So Biden it is. The news arrived late this evening about twelve hours ahead of the much ballyhooed text and/or email we were all supposed to personally receive from Barack Obama informing us of his choice. In the end the campaign was scooped by CNN's John King, CBS's Steve Chaggaris, the AP, and Marc Ambinder, in that order. Word has it the official text will arrive sometime in the am.

The VP stakes have become an increasingly prominent story line this week as the conventions gear up and the Olympics slow down. Joe Biden was considered a favorite last weekend, along with Evan Bayh, though the story kicked into high gear tonight as word came down the wire via Andrea Mitchell that both Bayh and Tim Kaine had been notified they were out of the running. Later it was confirmed — making moot some late-game theorizing — that Hillary was also out. This half of FishbowlNY happened to be without Internet on a plane to Denver along with Rachel Sklar and Keli Goff when the news started to break (the last time FishbowlNY was on a JetBlue plane the news of Tim Russert's death broke).

Anyway, we like Biden — those of you who slogged through the twenty or so Dem liveblogs we participated in over at HuffPo will know that this decision makes us very happy. We have a long-time soft spot for the Democratic senator from Delaware. As for why he got the nod, Ambinder says that "what impressed Obama about Biden is that Biden gets things done. He's a man of action. He's not a bullshitter." The lesson here? If you want to own the story probably best to jump on the send button once the MSM surrounds your super-secret VP choice's house with camera crews.