Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Obama Picks Biden; Tropical Storm Fay

Aired August 23, 2008 - 12:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN JOSEPH BIDEN (D), DELAWARE: You have a brilliant, relatively young man who is the nominee of the Democratic Party, who's leading John McCain on every -- every area except the one where experience just intuitively suggest, people think if you're experienced you must know more.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: That is Delaware Senator Joe Biden, he is Barack Obama's choice for vice president and the best political team in television is all over this story. I'm Brianna Keilar in Atlanta.

JOHN KING, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: I'm John King in Denver outside of the Pepsi Center, site of next week's Democratic national convention.

Brianna, not so slow of a morning in Democratic and presidential politics.

KEILAR: It is a busy morning, a busy day as John King just said. The Democrats have a ticket and in just three hours, they'll have a rally. The announcement came in the middle of the night. Barack Obama has picked Delaware Senator Joseph Biden to be his vice presidential running mate. CNN's John King broke this story shortly after Midnight Eastern Time and three hours later the Obama campaign confirmed the report in a text message to supporters.

It said "Barack has chosen Senator Joe Biden to be our VP nominee. Watch the first Obama-Biden rally live at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Spread the word."

And although Barack Obama is running for president as the candidate of change, Senator Joe Biden is a longtime Washington insider. CNN senior political analyst, Bill Schneider takes a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice over): What does Joe Biden bring to the ticket? The ability to speak knowledgeably about issues like these:

BIDEN: What's going on in Pakistan this very moment, as I speak to you, what's going on in the subcontinent overall, the Korean peninsula, China, Hugo Chavez rewriting the constitution to make himself leader for life in the de-democratization of Latin America. Ladies and gentlemen, there's a great deal at stake.

SCHNEIDER: Biden is it the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he's been in the Senate for 36 years, he knows Washington, he knows the world, two areas where Barack Obama's credentials are a little weak, and he's from Delaware. Delaware? Just three electoral votes, pretty reliably Democratic. How does Biden help Obama politically?

Biden is a Catholic and Catholics are swing voters he has roots in Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania is a swing state, one that Obama lost to Hillary Clinton in the primaries.

MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Joe Biden can immediately put to rest any fears people might have about Barack Obama's lack of foreign policy experience. Also, he can really appeal to these working class, white voters in states such as Ohio, Pennsylvania, and even Michigan.

SCHNEIDER: Biden talks a great deal. Sometimes saying things he shouldn't say.

BIDEN: I mean, you got the first sort of mainstream African-American, who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice looking guy, I mean, that's a storybook, man.

PRESTON: Joe Biden can be long-wind and in the past, he has had to go back and apologize for some of the statements that he's made.

SCHNEIDER: Can Biden control his tendency to say too much? He's certainly trying.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: An editorial in the "Los Angeles Times" said, "in addition to his uncontrolled verbosity, Biden is a gaffe machine." Can you reassure voters in this country that you would have the discipline you need on the world stage, Senator?

BIDEN: Yes.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KING: That a piece from Bill Schneider looking at some of the colorful moments in Joe Biden's career. CNN's now learned that John McCain, who will be the Republican nominee, this morning placed a phone call to his Senate colleague and his longtime friend, Joe Biden to congratulate him, we are told, as being selected as Barack Obama's running mate. McCain making that call to congratulate Senator Biden even though as the campaign has gone up on television with an ad reminding voters that it was Joe Biden who had, early in the Democratic primaries, said he did not think Barack Obama was ready to be president.

So Brianna, a bit of a fascinating, dynamic playing out here. The Republicans certainly want to use Joe Biden's old words against Barack Obama and at the same time what makes this pick so interest is that for more than 25 years now, John McCain and Joe Biden, while they disagree on so many issues, are pretty good friends, both have a good sense of humor, both like to take those trips overseas when there's a crises to get those firsthand facts on what's going on. And we do know that this morning, before his run to Starbucks -- and he's already made a run to Starbucks out in Arizona -- John McCain called Joe Biden and said, nine weeks to go in this campaign, probably won't have too many more nice things on say, but congratulations.

KEILAR: Before his run to Starbuck's, no less, John. All right, we'll continue to follow the latest developments with you, John. And as a mentioned the McCain campaign reacting very quickly to Joe Biden's selection as Barack Obama's running mate. McCain's spokesman, Ben Court, said: "There has been no harsher critic of Barack Obama's lack of experience than Joe Biden. Biden has denounced Barack Obama's poor foreign policy judgment and has strongly argued in his own words what Americans are quickly realizing, that Barack Obama is not ready to be president."

The McCain campaign isn't wasting any time in taking a shot this Obama/Biden ticket. Check out this new TV ad the McCain campaign brought to us this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: What does Barack Obama's running mate say about Barack Obama?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 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.

BIDEN: I think that I stand by the statement.

ANNOUNCER: 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.

JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm John McCain and I approve this message.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: And again, a reminder, Barack Obama and Joe Biden will make their first joint appearance in less than three hours. This here is a live picture of the old state capital in Springfield, Illinois, where this rally is going to be held. CNN's live coverage of that begins at 3:00 p.m. Eastern.

We'll be talking about the Hillary factor. What will Senator Clinton supporters do now? I'll ask Clinton biographer, Carl Bernstein.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: The breaking news story of the morning, Barack Obama picks Delaware Senator Joe Biden to be his running mate. Obama and Biden going to appear together at a rally in Springfield, Illinois, that is at 3:00 p.m. Eastern. And CNN will take you there live. You see it there.

Let's talk a little bit about Senator Joe Biden's bio, basically. He's a U.S. Senator from Delaware, has been for decades. He's currently 65 years old, but when he was elected to the senate back in 1972, he was just 29 years old, a young man. He's currently chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, giving a potential Barack Obama administration some foreign policy credentials, which has been considered a weak point for Barack Obama.

He's going to be -- Biden will be addressing the Democratic convention on Wednesday night. And we should also mention that Biden has had some presidential ambitions himself back in 1988 and most recently this election cycle in 2008. He withdrew his name from the running in January when he only received one percent support in the Democratic primary -- or in the caucuses, rather, in Iowa.

Let's head over to Denver now and John King, who broke this story earlier this morning.

I understand you have some new information -- John.

KING: Well, Brianna, you just mentioned that big rally at 3:00 this afternoon out in Springfield, 3:00 Eastern Time, out of Springfield, Illinois. Joe Biden needs to get there from Delaware to Springfield and we can show you some pictures just into CNN, the driveway at Joe Biden's house, just outside Wilmington Delaware, this morning. The senator clearly in good spirits with his family, there. That's his mother Catherine, right in front of him. You see the hugging, the handshaking. Senator Biden who will be now Barack Obama's running mate. It's a big responsibility.

He's a happy warrior when it comes to politics. You see him in his driveway here, shaking hands. He and his family and a small group of aides climbing into that SUV making their way to the charter flight out to Chicago's Midway -- Springfield, Illinois, I'm sorry, that plane came in from Chicago last night. Joe Biden, to appear with Barack Obama side-by-side.

And Brianna, you've been talking about the moment, here. Barack Obama has picked his running mate. Many Democrats believe it does help him address as his two biggest weaknesses, one, the big foreign policy experience you just spoke of, also where did Barack Obama do the poorest in the primaries? In blue-collar places like Scranton, Pennsylvania -- Joe Biden was born 65 years ago, where else, Scranton, Pennsylvania. So, a busy day, an exciting day for the Democrats, Brianna, here in Denver in Springfield, Illinois, and all around the country as they prepare for next week's convention.

KEILAR: Certainly is John. John King for us in Denver.

And to Hillary Clinton quickly offered hear support for Barack Obama's choice of running mate. Clinton says ,"In naming my colleague and friend, Senator Joe Biden, to be the vice presidential nominee, Senator Obama has continued in the best tradition for the exceptionally strong, experienced leader and devoted public servant. Senator Biden will be a purposeful and dynamic vice president whole help senator Obama both win the presidency and govern in great country."

Hillary Clinton's opinion there of Joe Biden, but what will hear die- hard supporter of make of not landing the job? Joining us now to discuss that, Carl Bernstein, CNN contributor and author of a book about Hillary Clinton.

So, what do you think about winning over Hillary Clinton's supporters? Is Joe Biden going to help Barack Obama in any way here, Carl?

CARL BERNSTEIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I think that he will. I think it's important not look at Hillary Clinton supporters as a monolith. They're going to be some descending voices, there will be a percentage that will not support the Democratic ticket. But, I think it's really about this convention. Can Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, together, convince the convention that she is firmly behind him. make this not a Clinton show, but an Obama/Biden show. And it's necessary for Obama to put his stamp on his campaign and I think he's done it by picking Biden, rather than Hillary Clinton. Though, she would have brought him some advantages over Biden, but also some real deficits.

You know, some of the Clinton people who said, well, she wasn't even really vetted. Well, if she were really vetted in a formal way, they would have had to go into the contributions to the Bill Clinton library. This is not something the Clintons wanted and it's not something that Obama wanted this election cycle. So, I think he's picked somebody who he thought is both safe and offers him the best chance of bringing the party together and I think you're going to see Hillary Clinton make a huge attempt at the convention to get her people behind him.

KEILAR: And, Carl, we heard the Obama camp coming out, putting a certain face, a certain spin on Biden, talking about what they consider his assets. One of the things mentioned, he is a working class guy, is what one of the spokespeople for the Obama campaign said. Hillary Clinton, obviously, having more luck in the primaries with white working class voters than Barack Obama. How much of an asset is Biden in that regard? Is this being overstated?

BERNSTEIN: One thing is when you sit down -- I've known Joe Biden a long time -- and when you sit down with him and talk to him and he's pretty good tatwith voters. He's one big majorities in every one of his elections, in Delaware. He can actually (INAUDIBLE), and he does have a kind of lunch bucket background. He grew up and has always identified with working people. Delaware itself is a working class state, he's Catholic. John King has correctly identified the importance of Pennsylvania where he was born. But the real thing I think is that if there is an ease between Obama and Biden that we're going to see in the campaign where they can divide up the business that they've got to do, I think one of the things about Biden is he can punch very hard and be pretty tough out there. If you're talking about gaffes and certainly there's a record of his gaffes just as there's a record of McCain's gaffe including, for instance, McCain's famous tasteless joke about Chelsea and Hillary Clinton.

I think one of the things that has to happen in this campaign is that cable news and the evening news networks, particularly, that it's up to us to try and look at these candidates, all four the presidential nominees, the vice presidential nominees in terms of what their records are, who they are as people, and don't fall for their sound bites, any of them, unless we're going to really examine the sound bites in terms of their truthfulness and their context.

KEILAR: And, Carl, let's talk -- let's just bring it back a little bit to Hillary Clinton, because we heard her recently saying, look, I've done more than anyone in my position for a presidential candidate, I have done more. And you stressed that her supporters are not this monolithic voting bloc, but still, can she do more to move them over to support Barack Obama?

BERNSTEIN: The convention in her speech at the convention is terribly important, as is Bill Clinton's speech. One of the other things that's not a monolith are the Clinton's plural. Bill and Hillary Clinton, from people that I've talked to, have very differing views of where this campaign is, right now. Bill Clinton is still petulant, he's still really angry. Hillary has started to move on. I think the Clintons always argue in private, with love. But, they're not necessarily totally on the same page about what it is that needs to be done to help Obama.

But remember, the Clinton's legacy is on the line, here, not just Barack Obama. If they don't give the kind of demonstrable support at this convention and through the campaign, you know, Hillary's future in the party, which right now is huge and impressive because of the way she ended her campaign strong, that could dissipate. She's got a job to do and that's to deliver, as disappointed as she is, remember, she wanted to be the vice presidential nominee.

And I think in Florida, in the speech that we saw her give, we saw some of her disappointment in knowing she wasn't going to get the job. She was a little rote-like in her praise, I think. There was a "New York Times'" story about that. But, let's see what happens at the convention. My guess is that she is going to be the unifying force to the extent that she can to bring her people around. It's going to be a process that has to go on for a while. And one of the reasons for picking Biden, I think, is if it's not going to be Hillary is, Biden can win over some voters to compensate for the loss of some Hillary women voters that Obama's not gong to be able to get.

KEILAR: Well, we'll certainly be watching for that. And we'll be watching to see what Hillary Clinton says at the convention. Carl Bernstein, as always, a pleasure to speak with you.

BERNSTEIN: Good to be with you.

KEILAR: Well, Democrats, they have answered the VP question, but Florida still waiting for someone to answer the Fay question.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When is it going to stop?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Waiting for Fay to go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: Delaware Senator Joe Biden is a man on the move. Fresh pictures here of Mr. Biden outside of his home near Wilmington, Delaware. Joe Biden is Barack Obama's choice to take the No. 2 two spot, the vice presidential spot on the Democratic ticket. And Senator Biden, at this hour, on his way out to Springfield, Illinois. That is where Barack Obama began his campaign for president 19 months ago and it is where the two Democratic ticket mates will appear together for the first time today, 3:00 Eastern Time, a big rally out in Springfield, Illinois.

Again, the breaking news this morning, Joe Biden now out in public, confirmed as Barack Obama's choice to share the Democratic ticket.

Brianna, a big day in Democratic politics. Statements are flowing in from so many Democrats. Just in the past few minutes, the Democratic National Committee chairman, Howard Dean, and one of runner-ups, another man considered for the vise presidential spot, Indiana Senator Evan Bayh, both issuing statements saying in their view that Barack Obama has made an outstanding choice. So the energy building in the Democratic Party and much more to come this afternoon in the big event out there in Springfield, Illinois.

KEILAR: The day's are big story is Fay. Eight deaths are blamed on the tropical storm in Florida. Fay has drenched Florida with astonishing amounts of rain, measured in feet since it first hit the state on Monday. Some areas have been doused with more than two feet of water. Fay never did grow into a hurricane, if you can believe it, but its winds are still strong enough to bring down trees and cause a good amount of property damage.

And let's check in Reynolds -- with Reynolds Wolf.

I mean this is just amazing, Reynolds, we're talking about how many instances of landfall here?

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: How much time do you have?

KEILAR: Right?

WOLF: Do you have time? I know it's ridiculous. I mean, let's see, it formed near Haiti in the Dominican Republic just south of that area, it actually made landfall near, let's see, parts of Cuba and then near Guantanamo Bay and then another time, south of Havana going east of that city, then the Florida Keys, that's No. 3, and near Naples, that would be four, back near Jacksonville No. 5, then right across Appalachi Coal (ph) Bay, No. 6, then another one potentially near Perdeto Key, Florida. So, we could see seven landfalls.

This storm never had the opportunity to really strengthen, to really intensify over open water, it just was really island hopping or land hopping from one location to another. So, it's amazing it's been able to retain its power. Now, winds at this time right around 45 miles-an-hour. Some sustained winds at 45, gusts though have been stronger up to 60 miles-an-hour. Something else to consider with the storm system, Brianna is what else we had with it and that would be some of the tornados.

I'm going to step away for just a moment so you viewers from home can get a better look at this system. If you'll notice, it covers parts of Florida, back into Alabama, even into Georgia. And as we zoom in a bit, you'll notice that we've got plenty of flashflood watches and warnings in effect to the area, you see the radars there. Everything in green, dark and light green, indicates where we do have those warnings at that time, or at least the watches and warnings.

And speaking of watches we also have a tornado watch that will be in effect for parts of Florida and back into Georgia until 3:00 this afternoon. Now, with these bands, spin around the center of circulation, Brianna, not unusual to get tornados that form from these tropical systems as they make their way on land.

Now, we've had some tornado damage in places like Tallahassee, they're still cleaning up a lot of tree damage there. Could see that happen again to many locations, in parts of Florida and into Georgia. The tornados that do form often from these tropical systems, not very strong, they usually don't last very long, but they tend to be rain- wrapped, they're not easy to see. It's not like seeing a tornado out in the open plains of, say, Nebraska or Kansas or even parts of Texas, you've got really kind of -- a lot of foliage out there in parts of north Florida, very hard to see and when the tornados strike they can certainly cause some damage very quickly.

Now, the storm system is going to make its way westward, doing so really at a crawl, around seven miles-per-hour. Because of its slow progress and because of its proximity to the coast, it's still going to be able to dump a lot of rainfall and also keep a little bit of its energy as it crosses back over parts of the Gulf of Mexico, very warm water here along the coast, as you get into Sunday and then into Monday, this storm expected to pull at the breaks and kind of slow down right near Lake Pontchartrain and then just move just to the northwest of New Orleans, not far from Baton Rouge.

But then notice, Brianna, we go from Monday and into Tuesday, very little movement, in fact you could say 30 miles or so for a 24-hour duration, the rain's going to continue to fall and then the latest forecast model or at least the forecast path rather from the National Hurricane Center, then brings it to the northwest on Wednesday and Thursday, back into parts of Mississippi. We could really see that rain begin to pile up. The potential for flooding is going to be great in parts of Mississippi, I would say, early and in midday, or midweek -- I'd say from Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, we really have to keep our sharp eye on parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, and of course Arkansas. Crazy times for the storms, it's the storm that will never end.

KEILAR: You know, it doesn't. And how will New Orleans fare, do we know? WOLF: You know, that's a great question. I have to tell you that New Orleans, it's -- they're expecting right now anywhere from two to four inches of rainfall, which no one wants to deal with, but there are going to be some low-lying areas where you will have some ponding in waterways and people really need to be careful, but it if this storm system stays over New Orleans, camps out and dumps a lot of rainfall, then we may be talking about something altogether different. Something we're going to have to watch very carefully.

KEILAR: You'll be watching, Reynolds.

WOLF: You bet.

KEILAR: Now back to the presidential campaign and Democrat Barack Obama's decision to choose Delaware Senator Joe Biden as his running mate. The economy will be the key issue, one the key issues in the campaign, and CNN's Christine Romans joining us with a look at where Biden stands.

Hi, Christine.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, there, Brianna.

Well, you know, Senator Biden's forte is foreign policy not necessarily the economy, but he is closer in some respects to the average working American than the millionaires he works with. Biden is not a man who went to Washington to get rich.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: My net worth is $70 to $150,000. That's what happens when you get elected at 29. I couldn't afford to stay in the Congress for minimum wage, but if I get a second job I'd do it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: In that proezial debate last year he advocated for a higher minimum wage and has voted for it. He was also an early supporter of NAFTA, the 1993 North America Free Trade Agreement that today is profoundly unpopular among some Democrats in the industrial states, where for many voters say NAFTA has hurt American jobs living standards. More recently he voted against CAFTA, the Central American Free Trade Agreement, saying that they need to be tied to environmental and labor standards.

Now, two years ago, Biden sided with the credit card industry on a sweeping bankruptcy reform law that angered consumer advocates, who said he was favoring his home state corporate interests over the middle class. Obama interestingly enough voted against that same measure. Now, today with wages stagnant and hundreds of thousands of lost jobs, just how important is Biden's economic record?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN GREER VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY: ...which McCain who really needs to get somebody on his ticket who has real economic credentials because his strong suit is foreign policy and defense, where it isn't true for Obama. And because of the situation with the economy, you know, Obama's just going to have a real edge there. He can talk about the inflation rate, he can talk about the debt because all of these things have been accrued under a Republican administration.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Now another expert at the think-tank, the Brookings Institutions, told me that Biden's record is a fairly conventional liberal voting record and said the hallmark of his economic policy, if there is one, is that the representative the corporate interest in his home state of Delaware. His principle passion is foreign policy.

The trouble for this ticket or the trick for this ticket will be to prove to the American people, Brianna that they can tackle a $9 trillion national debt, growing trade and budget deficits, high gas prices, inflation that's skyrocketing and a housing market that is, frankly, in crisis -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Yeah, they have a lot of problems to deal with. Christine Romans, thanks for laying that out for us, appreciate it.

And now, let's head to Denver, the upcoming site of the Democratic convention where John King is standing by.

Hi John.

KING: Hello to you, Brianna.

I'm joined by a top aide to Barack Obama, Bill Burton, one of the campaign spokesman. We're going to talk to Bill in much more detail just after a break. But before we go to the break, Brianna, we wanted to work in this one piece of breaking news nugget.

Bill Burton, we were working all day yesterday to break this story. Finally got it on the air early Saturday morning. Barack Obama told Joe Biden he would be his pick when?

BILL BURTON, OBAMA SPOKESMAN: It was on Thursday.

KING: On Thursday.

BURTON: That's right. This has been a process that has been marked by its discretion and I think that that held out until the very last moment.

KING: So, Joe Biden you would describe as a --

BURTON: Secret keeper.

KING: A secret keeper. Not just the vice presidential pick, but a secret keeper.

BURTON: He's a discreet man and this is -- we're proud to have him on the team. KING: On Thursday. That is a fascinating piece of business, a little bit of nugget there. Brianna, much more with Bill Burton on how this selection came about and what he thinks it means for the Democratic ticket when we come back from a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: We're back outside the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado, site of next week's Democratic National Convention. The big news in Democratic politics this morning, the selection of Delaware Senator Joe Biden as Barack Obama's running mate. Joe Biden to take the No. 2 spot on the Democratic ticket.

Just before the break, Obama aide Bill Burton told us the big news that the decision actually was relayed from Senator Obama to Senator Biden on Thursday. That secret kept until the wee hours this morning, of this Saturday.

Bill, you know what's being said already. The Republicans are saying this is a choice made based on weaknesses, that Barack Obama lacks foreign policy experience. So, he reaches out to Joe Biden. Barack Obama did the poorest in white/blue collar lunch bucket towns you might call them. Places like Scranton, Pennsylvania. Voila, Joe Biden, born in Scranton, Pennsylvania. A choice made of weakness?

BURTON: Well, first, I'd say that Senator Obama's judgment I don't think can credibly be challenged by the McCain Campaign who came down on the wrong side of the Iraq War and doesn't have a clear plan to get our combat troops out of there.

Secondly, I also don't think that they could doubt that Senator Biden has some of the most impressive foreign policy experience in the entire United States Senate. And he's the perfect mix, which is why he's the perfect fit for Senator Obama.

He's someone with experience on foreign policy matters, and he's also someone who comes from blue-collar roots in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and he hasn't forgotten the folks that he comes from. He goes home every single night to Delaware instead of staying in Washington. You know, I bet John McCain doesn't even know how many homes he owns in Washington, D.C.

KING: Why did I think that might come up? You know, it's not the first time a nominee has picked someone who has said some not so pleasant things about him in the past. George H.W. Bush back in 1980 had said voodoo economics in the primaries and lo and behold, he's Ronald Reagan's running mate.

But we're in the YouTube age now where these video clips are everywhere on the Internet. They're much easier to come by. The McCain campaign already up with an ad in which Joe Biden said earlier in the primaries, he simply didn't think that Barack Obama, 46-years- old then, now 47, was ready to be president. How much did that factor into this selection, knowing that there was a record of Joe Biden questioning your candidate's readiness? BURTON: Well, there's a lot of things that are said over the course of the campaign that I think raises the heat on rhetoric, more than you might in the normal course of things. But Senator Obama picked Joe Biden because he's the best guy for the job and you know, Biden has said more recently that Senator Obama has the judgement, the intellect and the steel in his spine to dig us out of the hole that the Bush administration has dug us into.

So, they're going to be a great ticket. They're going to -- you know, on foreign policy, on domestic issues. It's all around the best possible ticket.

KING: You know, Senator Biden from Washington, he's a happy warrior, if you will. Always a smile on his face, very aggressive. Is that one of the reasons he was picked the vice presidential candidate, traditionally is the attack dog?

BURTON: He's tough, make no mistake about it. He's somebody who's stared down dictators, but he's also somebody who's gone out, and he's fought for cops and for firefighters and so, it's that fight in Senator Biden that I think is going to make him such an affective partner for Barack Obama in the White House.

KING: We will get the first glimpse in a couple of hours out in Springfield, Illinois. Twenty years ago, when he first ran for president, Joe Biden left that campaign, wasn't doing too well. But after that, had a brain aneurysm. He has had some health problems in his past. How did that come up throughout the vetting process when I'm sure you went through just about everything: the public record, the medical records of the prospects.

BURTON: Anybody who knows Joe Biden knows that he's as tough as anybody in the United States Senate and that he's fit and that he's ready to do the job. Part of the criteria for Senator Obama was that he picked someone who's ready to be president. And he picked somebody who would be an effective partner and he picked someone who wouldn't be nervous about standing up to him as president and Joe Biden is all those things and we're proud to have him as a part of the ticket.

KING: Thursday, made the decision on Thursday. Bill Burton, you've humiliated all of us reporters out here. Bill Burton, thanks for joining us today.

Brianna, back to you. That's a tough one to swallow. This one's been out there since Thursday, we didn't get it 'til early Saturday morning. I think it's back to journalism school for all of us.

KEILAR: Well, and you, John are the one who broke this story early this morning before the official announcement. You've been in Washington for decades. How do you think this compares to the normal shelf life of a secret like this?

KING: Well, the fact that they could keep this secret so long, especially -- and forgive me to both Senator Obama, Senator Joe Biden and every other member of the United States Senate, but the United States Senate is not known as a place where secrets are kept for more than say, 30 seconds or so. So, the fact that they could keep this going this long is a testament to discipline. That doesn't tell anybody out there, or maybe it does tell somebody out there how they want to think about their vote.

But whether you're a Democrat or a Republican, you have to tip your hat at least to the secrecy of this process and I'm still shaking my head at Thursday. I'm a little mad at myself.

KEILAR: Well, you're still the one who broke this story, John. So, perhaps that's a consolation. All right, we'll be checking back in with you there in Denver.

And Senator Joe Biden, he dropped out of this year's Democratic primary campaign after the Iowa caucuses and in this clip from an Iowa forum, Biden responds to a question about race.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAROLYN WASHBURN, EDITOR, THE DES MOINES REGISTER: Senator Biden, you and your campaign have had a number of occasions to correct or clarify things you've said relating to race, including your remarks about Senator Obama being "clean and articulate." Your comment about Indians working at 7-Eleven and recently to the "Washington Post" in which you spoke about race while describing disparities between schools in Washington, D.C. and Iowa.

Do these gaffes or misunderstandings or however you would characterize them indicate you're uncomfortable talking about race or are people just being too sensitive?

SEN. JOE BIDEN (D), DELAWARE: I think that I have my whole career, I got involved in public policy. I got involved in politics because of the Civil Rights Movement. It's the overwhelming core of my support in my home state. I get the overwhelming majority, over 95 percent of the vote of minorities in my state.

I may have phrased those things wrongly, but when I talked about the Indian population, what I was making the point was, they're building families. They're coming, buying businesses, 7-Elevens and Dunkin' Donuts and small shops, just like those Italian immigrants used to do, and they're building families.

The point I was making about the inner-city Washington is the point that Barack just made. Barack made the point, he said that minorities start off at a disadvantage. They start off in a -- where the gap and achievement gap that exists before they even walk into school, minorities. And so, I was making the same point. It may be possible because I speak so bluntly that people misunderstand.

But no one who knows me in my state, no one who I work with in the United States Congress has ever wondered about my commitment to civil rights and civil liberties and if you take a look at my record, as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee -- excuse me, of the Judiciary Committee, ranking member, chairman for 16 years. Starting with the Voting Rights Act and worked us right through to voting against constitutional amendments on bussing, when bussing was taking place in my state.

My credentials are as good as anyone who's ever run for president of the United States on civil rights.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hear, hear.

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), NEW YORK: Hear, hear.

WASHBURN: Senator Obama?

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know, I just wanted to -- I just want to make the comment, I've worked with Joe Biden. I've seen his leadership. I have absolutely no doubt about what is in his heart and the commitment that he's made with respect to racial equality in this country. So, I will provide some testimony as they say in church, that Joe is on the right side of the issues and is fighting every day for a better America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: So, Joe Biden there talking and Barack Obama talking in a previous forum about his comments on race.

Basically, John, we heard Biden say he has good intentions, but these verbal gaffes, I guess you could call them, frequently eclipsing those. I imagine -- do you expect as a reporter that we might hear some more of those in the coming months?

KING: It is one of the great questions, Brianna and it certainly was a factor in the consideration of Joe Biden. He brings a lot to the table, but he also does have a history of, shall we say, wandering a bit off the reservation.

Our senior political analyst, Bill Schneider, is joining us here. It's getting a little breeze in Denver. Watching things blowing around behind us. It's OK. Bill, Brianna raises an interesting question. Sort of, is there a Biden then and now? In his last campaigns, past campaigns, over his time in the Senate, he's been known to go on and on and on and on and say some things controversial.

In this campaign for the most part, we just played one of the exceptions there, but for the most part, a lot of people who covered him for a long time, as you have said, wow, pretty disciplined this time around.

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: Amazingly disciplined. The idea that Joe Biden could know something on Thursday and not say a word about it, this is not the Joe Biden of caricature. I knew Joe Biden 20-some years ago when he first ran for president. He was a different kind of person. He wasn't really known then for his foreign policy expertise. He's really acquired stature, gravitas world experience in the past 20 years, which was critical in getting him on the ticket.

KING: Now, Democrats are issuing statements, a lot of praise after praise after praise. Inside this hall come Monday, you're going to have all those Obama delegates on the floor and they'll be happy. But you're also going to have a very healthy and large contingent of Hillary Clinton delegates. Many of whom thought -- she got so many votes, won so many delegates, proved herself in the primaries, that she deserved to be the No. 2. How will Biden go down with the Clinton people?

SCHNEIDER: I think they're not offended by the choice of Biden. They of course would have preferred Hillary Clinton. And some of them are going to hold out and say that they've -- you know, he made the wrong choice. But I think for the most part, he's acceptable. He's not a threat to Hillary Clinton in any direct way. He's older than Hillary Clinton. If he had picked someone younger, that might be seen as competing for influence.

But I think the choice of Biden is acceptable. There may be some ruffled feathers over the way it was done. Did he handle Hillary Clinton with enough respect? Did he speak to her directly? There's some details yet we don't know. So, I wonder if some of the Hillary Clinton people might feel a little bit dissed by the way this was handled.

KING: And we're already hearing the Republicans trying to use some of Joe Biden's words in the primaries against Barack Obama. Saying, now your own No. 2 says you're not ready to be president. We've been through this in the past with George H.W. Bush ...

SCHNEIDER: Sure.

KING: ...and other cases that work?

SCHNEIDER: Well, in the past, it hasn't made a lot of difference. George W. Bush won the election as vice president despite the fact that he had said those things. This does happen a lot. It's just that now, as you indicated before with YouTube, these things take on a life. We're going to see them again and again and again. So, it's going to be brought up.

I think it's not a surprise. People shrug and they say, that's politics. The point is, it's probably is a testament to Obama that he's willing to put this guy on the ticket even though he said those critical things about him, that he has enough self-confidence, that he feels secure enough to put Biden on the ticket.

KING: Bill Schneider, thanks for your thoughts.

More throughout the day. We're going to take a quick break. Later in the program, the view from directly inside the McCain campaign. What the Republican campaign thinks of Barack Obama's big selection of Joe Biden as his running mate. Our continuing coverage, back -- more in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: The breaking news story of the morning, Barack Obama picks Delaware Senator Joe Biden to be his running mate. Obama and Biden will appear together at a rally in Springfield, Illinois, at 3:00 p.m. Eastern. CNN will of course be taking you there live.

John King is in Denver at this moment. And John, we've heard the Obama camp really highlighting a specific Senator Biden. They said he's a working class guy. He's a man of modest means, but of course Biden, also the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the McCain campaign saying that, as you have pointed out several times, this was a VP choice made out of necessity because of Barack Obama's weaknesses.

KING: Well, that will be part of the debate, Brianna, in the days and weeks ahead, just why Joe Biden, does he help the Democratic ticket? Could the Republicans somehow try to turn this to their advantage? Helicopters overhead here in Denver, part of the security apparatus.

But let's get the view directly from the McCain campaign. Let's go to McCain headquarters just outside of Washington. Tucker Bounds, a McCain spokesman standing by. Tucker, let me begin this morning, I'm told from Arizona, Senator McCain called his friend, Joe Biden, to congratulate him. What do we know about that phone call?

TUCKER BOUNDS, MCCAIN CAMPAIGN SPOKESMAN: Well, it was a brief phone call. They've known each other for many, many years and are friends. Senator McCain called Joe Biden to tell him congratulations, to pass on congratulations to Senator Biden's wife. So, I think -- it's a positive development. They're good friends.

KING: They're good friends and yet, your campaign quickly goes up with an ad saying, if you don't believe what John McCain says about Barack Obama, listen to what Joe Biden has said about Barack Obama. You've been through a few campaigns and you know about -- this happens all the time. Why did you want to jump on that ad, put up an ad like that so fast?

BOUNDS: Well, I think that it's important to note that even Joe Biden himself has been a harsh critic of the inexperience that Barack Obama has. And so, there is -- he's a credible source. When he's on the ticket, we wanted to point that out. We wanted to point out that there are several issues that Joe Biden himself has taken issue with Barack Obama over and one of those is inexperience and the fact that he's just not ready to lead. He stood by those comments on a number of different occasions.

KING: When you go through your check list now looking at your vice presidential selection, does this change the equation at all? The Democrats have picked somebody, they believe, you can dispute it, but they believe has lunch bucket blue-collar appeal, in places like his birthplace of Scranton, Pennsylvania. And they have picked someone who I think even you would concede has proven himself to be a very sharp, aggressive debater. Does that enter into the calculation, now that John McCain has to counter with his big choice?

BOUNDS: Well, I think that there are going to be very stark differences between these announcements and what they mean. I think today, really, symbolizes a concession speech by Barack Obama. And he's seeding the point that he doesn't have the foreign policy experience to be president. He's just not ready. And I think that you won't see that out of John McCain. He has the experience to have some dissenting voices in his administration and he could nurture -- if you were fortunate enough to be elected, but he doesn't need somebody that's going to come in and mentor him through positions and who to talk to and which positions he might want to take. They're going to be very stark selections.

We feel like John McCain will be able to make a selection from a position of strength because he has shown strong leadership and has great experience to take us forward, make change in Washington.

KING: Tucker Bounds at McCain campaign headquarters. We'll see you when you come here to Denver, to be part of the, what we might call the McCain counter programming operation. Thanks for joining us today.

And when we return, much more of our coverage of Barack Obama's selection of Joe Biden to be his running mate, including the conversation right here in Denver with our senior political analyst Gloria Borger. Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: Thanks for spending some time with us on an exciting day in Democratic and presidential politics. Two hours from now, Barack Obama will officially unveil his choice to share the Democratic ticket. We know of course that choice is the Delaware senator, Joseph Biden.

Joining me here in Denver, just outside the site of next week's Democratic convention is our senior political analyst Gloria Borger. Gloria, the McCain campaign, obviously trying to take issue with Joe Biden.

GLORIA BORGER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: Sure.

KING: But respected Republican voices like Richard Lugar of Indiana, Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, saying pretty solid pick. This is a guy with impressive credentials. Maybe we don't like his policies, but pretty good. There's a pretty good pick, if that's the consensus, change the game?

BORGER: So far so good. Not necessarily. You know, I remember back when Michael Dukakis picked Lloyd Benson, everybody said that was a brilliant choice, a very smart pick. A smart pick is what people are saying about Joe Biden. It doesn't necessarily get you a victory in November.

So, Biden's going to be good in those battleground states as you've been talking about. He's even going to be good in the state of Iowa where he ran twice and did very well. So, he's going to be helpful, but again, it doesn't -- a good pick doesn't necessarily guarantee a victory and by the way, it's hard to think back when a Democratic ticket won without a Southerner on the ticket. It's been more than a century, so the question is, gee, should there have been a Southerner? Is this a different time? But for now, Joe Biden looks pretty good. I think the Republicans aside from that one clip that they're showing, may have a difficult time attacking Joe Biden.

KING: We're short time, but quickly to end this hour, the biggest challenge is selling it inside that hall to all the Clinton delegates. He is a peer. He's a person of stature in the Senate. Does that make it easier?

BORGER: I think it does make it easier. I think if they had gone with Tim Kaine, then the Clinton people would have had a right to say, how do you pick somebody with that lack of experience over Hillary Clinton. Joe Biden is not only a peer of Hillary Clinton's, he's a friend of Hillary Clinton's. He did not endorse any candidate after he got out of the race and so, I think the Clinton people are going to calm down a little bit because Joe Biden is a well-regarded pick.

KING: We'll watch that in the days, the days ahead and as we go to break, we want to show you Barack Obama's campaign plane. It is on the tarmac in Chicago en route to Springfield, Illinois, where the big announcement is just two hours away.

And at the top of the hour, Wolf Blitzer and Brianna Keilar will be back to continue our coverage. Stay right here, a very big day in presidential politics.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)