Obama picks Senate veteran Biden as running mate

By Caren Bohan

CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has chosen veteran Delaware Sen. Joseph Biden, a leading voice on international affairs, as his vice presidential running mate, his campaign said on Saturday.

Biden, 65, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is one of the most knowledgeable Democrats on foreign policy -- an area where Obama, a first-term senator from Illinois, has been criticized as inexperienced.

Ending days of speculation, Obama announced the decision on his Web site, featuring a photo of the two, and his campaign sent a text message and e-mail to supporters.

"Barack has chosen Joe Biden to be his running mate," the announcement said. "Joe Biden brings extensive foreign policy experience, an impressive record of collaborating across party lines, and a direct approach to getting the job done."

Biden was to join Obama for their first campaign event later in Springfield, Illinois, the home town of President Abraham Lincoln and the place where Obama launched his White House bid last year.

Biden, a Roman Catholic originally from the battleground state of Pennsylvania, will bring not only foreign policy expertise to the ticket but strong working-class roots.

That could help Obama connect with the blue-collar voters he has failed to attract in the run-up to the Nov. 4 election against Republican John McCain. Obama and McCain are neck and neck in opinion polls.

Biden's 2008 presidential bid fell flat but he was a forceful and aggressive debater, firing off some of the toughest criticisms of Republican President George W. Bush.