Barack Obama To Run With Joe Biden This Year

After weeks and months of uncertainty, the 2012 US Presidential election looks to be Barack Obama and Joe Biden vs Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan.

Earlier today, President Barack Obama confirmed that Joe Biden would be his running mate for the upcoming Presidential election.

Joe Biden has made a number of gaffes lately - in particular, a recent "put y'all in chains" comment particularly drew the ire of the Republican party. Notable Republicans such as Rudy Giuliani and Sarah Palin jumped all over Biden for his choice of words, with Palin openly speculating that Obama would likely do better with Hillary Clinton as his running mate this year.

The Democrats bit back on Thursday, claiming that the Republicans were being "ridiculous" and that Joe Biden would indeed run with Barack Obama this year.

On the Republican side of things, Romney officially announced that Paul Ryan would be his running mate earlier this week. Ryan was an unexpected choice - most people had names like Pawlenty and Rubio pegged as possible Republican VP candidate selections.

Many Republican and Republican leaning independents seem to be very pleased with the naming of Paul Ryan as the VP candidate, as Ryan is seen as being extremely knowledgeable in an area where Obama is seen to be weakest - the debt/deficit. Ryan has some pretty strong ideas as to how the country can fix its fiscal problems, and these will be on full display in the run-up to the election in November. Ryan is also seen as adding an element of charisma that many people feel that Mitt Romney lacks.

According to Gallup, Romney has enjoyed a very slight bump in the polls following his selection of Paul Ryan as his running mate. According to Gallup, 47% of Americans now say that they would vote for Mitt Romney, up slightly from 46% last week. 45% of Americans say that they would vote for Barack Obama if the election were held today.

The Paul Ryan bounce was much more subdued compared to previous election cycles when a Republican or Democratic running mate was announced. For instance, Al Gore enjoyed a five point pop when Joe Lieberman was announced as his running mate in 2000. In 1996, Bob Dole enjoyed a nine point pop when he announced that Jack Kemp would be his running mate.

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Was Paul Ryan the right choice for the Romney campaign? Did Barack Obama make the right choice for sticking with Biden? We'll find out in a few months..

Source: Gallup.com - Romney Sees No Immediate Bounce From Ryan VP Pick

Filed under: General Knowledge