One person talked about as a potential running mate of Senator Barack Obama is Senator Joe Biden of Delaware.  Over the past few weeks political pundits have discussed the pros and cons of Senator Biden as a vice-presidential candidate.  One thing I have not heard mentioned is the fact Sen. Biden is a pro-choice Catholic.  If I were to predict who Sen. Obama would pick as a running mate I would not pick Sen. Biden or any other pro-choice Catholic politician.  In the 2004 election, Senator Kerry had to deal with the controversy over whether a pro-choice Catholic candidate for president should be denied Communion.  As a result of the controversy, President Bush received a majority of the Catholic vote.

 

I would think Senator Obama would not want to revisit this debate.  Especially with the recent stories about the then Illinois state Senator Obama’s votes against legislation which would protect the right of a child born after a botched abortion.  The blog Betsy’s Page has a good description of this controversy. 

 

If Senator Obama wants to win in November he needs to receive a majority of the Catholic vote.  The problem is he has to pick a pro-choice running mate.  Choosing the pro-choice Catholic Joe Biden will likely alienate many Catholics who would otherwise vote Democratic.  This assumes Senator McCain does not do something foolish like pick a pro-choice running mate.