The Campaign For Veep
Posted on August 25, 2008 at 7:25 amIt may not have been public, but it was there:
Biden allies also labored hard to turn one of his potential liabilities — his long career in Washington — into a strength. Point one: Sen. Biden took the train out of Washington almost every night to go home to Delaware. Two: his humble roots, as the son of a car dealer in Scranton, Pa., a pivotal state for Democrats. Biden aides pushed the idea that their man could help with working-class whites who eluded Sen. Obama during the primaries.
Team Biden also showed some sharp elbows against rivals for the No. 2 slot. When news surfaced that the wife of another leading vice-presidential contender, Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh, made nearly $1 million a year on corporate boards, Biden backers quickly pointed out to friends and former colleagues in the Obama camp that Jill Biden made far less working as a teacher.
Meanwhile, backers of Sen. Bayh and Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine also were trying to put the best light on their candidates. Gov. Kaine’s aides, for example, pointed to YouTube videos showing him firing up crowds in Spanish, reaching a key demographic in a swing state. Sen. Bayh’s partisans emphasized stature in Indiana, potentially another key state.
On Thursday Sen. Obama went to a tiny compartment in the middle of his campaign bus and called Sen. Bayh and other contenders to tell them they weren’t his choice. He then reached Sen. Biden at the dentist’s office where his wife was having a root canal to give him the good news.
When the two men appeared together Saturday afternoon, Sen. Obama explained his choice by invoking the talking points that Sen. Biden’s allies had pushed during the vetting process. “Joe Biden is that rare mix,” Sen. Obama told the crowd. “For decades, he has brought change to Washington, but Washington hasn’t changed him.”
