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SILVERMAN: Obama pick no ordinary Joe

By Craig Silverman, Special to the Rocky

Published August 25, 2008 at 11:29 a.m.

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If Obama is the One, is Joe Biden the Two? Michelle might object. But did you see the big bear hugs Michelle gave Joe and wife Jill when she got on the Springfield stage? Can you imagine that with Hillary? With Bill? Me neither.

Conservatives are sowing the seeds of Democratic and gender dissension. Barack Obama dumped a winning woman to go with a guy? It turns out that he is Bi - - - den. (That line might have worked better had he named Evan Bayh.)

Biden is no ordinary Joe but neither is he DiMaggio. At least this Delaware senator is willing to swing the bat and swing it hard. It will be fun to see how many hits he gets and whether any will be homers. Beware the swinging strikeouts. This Joe is an ostentatious orator unafraid of playing in the big game.

The word character comes to mind when you think about Biden. Through horrible family tragedy and health crisis, Biden was tested and survived, then thrived. Now he's got a second family with a son scheduled to serve in Iraq; sound like any other senior senator you know?

Did you know that Biden is a committed Catholic? If not, you missed Saturday in Springfield with Obama and Biden saying it over and over and over. If John McCain goes with Tim Pawlenty (Lutheran; ex-Catholic) or Mitt Romney (Mormon) or Joe Lieberman (Jewish), then that leaves Biden as the only Catholic in the Final Four.

Many Catholics are pro-choice. Obama is vulnerable as overly pro-choice, but look to Biden to attack back. At Saddleback, McCain said conception is the point of no return. So does that mean an end to in vitro fertilization, birth control pills, and exceptions for rape or incest? McCain's Saddleback stand parallels Colorado's "personhood" ballot measure - so radically pro-life that many Colorado Republicans are hiding from it.

The Dems now have a two-lawyer ticket. Three if you count Michelle. More if you count the Biden boys. Both Obama and Biden have worked as professors of constitutional law. How refreshing to have a Prez and VP with knowledge and respect for the Constitution and legal profession.

Words matter. So do sounds. Obama and Biden are both five-letter names meant to fit likes hands together. Suddenly, you have the 10-letter word, experience. Listen to the alliteration and assonance of Obama and Joe Biden. The Dems have rhythm.

No executive experience. Don't worry. The Dems had a winning team with JFK and LBJ. With Caroline and Teddy on board, can Camelot be far behind? Barack Obama will ascend Colorado's biggest stage this Thursday hoping to channel MLK and JFK.

With Joe Biden at his side, one thing now seems probable. As John Kennedy did in 1960, Obama will win in Delaware.

Craig Silverman is a Denver lawyer and co-host of KHOW radio's Caplis & Silverman Show.