It's Obama/Biden!

So Joe Biden has been selected as Barack Obama's running mate. What does this mean for civil liberties?

Not a whole lot, actually, since the vice-president's power is limited to a tiebreaking vote in the Senate. But it is reassuring, from my vantage point, that Obama didn't choose Evan Bayh, Chet Edwards, or Tim Kaine, all noted centrists on social issues, or Jim Webb, who brings to the table both the social centrism and a disconcerting macho vibe.

The good:

• Biden was one of the original sponsors of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), and played a central role in getting it passed in 1994 and reauthorized in 2005.
• Biden holds an 80% lifetime rating from the ACLU, higher than any 2008 presidential candidate not named Dennis Kucinich or Cynthia McKinney.
• Biden was one of the Senate's most forceful voices against the Communications Decency Act of 1996.

The bad:

• Biden is principal author of the 1994 Biden Crime Bill (as one might expect given that it's called the Biden Crime Bill), which expanded the federal death penalty to include some nonviolent offenses, such as drug trafficking.
• Like most members of the Senate, Biden voted for the Defense of Marriage Act of 1996--though he has since supported civil unions, and stated that he doesn't understand why people are scared of same-sex marriage.
• Despite his strong voting record on civil rights, Biden has a history of making racially insensitive remarks. Perhaps most notable in recent years was his description of Obama as "the first African[-]American [presidential candidate] who's clean, bright, and articulate," and his statement that "you need a slight accent" to enter convenience stores, an unwieldy reference to the success of many Asian-American immigrants in operating same.

Civil Liberties Profiles: Barack Obama | Joe Biden