Text size:

New Obama running mate Biden criticizes McCain

BY NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON | nia.henderson@newsday.com

August 24, 2008

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - At a campaign rally here yesterday, Barack Obama's just-named running mate, Sen. Joe Biden, wasted no time filling his new role on the Democratic ticket - he tore into Republican John McCain, put himself at America's kitchen table and became a passionate cheerleader in chief for Barack Obama.

Obama, speaking before a crowd of about 35,000 gathered at the spot where he announced his run for the White House in February 2007, called Biden, 65, of Delaware, the leader he had been looking for, "a man with a distinguished record and a fundamental decency."

Obama laid out Biden's personal history as boy from a humble Scranton family who triumphed over tragedy after the death of his first wife and served in Washington, but never lived there.

"Joe Biden is that rare mix - for decades, he has brought change to Washington, but Washington hasn't changed him," Obama said.

"He's an expert on foreign policy whose heart and values are rooted firmly in the middle class," Obama said. "He has stared down dictators and spoken out for America's cops and firefighters. He is uniquely suited to be my partner as we work to put our country back on track."

New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, who was considered to be a possible vice presidential pick, yesterday gave her seal of approval to Biden, calling him in a statement "an exceptionally strong, experienced leader and devoted public servant."

Polls show that some Hillary supporters still are unsure about Obama, but Democrats hope that Biden's foreign policy record, his Catholic faith and working class background will help Obama gain some ground and shore up his weaknesses.

Biden, enthusiastically bounding down the walkway to embrace Obama, invoked Lincoln, adding that he was "proud to stand firm with the next president of the United States."

Biden spoke from notes, but sometimes off the cuff, picking up on Obama's recent stump speech themes and linking their personal stories to the struggles of regular folks and painting McCain as out of touch.

"Your kitchen table's like mine, you sit there at night after you put the kids to bed and you talk about what you need, you talk about how much you're worried about being able to pay the bills," Biden said.

"Well ... that's not a worry John McCain has to worry about. It's a pretty hard experience, he'll have to figure out which of the seven kitchen tables to sit at."

He called McCain a friend, but throughout his 15-minute speech, clearly signaled that the gloves were off.

"You can't change America when you know your first four years as president will look like the last eight years of George Bush's presidency," he said of McCain.

Since Obama's pick was announced officially by e-mail and text message about 3 a.m. yesterday, Republicans have cited Biden's prior statements about Obama's inexperience to bolster their case.

Yesterday, Biden answered back, calling Obama a man of vision who can meet challenges "with judgment, intelligence, and steel in his spine.

"Barack has the vision ... he also has the courage, the courage to make this a better place, and let me tell you something else, this man is a clear-eyed pragmatist who will get the job done," he said.

But the event was not without missteps.

Obama introduced his running mate as the president, and Republicans who are attempting to portray Obama as too inexperienced for the presidency quickly branded it as a "Freudian slip." And Biden, widely known for verbal gaffes, stumbled on Obama's name, referring to him as "Barack America."

The crowd then begin to chant, "Obama, Obama," and then Biden let out a full-throated "Obama," clearly recognizing his mistake.