Is Joe Biden a "fighter for the middle class"

I got this email in just a few moments ago:

Statement: Ohio Democratic Party Chairman Chris Redfern on Selection of Joe Biden

Ohio Democratic Party Chairman Chris Redfern issued the following statement today on Barack Obama's selection of Joe Biden to be his running mate:

"Joe Biden is compelling fighter for the middle class with a profound understanding of the dangerous world we live in and a track record of bringing people together to take on tough issues. He has faced and overcome incredible adversity in his own life and he has dedicated his career to helping others achieve the American Dream. Joe Biden is an ideal partner to Barack Obama with a voice that will resonate clearly amongst Ohio's middle class."

Yet earlier today I read this on Huffington Post, Joe Biden: No True Friend of Working Men and Women and we know it can't be both.

Why does Williams say this?

For the record, Biden's home state famously holds the incorporation papers of large credit card and financial services companies. He obviously knows how his bread is buttered in Delaware, which means a "profile in courage" by 'ol Joe on the bankruptcy bill was out of the question.

Sure, Biden has a certain rogue charisma combined with what he's developed over the years as serious experience on the senate foreign relations committee. He's no idiot. But if part of the calculation in picking him is that he'll help sell economic populism in the heartland, from Perkiomen to Peoria, that's a cynical joke whether it succeeds or not.

(By the way, this is an issue the Republicans won't hit Biden on because they're as much in the same industry's pocket as he is, and McCain always loved the bankruptcy bill, too.)

Anyone who cares about progressive politics, or the salt of the earth, knows that the bankruptcy bill is a disaster for average folks. Joe Biden is a big reason why this is so. He supported it and voted for it, many times over many years.

That speaks volumes about how he views the rest of the country.

Who's right? Depends on who you are, I recommend reading the comments in the thread at Huffington, it's clear the bottom line issue is some are not happy with Biden as a choice, and some are.

It should also be pointed out an earlier Williams piece suggested the way for Obama to win was to pick Hillary as his VP.