By DPA,
Washington : Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama has chosen veteran Delaware senator Joe Biden as his pick to campaign alongside him as the vice presidential candidate, multiple US media outlets reported early Saturday.
Obama’s campaign has yet to confirm the pick, which has been the hot topic of US media all week amid speculation of which of a handful of likely politicians would get the nod.
The official announcement was expected to come within hours. Obama was to notify supporters via text message, a move likely to come before an afternoon campaign stop Saturday in Springfield, Illinois, where the senator got his political start in the state house and launched his presidential bid last year.
Obama and Biden were expected to make their first appearance together at the Springfield rally. ABC News reported that a secret service detail had already been dispatched to Joe Biden’s house in Delaware.
Biden, 65, is a longtime senator from Delaware and chairman of the upper house’s Foreign Relations Committee. He is an old hand at international relations and will likely appeal to voters sceptical of Obama’s foreign affairs credentials.
The Democrats gather at their party convention in Denver, Colorado, beginning Monday to formally nominate Obama. Biden, if he is the vice president, is slated to speak Wednesday night.
Speculation over who would be Obama’s running mate had reached a feverish pitch Friday night. Broadcaster CNN even showed live shots of several of the candidates’ homes in hopes of some sort of clue.