After a two-month search, Sen. Barack Obama has picked Mr. Joseph Biden, a senator from Delaware, as his running mate. The selection of Mr. Biden balances a ticket that was short on foreign-policy experience and lacked experience in Washington. On the downside, it undermines Mr. Obama's claim to be a force for change. It is a safe choice, one designed to reassure undecided voters about the gaps in Mr. Obama's resume.
Mr. Biden is a familiar face to world leaders. As chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he has established himself as a voice of authority and balance on U.S. foreign policy. That experience should reassure American voters — and friends of the United States — about Mr. Obama's foreign policy. Ironically, the selection echoes U.S. President George W. Bush's choice of Mr. Dick Cheney as his running mate in 2000.
Some worry that Mr. Biden's presence on the ticket may highlight Mr. Obama's own shortcomings in this area. Voters are unlikely to make that the grounds for decisions in November. Rather, the pivot is likely to be the issues of "character" and judgment, and foreign and national security policy are just arenas in which they are applied.