I like the choice of Biden on substantive, rather than political grounds. Others have made this case, so I will not detail it. The guy is sharp, dedicated to progressive principles, principled, and knowledgeable about foreign affairs. The substantive is more important than the political and should be the main reason we're happy about this pick.
But I also like the pick on political grounds. Some of these points have been made. My addition: He really messes with McCain's VP choices. More on this below the fold.
Romney was already problematic because of house?-gate. Choosing Biden, from working class roots and at the bottom of senatorial wealth, emphasizes that. If Romney's the pick, it's all the easier to do the "out of touch" line with the Republicans with Biden in place.
I've been concerned about McCain picking Pawlenty, putting Minnesota in play and speaking to low-income voters. But....imagine Biden vs. Pawlenty on foreign policy in the debates. Or imagine how the choices are perceived. McCain has said that the key is that these are dangerous times. So he picks a mid-sized state's governor whose foreign policy credentials seem to be visiting Minnesota troops abroad and doing trade delegations? Maybe that would have worked if Obama picked Kaine or Sebelius, whose credentials on foreign policy would have only been only comparable to Pawlenty. But how on earth can you claim that foreign policy is the most central issue and then choose a clearly inferior person (on that dimension) to be one heartbeat away?
I don't know who McCain can pick who has the foreign policy chops to go up against Biden who is not either massively wealthy or someone who would undermine one of McCain's other themes. (Note, for instance, what would happen to the pro-life support for him if he picked Ridge.)
I favored a couple dark horses in this selection process...Senator Reed. Bob Graham. But I'm very, very happy about the pick of Joe Biden. And I'm so looking forward to seeing the foreign policy case laid out against a fairly defenseless, inexperienced Republican over these next months. Obama does this well against McCain, but McCain's POW experience makes it hard for this message to break through. The Republicans have run the worst foreign policy possible these past years. Taking back the issue from them is key to the health of the world. Biden helps us on that front.
Go donate to Obama today. Speak to your friends about the virtues of the Obama-Biden ticket.
edit: It's my turn to do the "I've never had a recommended diary before! Blush. Thanks!" Seriously, this is not something I expected and I'm grateful.
Ok, now, all. Go donate! And tune in to Springfield in a bit.
Yes we can.