CNN

Sen. Joe Biden's political experience spans 36 years.

(CNN) - Sen. Barack Obama's choice of Sen. Joe Biden as his running mate raises the question of whether Obama can carry off his message of change with a seasoned Washington politician by his side.

Biden brings to the table his ability to speak knowledgeably about issues ranging from foreign policy to to the country's domestic agenda.

The Delaware senator has held two of the most important jobs in Washington - chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. That could be reassuring to voters who worry about Obama's inexperience in national and world affairs.

Biden also has been an early and vociferous critic of President Bush's foreign policies - most notably regarding the war in Iraq.

He voted for the authorization to invade Iraq, but conceded afterward it was a mistake. Obama voted against authorization - and that gap might give Republicans something to highlight.Watch a former White House official weigh in on the Biden decision.

But Biden has personal ties to the war. His son Joseph "Beau" Biden - Delaware's attorney general - is a captain in the National Reserves and will soon return to Iraq.

Nonetheless, his political experience spans 36 years, and some say that will create a problem for Obama's key talking point of change.

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