Milwaukee office opensFirst, nice job Caroline Kennedy and Eric Holder.
The selection of Joe Biden was pragmatic and smart. As far as change, it's right on the money.
Contrary to the rattling of some (but few) pundits who say Biden doesn't represent change, he's perfect change. Biden is a contrast, yet a complement to Obama.
The choice of Biden says Obama puts governing first and foremost is serious about getting stuff done.
NYT: Chief among Mr. Biden’s strengths is his familiarity with foreign policy and national security issues, highlighted just this past weekend with the invitation he received from the embattled president of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, to visit Georgia in the midst of its tense faceoff with Russia. From the moment he dropped out of the presidential race, he had been mentioned as a potential Secretary of State should either Mr. Obama or Mrs. Clinton win the election.
He is also something of a fixture in Washington, and would bring to the campaign — and the White House — a familiarity with the way the city and Congress works that Mr. Obama cannot match after his relatively short stint in Washington.
At 65, Mr. Biden adds a few years and gray hair to a ticket that otherwise might seem a bit young (Mr. Obama is 47). He is, as Mr. Obama’s advisers were quick to argue, someone who appears by every measure prepared to take over as president, setting a standard that appears intended to at least somewhat hamstring Mr. McCain should he be tempted to go for a more adventurous choice for No. 2.
TIME: But in the end, Obama picked him for the simplest of reasons: The six-term Senator from Delaware is strongest in areas where the freshman from Illinois is weakest. Biden's tenure in the Senate, his foreign policy expertise, his religion, and his suburban middle-class background, all fill gaps in Obama's own presidential profile.
Most of all, where Obama is reserved and cautious in a political knife-fight, Biden comes out swinging. Tapping Biden is a signal that the Obama campaign is ready for a battle — and to take the risks that come with it.
Biden's experience is his biggest asset. His 36 years in the Senate have earned him chairmanships of the Judiciary and Foreign Relations committees, positions he has used to establish himself as a familiar and respected, if partisan, spokesman for the Democrats on everything from Supreme Court appointments to complex national security issues during and after the Cold War. Obama's lack of comparable experience has him trailing John McCain by as much as 15 points on some foreign policy issues; if a vice-presidential pick can offset voters' concerns on those issues, Biden's resume should help.
NY Post: His ability to steal center stage during any hearing has made him unrivaled for grating on fellow lawmakers' nerves.
He makes his point - often two or three times - quite bluntly, but always colorfully and memorably. And it's usually Biden who makes the evening news and the next day's papers.
His refreshingly unguarded bluntness also has been the source of some of the worst headaches in his latest failed attempt at the Democratic nomination.
In just the last primary alone, Biden's wild mouth managed to run him afoul of Indians, 7-Eleven clerks and African-Americans.
"You cannot go to a 7-Eleven or a Dunkin' Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent. I'm not joking," he said with a C-SPAN camera just inches from his unbridled mouth.
Just a few months after apologizing his way out of that one, he "complimented" Obama and at the same time revealed a comically cliched and antiquated take on race in America.
"I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy," he enthused. "I mean, that's a storybook, man."
Obama's response to Biden's slur wasn't typical. It showed the class that has made him a transformational candidate capable of breaking through previously unbreakable barriers.
"He called me," Obama told reporters. "I told him it wasn't necessary. We have got more important things to worry about. We have got Iraq. We have got health care. We have got energy. This is low on the list."
MSNBC's Chuck Todd: As chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he has plenty of foreign policy experience -- something viewed as a weakness for Obama. Also, Biden’s most recent presidential bid raised his national profile, making him a politico whom most Americans know, which could help reassure some voters who have doubts about Obama. In addition, whether it has been in recent speeches or on Meet the Press, Biden has showed that he’s up to this veep responsibility: whacking the opposition. What’s more, during his presidential bid in ’07-’08, Biden demonstrated that he’s a very good debater, a quality the Democrats might want to showcase during the vice presidential debate scheduled for October 2. And electorally, Biden could help lock down Pennsylvania, as well as connect better than Obama has in blue-collar Michigan and the "U" of Ohio (Toledo to Youngstown). A few more thoughts… Biden is someone that will play well with older white voters, a demographic group Obama's struggled with, and he’s very popular with labor and trial lawyers, which while helpful financially for Obama and in the Rust Belt, could fire up the business community even more for McCain.
WaPo's just-the-facts of Biden
