The Big Tent

Joe Biden?  C’mon…

From Congressional Quarterly this morning:

From the perspective of Siobhan “Sam” Bennett, the party activist who’s the Democratic challenger in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley-based 15th Congressional District, Barack Obama could not have picked a better running mate than Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. of neighboring Delaware.

“There’s a reason that he’s called the third senator from Pennsylvania,” she said by telephone after a day of politicking at an annual fundraising event for local charities in Coplay, which is about a five-mile drive north of Allentown. “The folks I was shaking hands with were all talking about Sen. Biden.”

Bennett has more reason than most Democratic candidates to welcome Biden’s selection, as he was born in Scranton to the north and has long bought time on the Philadelphia airwaves, which also carry into the Lehigh Valley, to communicate to Delaware voters.

But she joined Democratic officials Sunday in predicting that Biden would be a help to candidates in competitive House districts across the country, not just to the eight Pennsylvanians — four challengers and four incumbents — who are in competitive races in the state. “I’m confident that he will help every Democrat on the ticket,” she said.

That’s quite a lark.  First, the Republicans haven’t chosen a V.P. candidate yet.  Second, like any Democrat would alter from the script of “rainbows and unicorns” they’ve used in the 2008 cycle.   Third, send me the names of 25 people who aren’t political insiders that knew anything about Biden other than his name and I’ll consider him more than a “nobody” choice.

Here’s some fun headlines from this morning:

• My Son, The Lobbyist: Biden’s Son a Well-Paid DC Insider - ABC News
• Saxman: Biden does not fit with Obama’s mantra of change - News Virginian
• Obama Fact Check Needed: Biden, ‘Committed Catholic’?? - NewsBusters.org
• Obama and Biden lose the script on their day in the sun - AFP
• Debating the Wisdom of Choosing Biden - Washington Post