O'Biden

After weeks of listening to Senator Barack Obama reminding us to check our tires to save fuel, and Senator John McCain forgetting how many houses he owns, it was finally time to get down to the serious business of picking a vice-presidential candidate in time for the political conventions.

For Obama, that person is Joseph Biden, the longtime Democratic senator from Delaware. With 35 years in the Senate, including stints past and present as the chair of the Foreign Relations and Judiciary committees, Biden helps out in areas where Obama is lacking: political and international policy experience. Oh yes, Biden is 65.

But Biden also has a reputation for shooting his mouth off, which is something the McCain campaign will no doubt have lots of fun with. Remember when Biden called Obama a "clean" and "articulate" candidate? Also, he tends to be a camera hog, getting his mug on C-SPAN every chance he gets.

Obama made his announcement via text message to his supporters and anyone else who signed up--at three in the morning. But thanks to good old-fashioned leaking from Democratic sources and by process of elimination, everyone figured out that Biden was the man hours before. After a good night's rest, the big news could be found on the front page of any major daily the next morning.

McCain will make his own vice-presidential choice public on Friday, the day after Obama's acceptance speech at the home of pro football's Denver Broncos. The VP choice, according to reports, is down to Mitt Romney and Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty. Now that Biden's been chosen, the odds of Pawlenty remaining an obscure governor outside his home state has suddenly increased.

Is Biden the right choice for Obama? In a campaign where the emphasis is on change, having another Washington insider as your running mate--especially one who's in your opponent's demographic--is anything but a bold choice.