Thousands of Democratic delegates have gathered here in Denver today for the start of the Democratic National Convention. The convention begins two days after Senator Barack Obama tapped fellow Senator Joseph Biden of Delaware to be his running mate. Obama made the announcement in a text message early Saturday morning. The two appeared at a rally on Saturday in Springfield, Illinois before 35,000 supporters.

Sen. Barack Obama: “Joe Biden is that rare mix. For decades, he has brought change to Washington, but Washington hasn’t changed him. He’s an expert on foreign
policy whose heart and values are rooted firmly in the middle class.”

Senator Biden criticized Republican candidate John McCain for not knowing how many homes he owned.

Sen. Joe Biden: “Ladies and gentlemen, your kitchen table is like mine. You sit there at night before you put the kids — after you put the kids to bed, and you talk, and you talk about what you need. You talk about how much you’re worried about being able to pay the bills. Well, ladies and gentlemen, that’s not a worry John McCain has to worry about. It’s a pretty hard experience: he’ll have to figure out which of the seven kitchen tables to sit at.”

Biden has served in the Senate since 1972 and is the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. In 2002, Biden was one of twenty-nine Democratic senators to vote to authorize the invasion of Iraq. He later said his vote was a mistake. He has also taken the controversial position of advocating for the partitioning of Iraq into three or more regions.