The first test a presidential candidate faces is over, and the results are starting to come in.

Both Barack Obama and John McCain have made selections about who will be their running mates in November.

“The vice presidential candidate is the first major decision that each presidential candidate must make in the election,” said Scott J. Lamothe, associate political science professor. “It mirrors what each candidate wants to accomplish.”

Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., announced Aug. 23 that fellow senator Joseph Biden, D-Del., would join Obama on the Democratic ticket. A senator since 1973, Biden, 65, ran for the Democratic presidential party bid in the 1988 and 2008 Democratic primaries.

Lamothe said Obama’s pick was traditional. Biden is expected to balance the weaknesses behind Obama’s campaign, such as his lack of experience and ignite a claim to foreign policy expertise.

Biden is also expected to rally support from working class voters, who are an important part of the duos base, said Cindy Rosenthal, mayor and director of the Carol Albert Congressional Research and Studies Center.

“It is a double-edged sword, being that Biden is experienced but he is also the traditional choice in a campaign that is strongly about change,” Lamothe said.

Less than a week after Obama’s announcement, McCain made an announcement of his own in Dayton, Ohio.

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, 44, accepted McCain’s invitation to join the campaign on Saturday.

Palin is the first female governor of Alaska and has been portrayed by the GOP as a conservative and maverick.

The selection left some scratching their heads. Lamothe said McCain’s logic behind his choice is difficult to determine.

Lamothe said Palin is expected to attract social conservatives and pick up disgruntled Hillary voters.

“It may be a continuation of the Bush-Rowe policy of firing up the base and hopefully picking up some independents along the way,” Lamothe said.

Rosenthal said McCain’s choice is a “calculated risk” and could affect the campaign strategies for both parties.

“She represents the Republican efforts to neutralize the change message that Barack Obama has used so effectively,” Rosenthal said.

They won’t debate until Oct. 2 at St. Louis University, but The Daily puts the vice presidential candidates head-to-head on Politics Wedneday.

Joe Biden

Age: 65. Hometown: Scranton, Pa. Current Position: Senator from Delaware since 1973.

Previous Experience: Chairman of Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Crime and Drugs. Chairman of the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics.

Views on...

The war: ”This [Bush] Administration has dug us into a very deep hole internationally. We need to end the war in Iraq and to restore our place in the world.”

Drug abuse: It “ravages families and infects communities with increased crime, and it denies individuals the chance to tap their potential and lead healthy, productive lives. The fact is we have the tools to prevent addiction before it even starts and to successfully treat those with substance abuse disorders – there is no excuse not to act.”

Women: “What I’m most proud of in my entire career is the Violence Against Women Act. It showed we can change people’s lives, but the change is always one person at a time. There are many more laws and attitudes that need changing so women are treated with equal opportunities at work, in the classroom, and in our health care system.”

Sarah Palin

Age: 44. Hometown: Wasilla, Alaska. Current Position: Governor of Alaska since 2006.

Previous Experience: Chairwoman of the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission. Chairwoman of the National Governors’ Association Natural Resources Committee. Mayor of Wasilla, Alaska. President of the Alaska Commitee of Mayors.

Views on...

Politics: “Well, it’s always, though, safer in politics to avoid risk, to just kind of go along with the status quo. But I didn’t get into government to do the safe and easy things. A ship in harbor is safe, but that’s not why the ship is built. Politics isn’t just a game of competing interests and clashing parties.

Drilling for oil in Alaska: “We [Alaska] are helping lead America to energy independence.”

Congressional earmark spending: “I said ‘thanks, but no thanks’ to the Bridge to Nowhere. If our state wanted a bridge, I said, we’d build it ourselves.”

Women in politics: ““It was rightly noted in Denver this week that Hillary left 18 million cracks in the highest, hardest glass ceiling in America. But it turns out the women of America aren’t finished yet, and we can shatter that glass ceiling.”