Politics

Obama VP Front-Runner Has Ties To Pennsylvania

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ― U.S. Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware has moved to front-runner status at U.S. Sen. Barack Obama's choice for vice president, and it turns out that Biden has deep Pennsylvania roots that could help Obama carry the Keystone state.

At age 65, Biden has nearly two decades on Obama, and all of it has been in the Senate where Biden has served since 1973.

More importantly, Biden is a long-time member of the Foreign Relations Committee, which he chairs and where his foreign policy expertise is highly regarded by almost everyone.

But it's his family roots in Pennsylvania that make Biden an attractive choice for Obama in a must-win state.

Pennsylvania's top Democrat agrees.

"Joe Biden is clearly the best candidate in terms of experience and readiness to be President but also in helping us here in Pennsylvania," says Gov. Ed Rendell.

Born in Scranton in an Irish Catholic family, Biden is a bit of a Pennsylvania favorite son.

"Since Delaware has no TV stations, all of his advertising for the last 31 years has been on Philadelphia TV, so southeastern Pennsylvania voters are very familiar with Joe," Rendell adds.

Biden is no stranger to western Pennsylvania, having campaigned here for local candidates, including his long-time friend, Allegheny County Treasurer John Weinstein.

On one of those visits, Biden sat down with KDKA Political Editor Jon Delano, where he admitted he was more conservative than some Democrats.

"I think we need a very strong defense," Biden said in Pittsburgh as he was exploring a presidential run of his own. "I think that force is sometimes necessary in foreign policy. I think we need to have a much broader definition of national security, and I think we should be focused on the middle class because if the middle class shrinks, the poor are in trouble, the rich will not take care of them, and the middle class right now is in serious trouble."

Biden's parents moved to Delaware when he was 10, but like Hillary Clinton, he returned to Scranton frequently to visit his grandparents -- the Bidens and the Finnegans.

While many see Biden as a clear front-runner for the vice presidential nomination, no word yet from Obama, who is expected to make his choice public sometime in the next 48 hours.

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