Who is Joe Biden?

By Anastacia Mott Austin

Barack Obama's choice for running mate Joe Biden has been viewed as smart. Or boring, or predictable, or surprising; too safe, too liberal, too daring. In short, reaction has been all over the map.

Since Biden, who was also in the running for the number one spot earlier this year, only garnered about one percent of the Democratic vote, many people either don't know who he is, or register only a flicker of recognition when the name is mentioned.

Which inspires the question: Who is Joe Biden?

In short, Biden is a long-time senator experienced in foreign policy, a Roman Catholic with working-class roots. He's what Barack Obama is not: old, white, experienced, a Washington insider, supposedly in touch with the working people.

Obama's choice makes it clear that he picked Biden to compensate for his own perceived lack of political experience, particularly in foreign matters, as well as an attempt to connect with those much-discussed white, blue-collar workers Hillary Clinton supposedly had wrapped around her pinkie.

Born and raised in Scranton, Pennsylvania and then Delaware, Biden joined the Senate as a 30-year-old in 1973, and has served ever since, winning re-elections easily. He has served on both the Judiciary and Foreign Relations committees his entire political career, and chaired both at different times. He currently serves as the chairperson of the Foreign Relations Committee.

He holds a reputation as a solid, respected Democrat, one who isn't afraid to say what's on his mind....sometimes over and over again.

Even in Washington's political scene, where long-winded talkers are more the norm than the exception, Biden is also well-known for his blovial tendencies. Those who appreciate his ability to speak the plain truth, without a lot of political double-speak, also admit that this same tendency to deviate from scripted words gets him into trouble...a lot.

"Experience, foreign policy, those are all pluses," said Pennsylvania's Kutztown University political science professor Jack Treadway. But, added Treadway, "The guy's a gaffe machine."

Biden received harsh criticism in 2006 for a comment he made about the high number of Indian-Americans in Delaware, including the statement that "You cannot go to a 7-Eleven or a Dunkin' Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent." He later tried to defend himself by saying he was making the point that " Until now in my state, we've had a strong Indian community made up of leading scientists and researchers and engineers. We're having middle-class people move to Delaware, take over Dunkin' Donuts, take over businesses, just like other immigrant groups have, and I was saying that...they're growing, it's moving." Mmm-hmmm.

He also got himself into some hot water just last year by referring to Barack Obama as the first "clean, articulate" African-American political candidate. He also stated those comments were taken out of context, saying he used the word "clean" in a way his mother would have said, "Clean as a whistle, sharp as a tack."

Of course folks remember the gaffes, not the explanations, so there could be potential trouble in the months ahead. Conflicting political advisors have suggested that Biden either try to restrain himself, or do just the opposite and not worry about what comes out of his mouth.

Some would argue that Biden's tendency to shoot from the hip, even if he makes mistakes now and again, will actually appeal to the common voter.

Political pundits say that a candidate's choice of running mate says more about him or her than it does the mate. What does the choice of Biden say about Obama?

One might argue that it says he feels he needs support in the areas of foreign policy and Washington experience. Or maybe that's just what he thinks others see as his need.

And while Biden, whose working-class roots and modest means (compared to most of the Senate) might help Obama reach out to voters struggling to make ends meet, he does come with some liabilities of his own.

It's clear that Obama chose his running mate for personal and professional qualities, rather than his ability to deliver any swing states. As a senator from Delaware, Biden has the ability to deliver exactly three electoral votes.

Pundits everywhere have been insisting that Obama should have picked a Southern VP or he simply cannot win the White House.

In addition, Biden is seen as one of the more liberal senators on the Hill, something that won't help the liberal Obama appeal to undecided and centrist voters.

As usual, we'll have to wait and see. The outcome of the election also depends, of course, on John McCain's choice of running mate, something we'll all be dissecting as soon as he makes his choice.

Some say that with Obama's choice of Biden, the Democratic equivalent of McCain (old, white, more experienced, more connected to the "common" man and woman), it puts McCain in the position of having to choose someone unlike himself. Perhaps we'll see him with a young, female running mate.

In the meantime, we'll have to entertain ourselves by asking whether Biden will ultimately serve Obama well or not. Paul Allen Beck, political science professor at Ohio State University seems to think he'll help."He's an unusual Washington politician. He appeals to blue-collar Democrats because he's an unpretentious guy," said Beck. "People can relate to him," he said. "And Obama needs help with that."