Multiple Reports: Obama Has Picked Joe Biden as VEEP

Posted by Joshua Holland, AlterNet at 1:20 PM on August 22, 2008.

Barack Obama's much-anticipated text messages announcing his running mate will go out tomorrow, but CNN reports tonight that "multiple Democratic sources confirm ... that Sen. Barack Obama has selected Sen. Joseph Biden as his vice presidential nominee," and that Biden has accepted the gig (of course).

ABC's Jake Tapper reports:

The United States Secret Service has dispatched a protective detail to assume the immediate protection of Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., a source tells ABC News, indicating in all likelihood that Biden has been officially notified that Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, has selected him to be his running mate.

Sources also tell ABC News that two others said to be finalists for the position of Obama's running mate -- Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., and Virginia Gov Tim Kaine -- have been told they have not been selected for the vice presidential slot.

AlterNet political reporter Steve Rosenfeld points out that Biden is being mentioned everywhere.

Of course, this is the time for grand political theater, and who knows what we'll really get tomorrow. Maybe this is some elaborate head-fake.

We'll have much more on the Veep pick -- whether Joe Biden or someone else -- as soon as it becomes official.

Steve Adds ...

Sen. Joseph Biden, who has been Delaware's senator for three decades and is the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman, reportedly has been chosen to be Barack Obama's vice presidential nominee, according to the Associated Press.

The AP report, which followed speculation late night -- including by some news organizations like the Huffington Post that said Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Indiana) was the choice because Obama-Bayh bumper stickers were found being printed -- will be confirmed or rebutted on Saturday, when Obama officially announces the choice.

Whether Biden is a smart choice or not will become clear in coming days, when the Delaware lawmaker -- or perhaps another choice -- is vetted by party officials and the public. Biden is best known for his foreign policy smarts. He also has shown an ability to talk at length on virtually any topic, a curious contrast to the more cautious Democratic presidential nominee.

Tagged as: obama, vice president, biden

Joshua Holland is an editor and senior writer at AlterNet.