Stempler says Biden pros outweigh geographic cons

Attorney Larry Stempler, who helped run Joe Biden’s small New Jersey campaign operation, didn’t originally have plans to go to Denver. But now, with the news Biden is Barack Obama’s vice presidential pick, he’s scrambling to see if he can arrange a flight to get there by Wednesday.

“As of this moment I was not planning to go, but my plans may have changed,” he said.

Stempler said that Biden’s legislative experience and appeal to various groups of voters who may have reservations about Obama outweighs and geographical downsides to picking a running mate from a small state on the eastern seaboard that already tends to vote Democratic.

“It’s a tiny blue state, and those comments are fair,” said Stempler.  “But I don’t think they’re fair if you take an objective view of the overall picture.  He’s good with blue collar voters, he’s an Irish Catholic with strong family values, he’s strong on Israel and will attract Jewish voters, he’s strong with labor.”

Stempler also noted that Biden authored the Violence Against Women Act of 1994, which will help him appeal to Clinton supporters.

Moreover, according to Stempler, even though Biden isn’t from a battleground state, he’ll appeal to rust belt voters with his blue collar roots in swing states like Pennsylvania, Michigan and Ohio.

“Geographically, if that’s a knock I’m willing to accept it, and obviously Barack Obama’s people are as well.”