Barack Obama finally sent the messages that everyone was waiting for, which announced Joe Biden as his running mate, too late and very anti-climatic because the news had already filtered through. As predicted last night, McCain's "Biden" ad soon followed.
Last night in
my report about the secret service being dispatched to protect Joe Biden before Barack Obama had officially sent the announcement out, via text messages and email, I said
"this will give conservatives a certain amount of ammunition after some of the comments about Barack Obama that he made during the presidential primaries, such as saying that the White House is no place for "on-the-job training."
The email from the Barack Obama campaign arrived in my inbox at 2:02 am and said:
"S --
I have some important news that I want to make official.
I've chosen Joe Biden to be my running mate.
Joe and I will appear for the first time as running mates this afternoon in Springfield, Illinois -- the same place this campaign began more than 19 months ago.
I'm excited about hitting the campaign trail with Joe, but the two of us can't do this alone. We need your help to keep building this movement for change.
Please let Joe know that you're glad he's part of our team. Share your personal welcome note and we'll make sure he gets it:
[url=http://my.barackobama.com/welcomejoe]http://my.barackobama.com/welcomejoe
Thanks for your support,
Barack
P.S. -- Make sure to turn on your TV at 2:00 p.m. Central Time to join us or watch online at [url=http://www.BarackObama.com/]http://www.BarackObama.com.
Less than two hours after the big announcement, John McCain did just as many have predicted and many conservatives suggested, and released an ad called
"Joe Biden on Barack Obama," which took Biden's words during the tense Democratic primaries about Obama and highlighted them via video.
The text of the ad is as follows:
ANNCR: What does Barack Obama’s running mate say about Barack Obama?
ABC’S GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: You were asked, “Is he ready?” You said, “I think he can be ready but right now, I don’t believe he is. The presidency is not something that lends itself to on-the-job training.”
JOE BIDEN: I think that I stand by the statement.
ANNCR: And what does he say about John McCain?
BIDEN: I would be honored to run with or against John McCain, because I think the country would be better off.
This is one of what is expected to be many ads produced which will use Biden's own words against the man that chose him to run as his vice presidential running mate.
After serving six terms in the United states Senate, Biden brings a level of experience to the table that Barack Obama does not have, but he also brings the harsh words he used against him when he was running against Obama in the Democratic primaries.
