BIDEN VP WTF ROTFLMAO

The text message heard 'round the world.

Why did they wait until after midnight? What was the thinking there?

PJM has a quick rundown of blog reaction. I'll add more after I drink a cup of coffee.

UPDATE: OK, the straight news from Associated Press:

Barack Obama named Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware as his vice presidential running mate early Saturday, balancing his ticket with a seasoned congressional veteran well-versed in foreign policy and defense issues.
Obama announced the pick on his Web site with a photo of the two men and an appeal for donations. A text message went out shortly afterward that said, "Barack has chosen Senator Joe Biden to be our VP nominee."
Biden, 65, has twice sought the White House, and is a Catholic with blue-collar roots, a generally liberal voting record and a reputation as a long-winded orator.

You can say that again. And again.

UPDATE II: Man, that was quick:

UPDATE II: Something tells me the graphics department at Obama HQ wasn't very excited about having to work late Friday night on this announcement.

VodkaPundit's got the slogan:

Change you can believe in -- because it's been in Washington since 1973 already.

Yeah. That works.

UPDATE III: Michelle Malkin dubs it the "Smarmy & Smirky" ticket, probably because "Ren & Stimpy" was already taken.

Linking the story of Biden's notorious plagiarism, Ed Morrissey says:

Now Obama, who supposedly represents a new brand of politics, has instead hitched his wagon to an old-time pol who has trouble coming up with his own words when he campaigns. That’s desperation, and what’s more, it’s obvious desperation. And in politics, just as in dating, desperation is not an aphrodisiac.

Bridget Johnson of the Rocky Mountain News:

Joe Biden, change?? Biden, the sixth-longest-serving and notoriously long-winded senator? Biden, who was named a Face for the Future by Time magazine in his freshman senatorial year -- in 1974, before I was even born? Biden, who withdrew from the 1988 presidential race after speech-plagiarizing and school-grade-exaggerating scandals? Biden, who snagged a whopping 1% of Iowa delegates in January?

But, but, but ... Biden is so beloved by the "progressive netroots community"!

UPDATE IV: Gonzo on Veeps.

UPDATE IV: Linked by Fausta. Thanks.

UPDATE V: Linked by Dad29, who offers what is likely to be a common reaction of Catholic traditionalists to Obama's pick of a pro-choice "Catholic."