Charlie_Brennan's Blog

In what would hardly be termed a man-bites-dog development, top Colorado Democrats ran toward the closest microphones Saturday morning to sing the praises of Delaware Sen. Joseph Biden, Barack Obama's choice as vice presidential running mate.

U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar, Gov. Bill Ritter and Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper met the media at Invesco Field at Mile High to say, almost in unison, that the freshman senator from Illinois could not have made a better choice.

"I'm a good friend of both Barack Obama's and Joe Biden's," said Salazar. "Joe Biden brings a tremendous amount of energy to this ticket. He is by far one of the best experts on foreign policy in the entire United States senate and the entire country."

He added, "We need to put the world back together again, and Joe Biden is that person to complement Barack Obama's experience - both of them serving on the foreign policy committee in the U.S. Senate, to help us put the world back together again."

Ritter, formerly a long-time District Attorney for Denver, applauded Biden on law and order issues.

During his tenure as a prosecutor, said Ritter, "The person in the United States Senate who I think did the best job of leading this country forward with respect to security policy -- domestic security policy we call it, law enforcement issues, and crime issues, was Joe Biden.

"He co-authored the 1994 Crime Control Act, he was the first person to author and get past a significant piece of federal legislation regarding domestic violence against women...and it really was an important piece of legislation for us as prosecutors to use as tools to combat that."

And, said Ritter, "You put Joe Biden and Barack Obama together on a ticket, and I really do think you see a different way forward for this country. He complements Barack Obama in such a significant way. This promise of change is really a substantive promise, and I think Joe Biden represents that as well."

Hickenlooper chimed in, "You know, from the point of view of big city mayor, I don't think Barack Obama could have picked a better vice president. Joe Biden has been at the forefront of a lot of urban policy issues....He has consistently showed that you don't throw money at problems, right?m You come up with solutions...and then you measure your investment and measure your outcomes. He will be very warmly received by the mayors of this country."

And I was not terribly surprised that local John McCain staffer nearly just as quickly produced local heavy artillery in the form of former U.S. Sen. Hank Brown, to shoot down the selection of Biden, whom he nevertheless graced with the label "good guy."

"He has been the most articulate Democratic opponent of Barack Obama," said Brown, "highly critical of him in a wide variety venues. For him to be selected, to join the ticket as vice president would be a surprise not only to Democrats but Republicans and independents as well.

"Joe has been highly critical of Senator Obama on his Iran stand, on his stand on Iraq, on his stand on Afghanistan, his lecture to him - diplomatically  - but with regard to Pakistan, was really stunning. So, for them to to be joined will be quite an adventure over the next few weeks as they get together."

Brown, deadpanning it, piled on: "He faces a big challenge. While he's a good guy, his challenge is going to be debating himself, in debating Barack Obama. He's got to debate the former positions, and things he said about Barack. He's got to debate Senator Obama about the issues."

Already, the McCain campaign has released a new ad it will run in key battleground states using - as Brown was clearly recommending - Biden's own words against him. Taken from both a televised debate before Biden dropped his own bid for the presidency, and a television interview, viewers see Biden stand by a previous comment that the presidency is not a job lending itself to on-the-job training, and saying that he would be "honored" to run with John McCain.

Ritter, asked about Biden's past remarks Saturday morning - before the McCain had had even been released, shrugged off Biden's earlier digs at his new partner.

"I think Americans understand politics, and that when you're in a bit of a fight, whether its a primary fight or otherwise, those things are a product of it," said Ritter. "We'll see who McCain picks. But, you know, there were things said about him (McCain) by people that are some of his top V.P. candidates. So, that may come back to haunt him."

We probably won't even have to wait until Halloween.