Foreign policy expert Sen. Joe Biden, will be Sen. Barack Obama’s running mate. Obama announced his decision via an e-mail to supporters this morning (Saturday)
The senator is known for his sharpness and for making statements that have been the subject of controversy.
Biden, 65 was first elected to the Senate in 1972. He is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, where he has fought President Bush over the appointment of conservative jurists.
He drew criticism last year for praising Obama as “the first mainstream African American (presidential candidate) who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy.” Biden also once called his home state of Delaware a “slave state.” When Gen. David Petraeus, the U.S. commander in Iraq, appeared before the foreign relations panel last September, Biden’s long-winded questioning became the subject of news stories.
Within hours of Obama’s announcement, his Republican rival, John McCain, immediately began using Biden’s words against him, airing an ad featuring a TV clip in which Biden called Obama too inexperienced for the White House and another in which he praised McCain.
Obama and Biden will make their first joint appearance at 2 p.m. CT at the Illinois state Capitol in Springfield, where Obama began his state Senate career and where he launched his presidential bid in February 2007.
Click on the link below to view exclusive photos from the historic event taken by the American’s award-winning photojournalist Wiley Price.
Information from USA today and the Associated Press contributed to this report.