Obama names Biden as VP running mate

Michelle D. Amaral, News Editor
Published On: 08/25/2008

Democratic presidential candidate Barak Obama announced his highly-anticipated decision Saturday regarding his choice for a vice-presidential running mate.

Joseph Biden, a U.S. senator who has represented the state of Delaware since 1972, was picked as second-in-command for the November ballot.

“[Biden] won’t just make a good vice president, he will make a great vice president,” said Obama, according to a Reuters article.

Biden’s extensive experience in foreign policy will benefit the Obama campaign, as this is one particular topic that many feel is not up to par. Biden is currently the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

According to Reuters, Obama said of Biden, “He is that rare mix - for decades, he has brought change to Washington, but Washington hasn’t changed him. He’s an expert on foreign policy whose heart and values are rooted firmly in the middle class.”

Biden has been a long-time supporter of increased military presence in Afghanistan, according to Bloomberg. His voting record demonstrates his backing for the Iraq invasion; he also believes that the U.S. should be in heavy pursuit of terrorists in Pakistan. Additionally, he supports the division of Iraq into three governments for Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds. Biden has furthermore requested that the United Nations designate China as “a violator of human rights.”

The Obama camp hopes that the Senator’s working-class roots will increase blue-collar voter support, as his father was a car dealer in Scranton, PA. Biden lags behind many of Washington’s wealthy government officials. In fact, he lives in Delaware and commutes to Washington each morning via train!

Biden is not without his verbal stumbles, however.

According to Bloomberg, Biden once told the New York Observer that Obama is the “first mainstream African-American (presidential hopeful) who is articulate and bright and clean.” He later offered an apology and stated that he did not mean any slight toward previous black presidential candidates.

His words caused another controversy when he said that in the state of Delaware, “you cannot go into a 7-11 or Dunkin’ Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent.” He later dismissed the comment as his attempt to compliment Indian entrepreneurship, according to Bloomberg.

Biden’s stance on abortion may cause difficulties among women voters. He has regularly voted against the partial birth abortion procedure and continues to refuse support toward public funding for abortion.

Email: amaralm@uab.edu