In Obama’s choice, a ‘very personal decision’

Over the course of two months, as the dynamics of the presidential campaign and world events shifted quickly, Biden’s stock rose through one of the most rigorous vice-presidential vetting processes that Democrats could recall. It was a process in which Obama applied intense secrecy, careful pragmatism and political input from a team of internal and external advisers that have guided his campaign. And it ended Thursday with a phone call from Obama, who reached Biden as he was at a dentist’s office where he had taken his wife to have a root canal.

On Saturday, as the two men embraced before a crowd in Illinois, the new Democratic partnership made its debut. Yet in a moment that could have showcased Obama’s decision-making, his top advisers made a concerted effort not to disclose how he made his choice, instead choosing to showcase the life stories of the two men on the ticket and to present Biden as a forceful new critic of Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona.

chief strategist on Saturday. “He approached it in a very serious, sober and reasoned way.”

Obama reached the decision about 10 days ago while on vacation to Hawaii. That week, Biden’s strengths in foreign policy were highlighted by the conflict between Russia and Georgia, giving his prospects a boost. Associates of the other main possibility on Obama’s list, Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana, said Obama cited the situation in Georgia in breaking the news to Bayh that he had chosen Biden.

But people involved in the process said it was not just foreign policy that tilted the balance. They said Obama’s decision had as much to do with Biden’s appeal among white working-class voters and compelling personal story, and his conclusion that the Delaware senator was “a worker.”

Biden was hardly considered a likely pick at the start of the process. His reputation for verbosity was Washington legend. While he impressed at the debates by defying expectations with his brevity, his presidential campaign foundered and ended quickly.

But Biden had some powerful patrons whose opinions Obama respected, like Rendell; Representative Rahm Emanuel of Illinois, the chairman of the House Democratic caucus; and Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts.

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