WASHINGTON, Aug. 24 (UPI) -- Likely Democratic U.S. presidential nominee Barack Obama chose Joe Biden as running mate partly because of his appeal to white Midwestern voters, sources say.
While most of the attention has been focused on the U.S. senator from Delaware's foreign policy expertise as chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Affairs committee, his connection to lower- and middle-income white voters as well as a hard work ethic and his compelling personal story made the difference in his selection, The New York Times reported Sunday.
Citing unnamed sources, The Times said Sen. Obama, D-Ill., settled on Biden while vacationing in Hawaii, and his confidence in his selection was strengthened by Biden's actions in the wake of the conflict between Russia and Georgia. Obama reportedly cited that overseas crisis in explaining his choice of Biden to Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., the runner-up in the veep sweepstakes.
Biden had been recommended to Obama by such trusted Democrats as U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass. But the clincher may have come when vetting revealed that Biden, a former presidential candidate himself, was better known than thought and had a distinct appeal among white working class voters in key Midwestern states, The Times said.
