Joseph Biden

I've been a Joe Biden fan for 25 years. He is in fact my favorite politician -- intelligent, good-humored, appealing, seasoned. So I greeted the news of Barack Obama picking him as his running mate with a good deal of pleasure. I do think that he "lifts the ticket." He appeals to voter demographics that Obama needs -- for example, as has been widely noted, he appeals to older women voters much more than McCain does, and that's a demographic with a heavy turnout. He should contribute substantially to policy, and I was glad to hear Obama say that he looked forward to Biden challenging him. As little use as I have for Dick Cheney, I much prefer the Cheney/Al Gore model of active Vice President to the Dan Quayle model of the guy in the corner. I believe that the Vice Presidency should be a key substantive office, and the choice of a Vice President is very important to me as a voter.

It was becoming pretty clear that Obama would pick Biden, based on the names being floated. There was no way he was going to pick Evan Bayh and have an Illinois-Indiana ticket; that is too geographically concentrated. An Obama-Tim Kaine ticket would have amounted to two virgins on the national scene, and you can't have that either. Biden is no virgin in national politics; he has been around the block a few times. He is unquestionably presidential in demeanor, and he will be a huge asset. With Hillary receiving the news quite graciously, the Democratic Convention ought to be a jolly gathering and a great launch-pad for the remainder of the campaign.