Saturday, August 23, 2008

It's Joe!

Senator Barack Obama has passed his "first decision test" with flying colors: on Saturday morning he will name veteran Delaware Sen. Joe Biden to be his running mate. Biden brings tenure. He brings gravitas. And, most importantly, he brings long experience on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, as both Chair and Ranking Member. He has also chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee. Biden's Senate credentials trump those of John McCain. He will be an articulate and energetic partner for Sen. Obama, and is, quite simply, an excellent choice.
Biden has stood at the top of the Democratic party for twenty years. He has a compelling personal story of loss and triumph. Shortly after his election to the Senate in 1972, Biden received the telephone call that every person dreads. His wife, Neilia, and baby girl, Naomi, had been killed in an automobile accident that also critically injured his young sons, Beau and Hunter. Democratic leaders pleaded with Biden not to resign his seat. He finally agreed, beginning his continuing practice of commuting to the Senate everyday from his home, so that he could care for, and then raise his sons. Biden married Jill Jacobs in 1977, and they celebrated the addition of a daughter, Ashley. His family then cared for him when he suffered two brain aneurysms in 1988, and was away from the Senate for more than two months. Beau is now the Attorney General of Delaware, and also a member of the Judge Advocate General's corps. He is due to be deployed to Iraq this fall.
A powerful orator, and highly credentialed legal and foreign policy expert, and loving and committed father, a husband and devout Roman Catholic, Biden is a marvelous choice to serve alongside Barack Obama in the White House. He will be an exceptional campaigner for the ticket until November's election.
Senator Obama has done very, very well!

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