"Barack has chosen Senator Joe Biden to be our VP nominee," the much heralded text message read. "Watch the first Obama-Biden rally live at 3pm ET on www.barackobama.com."

That was followed by a statement from Obama, sent to supporters via regular ole email.

"I'm excited about hitting the campaign trail with Joe, but the two of us can't do it alone," as Obama made a pitch for donations at 3:41am EDT.

"We need your help to keep building this movement for change."

Drawing the short straw for reaction over at the McCain campaign was spokesman Ben Porritt.

"There has been no harsher critic of Barack Obama's lack of experience than Joe Biden. Biden has denounced Barack Obama's poor foreign policy judgment and has strongly argued in his own words what Americans are quickly realizing -- that Barack Obama is not ready to be President," Porritt said in a written middle of the night missive from Camp McCain.

Frankly, I'm still a little surprised that Obama would pick Joe Biden. Yes, Biden has a lot of experience, and yes, he's someone to listen to in the halls of the Capitol.

But he's also well known for sticking his foot in his mouth. And the last thing you want to risk at this point is that.

Don't get me wrong - Biden has a heckuva story line about him. Elected to the Senate at age 29, his wife and daughter were killed in a car wreck not long after that.

He put his life back together and stayed in the Senate, running for President in 1988. He got in trouble that year because some of his speeches looked an awful lot like some given by British politician Neal Kinnock.

Biden then almost died from a brain aneurysm. He was given the last rites in his hospital bed, but somehow lived. And he came back to the Senate.

He has chaired the Judiciary Committee for high profile hearings like those on Supreme Court nominee and now Justice Clarence Thomas. Biden is now chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where he is well versed in foreign policy.

I remember back in the 1980s when Bill Bennett was drug czar, he and Biden would basically have gigantic pissing matches at Judiciary Committee hearings. Biden would talk forever, Bennett would return the favor, and we knew at the press table that we could go down the hall and grab a snack and not miss anything.

Now as for the timing of this - in the middle of the night this gets released?

The Obama people should never have let this thing get past Friday afternoon without making an announcement.

Most of your Saturday newspapers won't have this news - only a story saying Biden might be the pick.

The much talked about text message gets sent out when most of America is asleep, except for all those partying 18-25 year olds that Obama hopes to get to the polls in November.

Were they really doing vodka shots over Joe Biden at 3:04 EDT?

It's almost 2am out here in Denver. I'm going back to bed.