Obama and his flock of acolytes have consistently portrayed him as the younger, hipper candidate.  The candidate of change.  The fresh wind in the sour air of politics, the new voice.  Someone not a part of politics as usual.

They have charged that John McCain is the old man, the voice of stagnation.  An old hide bound white guy in a sea of politics ruled by old white men.  A guy who has made a career out of politics as usual, and partisan bickering.

So it comes as no shock to learn that Obama has taken the fresh, bold and utterly hipper step of choosing a running mate who is an old white man, who has made a career out of politics as usual and partisan bickering.

Finally:  Change we can believe in. 

Why?  Frankly, because he wants to win.  Now, granted that Hillary has more support, and a ticket with her might be the golden ticket for a sure win, but imagine being president and constantly having to watch your back, waiting for the chance for her and Bill to stick a (figuratively speaking only here) knife into it.  Hillary is just too ambitious.

I found this to be an interesting and accurate assessment by Ron Fournier(AP):¹

Analysis: Biden pick shows lack of confidence

The candidate of change went with the status quo.

In picking Sen. Joe Biden to be his running mate, Barack Obama sought to shore up his weakness — inexperience in office and on foreign policy — rather than underscore his strength as a new-generation candidate defying political conventions.

He picked a 35-year veteran of the Senate — the ultimate insider — rather than a candidate from outside Washington, such as Govs. Tim Kaine of Virginia or Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas; or from outside his party, such as Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska; or from outside the mostly white male club of vice presidential candidates Hillary Rodham Clinton didn’t even make his short list.