MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

US Candidate Obama picks Sen Joe Biden as running-mate

Senator Joseph Biden and US presidential hopeful Obama

US Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama has announced that Joe Biden will be his running mate in November's election.

Mr Obama's choice, confirmed on his website, comes ahead of next week's Democratic Party convention. Mr Biden, a 65-year-old veteran lawmaker, has over three decades of Senate experience and is highly respected on foreign policy issues. Republican contender John McCain could announce his choice next week. Speculation is mounting that Senator McCain may name his running mate on 29 August, his 72nd birthday and a day after the Democrats wrap up their convention. 'Impressive record'The announcement came shortly after several US media networks began reporting that Mr Biden had been chosen. "Barack has chosen Joe Biden to be his running mate," a brief statement on Mr Obama's campaign website said. "Joe Biden brings extensive foreign policy experience, an impressive record of collaborating across party lines, and a direct approach to getting the job done," it said. The two men are expected to appear together at a rally in Springfield, Illinois, later in the day. Mr Biden has represented the state of Delaware in the US Senate since 1972. He is known as a strong orator and chairs the Foreign Relations Committee - something analysts say would balance Mr Obama's self-confessed lack of foreign policy experience. The son of a car salesman, he is also expected to appeal to the blue collar workers with whom Mr Obama has struggled to connect. The senator ran against Mr Obama and Senator Hillary Clinton for the presidential nomination but dropped out after failing to gain enough support. The McCain camp called the choice of Mr Biden an admission by Barack Obama that he was not ready to be president. "Biden has denounced Barack Obama's poor foreign policy judgement and has strongly argued in his own words what Americans are quickly realising - that Barack Obama is not ready to be president," McCain campaign spokesman Ben Porritt said in a statement. John McCain has reportedly not yet settled on a running mate. Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney are reported to be under serious consideration for the role. Profile: Joe BidenSenator Joseph Biden's greatest strength is perceived as Barack Obama's biggest weakness: foreign policy. His expertise in this area could help Senator Obama defend himself against Republican attacks that he is not ready for the role of commander-in-chief. They also complement each other in other ways. While the Democratic presidential hopeful comes across as cool and collected, Mr Biden can be lively and combative in his attacks on opponents. Mr Biden is no stranger to presidential races. He ran against Mr Obama for the 2008 nomination but dropped out in January. He also ran for presidency in 1988 but withdrew after he admitted plagiarising a speech by the then leader of the British Labour Party, Neil Kinnock. Mr Biden is a long-time Washington insider, having represented the small, north-east state of Delaware in the US Senate since 1972. He has chaired the Senate Foreign Relations Committee three times. Although he voted to approve the Iraq war, he started warning of the costs of a long occupation of Iraq before it began. Since then he has advocated a federal solution to the conflict in Iraq, envisaging a loose division of the country along ethnic lines. His connection to Iraq also has a more personal note. His son, Beau Biden, Delaware's attorney general, is a captain in the Army National Guard, and his unit is set to be deployed to Iraq shortly. "He'll go? I don't want him going," Mr Biden said recently. "But I don't want my grandsons or granddaughters going back in 15 years. So how we leave makes a big difference." Forceful speakerMr Biden was born in 1942 in Scranton, Pennsylvania, one of four siblings in an Irish-Catholic family. The family later moved to Delaware where he attended the University of Delaware and Syracuse Law School. The Delaware senator could play an important role in wooing blue-collar white voters who so far have been a difficult group for Mr Obama to win over. Mr Biden's strength as a foreign policy big-hitter and experienced Washington hand does have a downside. Having such a long-serving running mate may underscore Mr Obama's own relative inexperience. It may also make it harder for the Obama team to emphasise their theme of change. Mr Biden's reputation as a forceful speaker can be eclipsed by ability to ask simple questions in a complicated way. And he is prone to the occasional gaffe. In 2007, he described Mr Obama as "the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy". He is now going to be spending a lot of time with the guy in question. (BBC)