It's Gotta be Biden

That grinding noise you hear in the distance is not Russian tanks rolling through Georgia. It is instead the wheels in the mind of Barack Obama and his campaign staff closing the deal on choosing Joe Biden as his running mate.

Biden’s extensive foreign policy resume has served as the rocket that has shot his standing up the charts. While Evan Bayh also offers impressive foreign policy experience, Biden is clearly the Democratic go-to guy on the issue.

Perhaps the second piece of Biden’s flowering status within the Obama camp is his popularity in Pennsylvania – especially Philadelphia. While Biden’s home state of Delaware offers no incentive as far as electoral vote status, he has been pseudo adopted by his neighbors in Pennsylvania.

Since it is perpetually a swing state, the ‘keystone state’ is as always a big prize. With the talk surrounding the possibility of John McCain tapping former Governor and US Homeland Security Director, Tom Ridge as the Republican VP choice, the Biden selection takes on an added layer of political incentive.

It seems to fit together perfectly as I think back to how emphatically John McCain addressed the abortion issue at last Saturday’s Civil Forum. His claim that a McCain administration would be one of pro-life policies might provide him with the breathing room to feel comfortable enough to go with a pro-choice running mate like Ridge if he feels that his presence on the ticket could deliver Pennsylvania’s twenty-one electoral votes.