By Hassan El-Najjar

Editor of ccun.org, Aug 23rd, 2008

Barack Obama has selected Joe Biden, the Delaware Senator, to be his running mate for the position of vice president, the announcement was published in the Barack Obama website early today.

Biden has extensive foreign policy experience as a result of his long service in Congress and his extensive travels around the world.

Biden also complements Barack Obama on the age level, as the Republican candidate John McCain is a senior member of Congress too.

Briefly, it's a suitable choice which will strengthen the Democratic ticket in the November elections.

One important stance I remember for Joe Biden was his reaction to the Abu Ghraib disaster, when he knew of the scandalous torture and sexual humiliation of Iraqi detainees by US soldiers and guards. He was angry as he reminded the person being questioned in Congress that he feared the same treatment may happen to American soldiers who may become prisoners of war. He mentioned that he didn't want this to happen to his son.

Profile: U.S. Senator Joe Biden -- Obama's presidential running mate

www.chinaview.cn 2008-08-23 14:50:58  

    WASHINGTON, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) --

Joe Biden became the only name left on the list of potential vice Democratic presidential candidates on Saturday, and was expected to run side by side with Barack Obama for the party's bid to return the White House.

    Born on Nov. 20, 1942 in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Biden was from a Irish Catholic family of four siblings. At age 10, he moved to New Castle, Delaware, with the family where his father worked as a car salesman.

    Biden received his highest education at the Syracuse University College of Law, and was admitted to the Delaware Bar in 1969 after graduation.

    He started his career in the public sector after being elected to the New Castle county council in 1970. Just two years later, he was successfully elected as a Congress Senator shortly before he turned 30, making him the fifth-youngest U.S. Senator in the country's history.

    Currently, Biden was in his sixth term at the Capitol Hill, as the longest-serving U.S. Senator in Delaware history, including many years as the chairman of the Judiciary Committee and Foreign Relations Committee.

    Despite his strong influence in the legislature branch, Biden has always failed in his bid for the White House.

    His campaign as a Democratic presidential candidate in 1987 had to cease after he was accused of plagiarizing a speech of a British politician. He considered to join the game again four years later, but found himself impossible to collect enough campaign fund.

    In 2008 Democratic primary, Biden was one of the earliest dropout from the campaign when he saw a poor supporting rate in the first caucuses in Iowa.

    After leaving the primary battleground, Biden's name was suggested as a possible vice presidential pick for Barack Obama. In an interview with NBC TV on June 22, 2008, he for the first time made clear that he would accept the position if offered.

    Biden was mentioned by U.S. media and political analysts as the top one VP candidate for his outstanding record in foreign and defense affairs, the areas where Obama has been criticized for lacking experience.

    Growing up in a working-class family, Biden is also expected to help Obama win over more blue-collars in November.

    However, his age and long-term immersion in the Capitol Hill potentially threat Obama's motto to bring changes to Washington. Given to his influence and capabilities, it is questionable whether Biden would concede to Obama and do the ritual job as a vice president.

    But what is more troublesome is Biden's initial stance to support the Iraq war, which Obama has denounced at the beginning.

Editor: Gao

Obama chooses Biden as VP candidate

www.chinaview.cn 2008-08-23 12:58:25

    WASHINGTON, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) --

U.S. presumptive Democratic Presidential nominee Barack Obama's campaign announced early Saturday that Joseph Biden has been chosen as the vice presidential candidate.

    "Barack Obama and Joe Biden are the leaders who will bring the change our country needs," Obama's official campaign said in a brief statement.

    The announcement came as it was planned, first on Obama's website and then through text messages to his registered supporters early Saturday morning, hours after U.S. media's overwhelming coverage on the reported selection of the 65-year-oldSenator.

    "Barack has chosen Senator Joe Biden to be our VP nominee," said the message.

    The message also said Obama and Biden were set to appear in a rally in Illinois on Saturday afternoon, the first time for the pair to campaign together in public.

    Senator Joseph Biden of Delaware, who is well-versed in foreign policy and defense issues, is considered to compensate for Obama's lack of experience.

    Speculations geared up on the 65-year-old Senator's vice candidacy after the other two top potential candidates, Indiana Senator Evan Bayh and Virginia Governor Tim Kaine, have received calls from Obama's campaign, saying that they were not to be his running mates.

    Growing up in a working-class family, Biden is also expected to help Obama win over more blue-collars in November.

    However, his age and long-term immersion in the Capitol Hill potentially threat Obama's motto to bring changes to Washington.

    In an immediate response, Republican Presidential candidate John McCain's spokesman Ben Porritt issued a statement, saying "there has been no harsher critic of Barack Obama's lack of experience than Joe Biden."

    He referred to Biden's attacks on Obama during the Democratic primary earlier this year where the two were competing for the party's presidential candidacy.

    "Biden has denounced Barack Obama's poor foreign policy judgment and has strongly argued in his own words what Americans are quickly realizing- that Barack Obama is not ready to be president," he said.

    Born on Nov. 20, 1942 in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Biden moved to New Castle, Delaware, with his family at age 10.

    After graduating from the Syracuse University College of Law, he joined the Delaware Bar in 1969 and was elected to the county council the next year.

    During the 1972 general elections, he won the Senate seat shortly before he turned 30, making him the fifth-youngest U.S. Senator in the country's history.

    Currently, Biden was in his sixth term at the Capitol Hill, as the longest-serving U.S. Senator in Delaware history, including many years as the chairman of the Judiciary Committee and Foreign Relations Committee.

    However, he failed twice in his bid for the White House in 1987and 2008, but emerged as one of the top potential vice presidential candidates for Obama recently, especially after he was invited to visit Georgia to assess the situation there, spotlighting his national security and foreign policy credentials.

    When asked what qualities his running mate should have, Obama said in an earlier interview that the candidate should not be picked for his age, race, gender or states he represents, but for his integrity and independence to tell the president what he thinks and share a vision of the country.

    "I'm not interested in a vice president who I just send off to go to funerals," he told NBC. "I want somebody who's going to be able to roll up their sleeves and really do some work."

    The official announcement came just two days before the Democratic National Convention starts in Denver, Colorado, where the pair were set to receive nomination, a move considered to bring voters some pre-convention heat and help overshadow any other dominant stories over the weekend, including potential demonstration by Hillary Clinton's supporters.