No Ordinary Joe

Last Tuesday, two contenders for the job of Barack Obama's running mate told me that they were convinced from talking to the Illinois senator that he would pick Sen. Joe Biden as his running mate.

The reason, they said, was his foreign policy experience and his knowledge of Washington.

I reported what they said--and they were right on the money.

The minute-by-minute story of how Obama handled the selection is interesting, and revealing of the way the Democratic nominee works. He insisted on the utmost secrecy; he paid the losers the courtesy of essentially telling them "no" to their faces--not an easy thing to do. And he swallowed his considerable pride and all but confessed his lack of knowledge of foreign affairs by selecting as his running mate the Senate's senior Democratic leader on that topic.

In short, Obama behaved like a grownup. Even his much-criticized failure to "vet" Sen. Hillary Clinton means less than meets the eye. I talked two months ago to one of her closest legal advisors, who told me that she didn't really WANT to be considered for the number two job--in no small measure because the process would have required Obama's lawyers to comb through her husband's foundation and its murky sources of income.

In that sense, Obama did her a favor by not really demanding to consider her. She would have had to say "no."

What does Biden bring to the ticket? A lot.

First of all, he has a love of politics and public service. He never tried to get rich from his role, even though he has been in the Senate for decades. He is a fancy dresser--given to stick pin collars and French cuffs--and yet he is an unassuming son of a car salesman who takes the train home to Wilmington almost every night.

His personal story is compelling: a riches-to-rags family background; a first wife and infant daughter killed in a car crash; a devoted life with his second wife; a passel of grandchildren whom he adores as much as they adore him. And he's never had a hint of financial or sexual scandal.

Biden is a Roman Catholic--a demographic must for a Democratic ticket eager to get swing voters in heavily Catholic states such as Pennsylvania and Ohio.