News Story - Idaho State Journal

DENVER -- Political analysts claim Delaware Sen. Joe Biden brings balance to Barack Obama's presidential ticket.

Obama announced his decision Saturday.

Biden, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and an early candidate for the 2008 presidential election, has 35 years of experience in the U.S. Senate.

Unlike Obama who has consistently opposed the war in Iraq, Biden supported military action in the Middle East, but is now a fierce critic.

But Idaho Democratic delegate Matt Kopydlowski, a college student at Idaho State University, said the two senators also have a lot in common.

Biden was elected to the Senate when he was 29, and both men are former constitutional law professors.

"He was the best pick," Kopydlowski said. "(Obama) needed someone with foreign policy experience, who would stand up and voice his opinion."

Speaking from Denver Sunday, Kopydlowski said the Obama campaign has generated excitement nationwide.

When Democrats asked for 10,000 volunteers to help host the Democratic Convention in the Mile High City, more than 27,000 people turned out.

"The Republicans had to conduct a drive to get 10,000 volunteers," Kopydlowski said. "There is a large desire for change on both sides."

Sunday, Idaho delegates attended a fundraiser for victims of Hurricane Katrina hosted by Colorado Governor Howard Dean.

Idaho delegate James Fletcher, vice president of finance and administration at ISU, said while the convention doesn't start until today, witnessing the number of people gathered for the event, including dozens of protest groups that descended on Denver this week, is exciting.

According to wire reports Sunday, about 1,000 anti-war activists marched peaceably through downtown Denver waving signs and chanting, "Stop the torture, stop the war. That's what we're fighting for."

Ron Kovic, the paralyzed Vietnam veteran whose story was featured in the film "Born on the Fourth of July," led the rally in his wheelchair.

Fletcher said the historic significance of the 2008 Democratic convention will be emphasized during the convention when Obama makes his acceptance speech Thursday, 45 years to the day from the date Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous "I Have A Dream" oration.

Biden is expected to accept the vice presidential nomination Wednesday.

Fletcher said the 2008 presidential campaign mobilized the Democratic party when the two contenders for the nation's highest post were an African-American and a woman. Obama defeated New York Sen. Hillary Clinton in the primaries.

Fletcher said Idaho has 23 delegates at the Democratic Convention, including three from Pocatello.

"That's one thing we're especially proud of, to have Pocatello so well-represented at the convention," Fletcher said.

This document was originally published online on Monday, August 25, 2008

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