DENVER - In tapping Delaware's Joe Biden as his running mate, Barack Obama went for everything he is not: a garrulous, back-slapping, old-school pol with more Washington years under his belt than almost anyone in either party.
Biden is the first mid-Atlantic candidate on a national ticket since the early 1970s, an Irish-Catholic with working-class credibility and foreign policy expertise. He could enhance Obama's appeal in places, such as Maryland, where the Democrat is already strong.
"In Maryland, Senator Biden will be a critical ally and partner working with Senator Obama ... as we work to restore the health of the Chesapeake Bay and expand opportunity for our families," Gov. Martin O'Malley said yesterday.
But where it matters most - among the millions of undecided voters still unsure about Obama - the pick may have done more: It gave voters a glimpse into Obama's thinking, how he views the campaign and how he might govern as president. That may be more important, in the end, than all the votes Biden might attract.
Analysts and campaign strategists said Obama's decision conveyed several messages, not all of them what he might want voters to hear. They include:
* Obama is a conventional politician, despite his relative youth, his recent arrival on the national scene and the rock-star aura of his "change" candidacy. He made a safe choice that countered his own outsider image, rather than adding to it.
* He recognizes that Americans have concerns about his lack of experience, especially when it comes to national security. In Biden, he got the silver-haired gravitas that many, especially older voters, think Obama lacks. But he also highlighted his own weakness in this area.
* He needs to intensify his focus on the economic struggles of lower- and middle-income Americans. White working-class voters, many of whom strongly backed Hillary Clinton in the primaries, remain cool to Obama. His running mate's blue-collar background and regular-guy persona may help, but strategists said Obama must still convince these voters he understands their problems and can solve them.
* He has the self-confidence to select someone who challenged him for the nomination and made critical comments that are already providing attack-ad material for John McCain to use against him. Amid worries from his own supporters that Obama isn't tough enough, he's joining forces with someone eager to play the aggressor for the Democrats.
