Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) has chosen Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.), the man whose stock has risen most in recent weeks, as his running mate, a text message from the campaign confirmed at around 2:15 am Saturday.
Saturday morning, Obama is expected to formally appear with Biden in Springfield, Ill. to increase media coverage prior to the Democratic National Convention, which begins Tuesday.The Obama campaign announced the selection via text message, which some have estimated cost the campaign more than one million dollars.
Throughout the week, rampant speculation and rumors have driven much of the vice presidential selection coverage--Friday evening was no different.
After an Obama-Bayh bumper surfaced on the Drudge Report late Friday afternoon, media outlets pounced on the story. The Obama campaign difused this somewhat after clarifying that political materials, such as bumper stickers and yard signs had been produced for multiple potential tickets. Biden began to emerge as Obama's selection per process of elimination, though, after MSNBC reported Bayh and Gov. Tim Kaine had not been chosen, nor--CNN reported--had Sen. Hillary Clinton. When a Secret Service detail was dispatched to the Biden home around 11 pm, multiple news sources reported that Biden had been tapped for the role.
A Roman-Catholic with blue collar appeal and sterling Washingtonian credentials, Biden may quiet some attacks directed at Obama's relative inexperience in the Senate. Currently, Biden is the fifth most senior U.S. Senator, after being elected in 1972 at age 29.
While a dark horse candidate for the Democratic nomination in 2007, Biden seriously contended for the nomination 20 years before, capitalizing on his youth and charisma, before a damaging video surfaced in which Biden borrowed liberally from a speech given by British politician Neil Kinnock without attribution.
Nevertheless, Biden overcame the incident politically and kept alive his Senate career, chairing the Senate Judiciary and Foreign Relations Committees at various points. Biden is known for such resilience; at age 30, his wife and infant daughter were killed in a car accident, and in 1988, Biden suffered two aneurysms, but fully recovered.
Also known for his candor, Biden has faced media and political scrutiny for off-the-cuff remarks. In 2007, he described his now ticket-mate as “the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy." Biden immediately apologized for the remark, and has been considered in close contact with the Obama campaign for several months.
The last time a ticket comprised of two sitting senators won the White House was 1960, when John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson captured 49.7 percent of the popular vote.
The Vanderbilt Hustler Election Project can be reached at vanderbilt.election@gmail.com.
