Biden Longest Serving Senate VP Nominee - Ever!

Looking through the long lens of history, Barack Obama's selection of Joe Biden as a running mate accomplishes a historic first. It is the first time in U.S. history that a nominee has spent more than 33 years in the U.S. Senate. Biden, elected in 1972, has been in the U.S. Senate for 36 years. Restated, Joe Biden's career in the U.S. Senate is longer than any previous nominee for Vice President

Ultimately voters will make a judgment not of Biden but on Obama. Nonetheless, picking Biden tells us something about Obama. What it tells us, clearly depends on what your outlook is on the match-up of John McCain versus Obama.

Nevertheless, let's put Obama's judgement in picking the longest serving U.S. Senator in American history to be a nominee for Vice President into context.

Three runner-ups to Biden in U.S. Senate service include:

John Sparkman, U.S. Senator from Alabama from 1946-1979. Sparkman was nominated on the unsuccessful Democratic ticket headed by Adali Stevenson. He had 33 years in the Senate.

William King, U.S. Senator from Alabama from 1819-1844 and then 1948-1852. After his 29 years of holding office in the U.S. Senate, he joined the successful Democratic ticket led by Franklin Pierce.

Of note, strictly on the issue of Senate logentiy is Hannibal Hamilin of Maine. Prior to being a Vice Presdient to Republican Abraham Lincoln, Hamlin had 13 years of U.S. Senate service. He continued his Sentate role in 1869 and added another 12 years for a total of 25 years over a 33 year period.

Also of note, Bob Dole, U.S. Senator from Kansas from 1969-1996, served 27 years before being the unsuccessful Republican nominee for President.

In the past 219 years, Joe Biden's logentivty ranks him at 20 of 1,897 current and former U.S. Senators in length of holding Senate office.