Choice meant to counter John McCain

Biden is the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and is familiar with foreign leaders and diplomats around the world. Although he initially voted to authorise the war in Iraq, Biden became a persistent critic of Bush8217;s policies in Iraq.

The brief text message from the Obama campaign came about 3.00 am. 8220;Barack has chosen Senator Joe Biden to be our V-P nominee. Watch the first Obama-Biden rally live at 3pm on Barack Obama. com. Spread the word!8221;

His e-mail announcement began: 8220;Friend 8212; I have some important news that I want to make official. I8217;ve chosen Joe Biden to be my running mate.8221;

The selection was disclosed as Obama moves into a critical part of his campaign, preparing for the party8217;s four-day convention in Denver starting on Monday. Obama8217;s aides viewed the introduction of his vice-presidential choice as the beginning of a week-long stretch in which Obama hopes to dominate the stage and position himself for the fall campaign.

Biden is Roman Catholic, giving him appeal to that important voting bloc, though he favours abortion rights. He was born in a working class family in Pennsylvania, a swing state where he remains well-known. Biden is up for re-election to the Senate this year and he would presumably run simultaneously for both seats.

The McCain campaign jumped on that early Saturday, as it responded to the selection: 8220;There has been no harsher critic of Barack Obama8217;s lack of experience than Joe Biden. Biden has denounced Barack Obama8217;s poor foreign policy judgment and has strongly argued in his own words what Americans are quickly realising 8212; that Barack Obama is not ready to be President,8221; said Ben Porritt, a spokesman for McCain.

Biden first ran for the Senate when he was just 29 years old. He has run twice for the presidency himself, once in 1988 and again in 2008, dropping out early in both cases. He was also the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee during two of the most contentious Supreme Court nomination battles of the past 50 years.

Chief among Biden8217;s strengths is his familiarity with foreign policy and national security issues. Just this past weekend he received an invitation from Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, to visit Georgia in the midst of its face-off with Russia.

At 65 years old, he adds a few years and gray hair to a ticket that otherwise might seem a bit young. He is, as Obama8217;s advisors were quick to argue, someone who appears by every measure prepared to take over as President, setting a standard that appears intended to at least somewhat hamstring McCain should he be tempted to go for a more adventurous choice for No. 2.

Shooting from the lip

Biden has a long history of making statements that get him into trouble:

In last year8217;s Democratic presidential race, he told a reporter that Obama is 8220;the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy8221;, a remark that drew criticism for being racially insensitive.

Last year, referring to Indian immigrants, Biden said: 8220;You cannot go to a 7-Eleven or a Dunkin8217; Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent.8221;