Statewide pride in Delaware

GREENVILLE, Del. - Even Republicans in Delaware were excited yesterday that Sen. Barack Obama had chosen Joe Biden as his running mate on the Democratic ticket.

"We love Joe," said Terri Satterfield, 60, a registered Republican from Wilmington who rushed to New Castle Airport before dawn with her husband, Bob, fearing they would miss Biden's departure to join Obama in Illinois. They ended up outside Biden's house in Greenville, waiting for the senator to make a brief appearance.

"He makes you feel like he knows you and remembers you," said Satterfield, who said she had not intended to vote for Obama until he chose Biden as his vice presidential candidate.

Another Wilmington Republican, Eric Hutts, 38, said he might vote for a Democratic president for the first time in his life.

"I have to respect his selection of Biden," Hutts said.

Obama's 3 a.m. announcement touched off an upwelling in pride in a state that has fewer than a million inhabitants and is unaccustomed to the national limelight. It was perhaps the most exciting news in Delaware since DuPont invented nylon in 1935.

"People were calling and text-messaging throughout the night," said Theopalis K. Gregory, a Wilmington city councilman and head of the city's Democratic committee. He immediately saw the possibility of the First State's moving up in status if Biden becomes vice president.

"Our position should be seriously improved in terms of benefits for the state, especially for the city," he said.

For Wilmington residents, Biden is just a regular Joe. He likes Greek salads and orders black olives on his pizza, said Tony Matulas, 49, owner of Five Star Pizza.

"He's my best customer," said Matulas, who took his two sons, a nephew and a niece to see Biden yesterday. "He's a very nice guy and talks to everybody. It's a privilege for us in Delaware to have Joe Biden for vice president."

By the time Biden emerged from his home at 11:50 a.m. and a caravan of vehicles headed toward the open gate, at least 150 people lined the end of his driveway, yelling, "Go, Joe, go!" After stopping to kiss some of his family, including his mother, he and his wife, Jill, went to the airport and departed on a private flight to Springfield, Ill.

"It's big news for Delaware," said Beth Hutts, 28, who went to Biden's house with her husband, Eric, and their three children. Their oldest, Michael, 8, held a sign that said, "Congrats Sen. Biden. Thanks for putting DE on the map!!"

At the Charcoal Pit on Route 202, a burger joint that Biden has frequented for decades, patrons reminisced about some of their favorite encounters with the aspiring vice president.

William Witsberger, 58, of Wilmington, who has worked at the diner for nearly 20 years, remembered that Biden once stayed at the diner until the early morning, talking to customers when the Iraq war began.

Joseph Grabowski, 56, who has managed the diner for 10 years, said Biden often stopped in to buy butter-pecan ice cream.

"He's just so down to earth, and I'm really glad he got a chance to be somebody," Grabowski said.

Ben DuPont, 44, of Rockland, who was eating lunch there with his son, acknowledged that Delaware was not exactly a make-or-break state in electoral politics. "I think we vote our three electoral votes with pride, but I don't think it decides any elections," he said.

Wilmington Mayor James M. Baker said that while most of the nation knew Biden for his expertise on foreign affairs, Delawareans knew him as somebody with a passion for local issues.

"Joe is extremely effective on issues like the economy, children and families and crime," Baker said in a statement. "His selection will prove to be a wise choice for the world, our country, and our wonderful state of Delaware."

Not everyone was thrilled.

Christine O'Donnell, a political commentator who is Biden's likely Republican opponent in his November bid for a seventh term, congratulated Biden while calling for him to drop out of the Senate race. She said his appearance on the national ticket while he ran for reelection was an affront to Delaware voters.