Obama VP Announcement
August 23, 2008: In the early morning, a Democratic official speaking on condition of anonymity pre-empted the Obama campaign's promised text message announcement: Joe Biden, said the source, would be the Democratic nominee for Vice President.1 Although reporters had been on hair-trigger alert for the official text, the news was not entirely a surprise. The night before, just after word came that Tim Kaine and Evan Bayh were out of the running, it was reported that a Secret Service detail had arrived at Biden's home in Wilmington, Delaware.2
Fast Facts
- Official text message announcement sent at about 3:15 a.m. EST
- Beside Biden, reported leading contenders had been Kathleen Sebelius, Sam Nunn, Bill Richardson, Tim Kaine and Evan Bayh
- August 22, 2008: Kaine and Bayh informed they were not selected
The Text
The message arrived at approximately 3:15 a.m. EST. It read as follows:
- "Barack has chosen Senator Joe Biden to be our VP nominee. Watch the first Obama-Biden rally live at 3 p.m. ET on www.BarackObama.com. Spread the word!"
Via Text Message
On August 11, the Obama campaign announced that the running mate would be reported via text message before the press is otherwise notified.3 Supporters were instructed to text "VP" to 62262, in order to be "the first to know."3
Practical Joke on the Press
On August 20, the Obama campaign baited the press with an email message whose subject line was, "Vice presidential...."4 When eager reporters opened the message, they found this: "Just kidding."4
Related Pages on Mahalo
Obama Text Message | Barack Obama | Joe Biden VP | Joe Biden | Tim Kaine | Kathleen Sebelius | Sam Nunn Vice President | Evan Bayh | Bill Richardson
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