Obama picks Biden as running mate

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Barack Obama reportedly selects Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware to be his vice presidential running mate.

Barack Obama named Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware as his vice presidential running mate early Saturday, balancing his ticket with a seasoned congressional veteran well-versed in foreign policy and defense issues.

Biden (top), the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman, talks with committee member Obama on Capitol Hill on April 8, 2008.

Obama (left) shares a laugh with Biden before the start of a presidential forum hosted by the AFL-CIO at Soldier Field in Chicago on Aug. 7, 2007.

Biden, now 65, has a generally liberal voting record.

Across more than 30 years in the Senate, Biden has served at various times not only as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee but also as head of the Judiciary Committee, with its jurisdiction over anti-crime legislation, Supreme Court nominees and Constitutional issues.

Democratic presidential hopefuls Biden (left) and Bill Richardson, New Mexico governor, take part in a debate in Johnston, Iowa, on Dec.13, 2007.

Biden (with his wife Dr. Jill Biden in November of 2007) has twice sought the White House.

Among VP candidates belived to have been considered by Obama, Biden brought the most experience in defense or foreign policy -- areas in which Obama is rated relatively poorly in the polls compared with Republican presidential candidate John McCain.

Biden (left) confers with Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai before Karzai testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Feb. 26, 2003, on Capitol Hill. Karzai spoke about reconstruction in Afghanistan.

Biden stands in front of a Danish armored personnel carrier at the UN-controlled Sarajevo Airport during a trip to the besieged Bosnian capital on April 8, 1993.

On Oct. 12, 1991, Senate Judiciary Chairman Biden points angrily at Clarence Thomas during comments at the end of hearings on Thomas' nomination to the Supreme Court. Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., looks on at right.

Biden in December 1972 after being elected as a senator from Delaware.

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Barack Obama named Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware as his vice presidential running mate early Saturday, balancing his ticket with a seasoned congressional veteran well-versed in foreign policy and defense issues.

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