no way McCain would choose Romney. That would invite a bloodbath of ads repeating the disparaging comments Romney made about McCain during the Republican primary.

Ugh. Still not excited. I don't think Biden is a bad choice, it's just that I've never really been into listening to the guy. Talk about a politician's politician. He is REALLY good at evading questions. And not in a subtle way.

I need to learn more about Biden before forming a solid opinion on the Obama-Biden ticket. I'm sure I'll vote for them, but so far they aren't wooing my Hillary-voting self, although maybe Biden's experience will win me over 'cause the Hope and Change card ain't doing it.

I'm just glad he didn't choose Hillary. That would have been a total disaster. I think it's good that we'll be shut of the Clintons after the convention. Divisive politicians' politicians and crooks to boot. Hillary has done next to nothing to try to unify the party. I just hope she redeems herself at the convention and that Bill and she don't let their egos get in the way of taking the executive branch back from the GOP before the judiciary tips to an anti-Roe v. Wade majority.

Politicians need to know how to work the levers in D.C. to effect change. Biden brings that to the ticket. Carter tried to bring reform to D.C. and he accomplished nothing because his fellow Democrats wouldn't let him. I think it's all good for the hope and change card.

Lady Grey, I can't imagine you've ever heard him pre-primary campaign. He was the only politician regularly appearing on the Sunday morning circuit during the Israeli bombardment of Lebanon three years ago, for example, who didn't talk completely out of his ass. McCain was interesting then, too, but a shameless apologist for the war on terror. Biden traveled to Iraq long before the presidential campaign, long before Pelosi made her consternation drawing trip to Syria.

I say all this not to change your mind about how you've experienced him, but to urge you to take heart that good things are coming. Hopefully. As long as Obama's campaign doesn't repeat the mistake of the Kerry campaign and tell the VP candidate to dumb it down to make the presidential candidate look better. That would be bad.

All I knew of Biden up 'til now was that he was the big foreign policy guy, so my reaction was a shrug when I heard the news. But if JTC thinks he's a good pick, then I'm all over it :)

I'll just be Biden my time, waiting to see how things turn out.