3 a.m. call. Obama announces running mate: Joe Biden, six-term senator from Delaware

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The long- awaited text message announcing Obama- Biden '08 arrived in cell phones and inboxes just after 3 a.m. ET on Saturday. The 3 a.m. timing may evoke memories of an attack ad run by Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., questioning whether Obama would be ready to lead in the event of a 3 a.m. phone call. In the end however, Obama supporters got a 3 a.m. cell phone text message and e-mail about Biden, rather than Clinton.

Media reports in the hours before the official announcement strongly hinted at the Obama pick: A private plane was tracked flying from Chicago's Midway airport to New Castle, Del., and the Secret Service had been dispatched to protect Biden, the six-term senator. In the early morning hours, those hints were confirmed prior to the Obama camp's text message.

So why did Obama, who is running on a theme of change, chose the Biden, the experienced Washington hand? "Over the course of the process, they became convinced, Sen. Obama became convinced, that they needed a candidate who would reassure voters on that support, someone who that could count on, who was a solid, known quantity," ABC News' chief Washington correspondent George Stephanopoulos told "GMA" on Saturday.

In Mr. Biden, Mr. Obama selected a six-term senator from Delaware best known for his expertise on foreign affairs — Mr. Biden spent last weekend in Georgia as that nation engaged in a tense confrontation with Russia — but also for his skills at political combat. Mr. Obama passed over other candidates who might have brought him a state or reinforced the message of change that has been central to his candidacy.

At the rally outside the Old State Capitol where Mr. Obama announced his candidacy 19 months ago, he described Mr. Biden as a man ready to be president. And he offered a passionate and politically instructive introduction of Mr. Biden: the portrait of a running mate who filled in what many Democrats have described as the political shortcomings of Mr. Obama.

He presented Mr. Biden as the product of a Catholic, blue-collar home in Pennsylvania who had endured personal tragedy in the death of his wife and daughter and his own brush with death, a man who could relate to the culture of the Senate or of working-class voters.

“I can tell you that Joe Biden gets it,” said Mr. Obama, of Illinois. “He’s that unique public servant who is at home in a bar in Cedar Rapids and the corridors of the Capitol; in the V.F.W. hall in Concord, and at the center of an international crisis. That’s because he is still that scrappy kid from Scranton who beat the odds — the dedicated family man and committed Catholic who knows every conductor on that Amtrak train to Wilmington.”

Reaction from political pundits is mixed and the McCain campaign pounced on its new rivals, immediately releasing an ad using Biden's own words against his new running mate. "What does Barack Obama's running mate say about Barack Obama?" the ad opens, with images of Biden and Obama, before a clip of ABC News' Democratic debate on Aug. 19, 2007, hosted by Stephanopoulos on a special edition of "This Week."

"You said, 'I think he can be ready, but right now, I don't think he is. The presidency is not something that lends itself to on-the-job training,'" Stephanopoulos says in the ad's debate clip. "I think I stand by that statement," Biden replies.

Asked Saturday on "GMA" about the impact of the Republican attack ad, Stephanopoulos said, "I think that's the best they can do -- Sen. Biden and a lot of other Democrats questioning Sen. Obama's experience. Clearly, Sen. Clinton did that, of course, in the primary."

Stephan- opoulos added, "I actually asked about that exchange when he was on my show, "This Week," in May and [Biden] was very blunt in his response. He said that Barack Obama has learned a hell of a lot, and he went on to detail how Obama has grown over the course of the campaign, praised his judgment.

I think you'll see ... Sen. McCain is trying to drive a wedge between Obama and Biden," Stephanopoulos said. "But one of the reasons I think Obama decided to go with Biden in the end is not only because he has experience but is because he really can be a political gut-biter and is a strong debater. Over the course of the debates during the primary, he was often the winner of the debates.

"He has served with John McCain for an awful long time, and I think the Obama team believes that Joe Biden will have the ability to get under John McCain's skin over the course of this campaign and to really be very forceful," Stephanopoulos said.

Activity continued at a steady pace outside the Biden home in Delaware prior to the candidate's departure for the 3 p.m. ET event in Springfield, Ill.

Sen. Hillary Clinton issued a statement on Saturday praising the choice and calling Mr. Biden “an exceptionally strong, experienced leader and devoted public servant.”

The potential V.P. contenders who were not chosen by Obama released statements of congratulations to Biden on Saturday. "Joe Biden is an outstanding public servant with deep experience and a fighting spirit. These qualities will make him a great asset in the White House and on the campaign trail this fall," said Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind. "It was an honor to be considered."

First-time Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, also short-listed for the Democratic vice presidential nomination, said he is "excited" for Biden and praised him as "a tremendous leader and a great complement to Sen. Obama and his candidacy." Another candidate shaved from the shortlist, Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, said Biden's "extensive experience dealing with foreign policy issues are an asset in these complicated times." Even McCain contacted Biden, placing "a brief call to offer congratulations to the senator and his wife," a McCain aide told ABC News.

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Photos courtesy of AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, Haraz N. Ghanbari, Sen. Biden's office, Greg Gibson, and Richard Perry/The New York Times

Original Source: ABC News and NY Times

Image Gallery: Sen. Joe Biden’s Life and Times