For Democrats, the wait is over. In the still of the night and via text message, Obama announced that Delaware Senator Joseph Biden is his running mate.

This is an extremely solid pick by Obama. During the early Democratic primaries, Biden often proved to be the most knowledgeable and authoritative candidate. His lengthy career in the Senate has included chairmanships of the Foreign Relations committee as well as the Judiciary committee. Biden also has a background in banking and finance, an expertise that could prove invaluable in ameliorating the foreclosure and banking concerns that are at the root of many of our current economic woes.

Most prominently, Biden shores up a glaring weakness in Obama’s candidacy, which is his inexperience in foreign affairs. When Russia invaded Georgia two weeks ago, Obama was far too slow in issuing a response. Pundits immediately began questioning whether America would be better off with McCain, who quickly denounced the Russian aggression and offered his perspectives on the appropriate sanctions. Biden, who just left a fact-finding mission in Georgia, will offset the belief that McCain is heads and shoulders above his Democratic rival in responding to foreign hot spots.

Biden will also prove to be a knowledgeable ally in the vetting process for potential judicial nominees. With as many as three Supreme Court vacancies available in the next four years, Biden will help avoid any landmines that could stall the confirmation processes.

If there is any trouble with Biden’s selection it is the fact that during the primary he proved to be one of Obama’s harshest critics, particularly with respect to his lack of experience. Within hours of the announcement the GOP has already begun using Biden’s own words to attack Obama.

Additionally, I sense that the “Hillary Clinton” factor has been overlooked by the Obama campaign. In a CNN interview yesterday Clinton was asked why she and her husband had been less than zealous in their support of Obama over the past few months. Clinton immediately got defensive, arguing that she had raised money for Obama. The problem with that is that she will benefit from the money that she has raised since Obama agreed to help defray costs of her campaign.

More importantly, I could not help but observe how she responded to the question. Her facial expression was one of almost indifference, a fact that would seem to confirm the suspicions of many that Clinton would like to see Obama lose so that she can run again in ’12. Recent polls show that nearly 48% of Clinton’s supporters are undecided just one week prior to the convention. That is a lot of Democratic voters who have yet to warm up to the party’s nominee.

I am concerned that many of these supporters, many of whom are women who feel that Clinton was treated in a sexist manner by the media, remain indifferent to Obama. There are a number of pundits, particularly men, who feel that the stakes involved---including the fact that McCain, if he prevails will appoint pro-life judges, will make some women fall in-line and eventually support Obama. I am not so sure about this. Passions ran high in this election season, so much so that had Clinton prevailed through some back room agreement, as many feared as recently as last April, a number of blacks were prepared to either stay home or vote for McCain. Based upon that, the same wisdom may hold true in this situation, where many Clinton supporters will now believe that their candidate was further disrespected by not being seriously considered for the number 2 slot.

At this point, we have to wait and see the Clintons’ speeches next week. If they rouse the crowd and show their unwavering love and support for Obama, then the bridges may be mended. If not, the road will be much easier for McCain.

Obama/Biden ’08 similar to Bush/Cheney ’00

Obama, who just turned 47 years old, has run on the mantra of “change”. In selecting Biden, who at 65 years old is technically old enough to be his father, Obama has selected one of the elder statesmen of the Senate.

Biden also has a reputation as a scrappy fighter, one who will not mince words. This is in stark contrast to Obama, who has garnered a reputation as almost being too nice, a moniker that does not bode well when dealing with the Putin's and Ahmadinejad's of the world.

To that end, Biden’s selection is eerily similar to George W. Bush’s selection of Dick Cheney in 2000. Bush, who ran as a “compassionate conservative”, also was derided for being a nice guy by his critics. Additionally, Bush, at the time that he ran for president, had zero foreign policy experience, which was greatly bolstered by Cheney, the former Defense Secretary under George H.W. Bush.

McCain is on Deck

McCain will announce his vice presidential selection the day of or after the Democratic Convention in December. Recently, there has been rampant speculation that Tom Ridge of Pennsylvania, a pro-choice governor, stands a strong chance of being selected.

Ridge certainly has pros and cons. He could help offset any gains that Obama has received by selecting Biden, whose Catholic background and close proximity to Pennsylvania is expected to help with many working class voters in that state that supported Clinton.

Among the cons, however is that McCain is still considered an outsider by social conservatives. Simply put, the so-called “values voters” find McCain’s position on abortion, in particular, to be suspect. While McCain often states that he is pro life on the stump, the truth is that he has wavered over the past decade on the issue in speeches and interviews. By selecting an ardent pro-choicer, McCain runs the risk of upsetting a strong base within the GOP. There are already a number of pro-life pundits, including Michelle Malkin, who are calling on her listeners to stay home and not support McCain. If he selects the pro-choice Ridge, it will only get worse.

While much of the GOP focus for McCain’s running mate is on Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota and the aforementioned Ridge, an intriguing pick could be Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice. A staunch conservative, Rice is considered one of the preeminent experts in foreign policy. This would not only offset Biden’s greatest asset, but it could also provide a calmer, more measured approach to McCain, who some independents fear is far too belligerent.

Additionally, Rice could assuage the angst that some of those angry Clinton supporters feel at the perception that women voters are being taken for granted.

Last, Rice could cut, however slight, into the nearly solid support that Obama is receiving among likely black voters. There are some black voters that have expressed concerns that Obama has failed to address “black issues.” Rice, who grew up during the Civil Rights movement, is comfortable with discussing how those experiences impacted her and how conservative policies can be used to ameliorate some of the lingering disparities between the races.

stay tuned for more from Chuck during the next two weeks of convention coverage

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