WILMINGTON—More than 230 years ago, Brigadier-General Caesar Rodney embarked on probably the second most important horseback ride in American history, journeying from Dover, Delaware, through Wilmington and on to Philadelphia, where he broke a stubborn deadlock by voting for American independence from Great Britain. (He later signed the Declaration itself.) For his troubles—the 80-mile ride was, according to legend, punctuated by a massive thunderstorm—Rodney was ousted from his constitutional convention post by Delaware voters uncertain about independence. While the skeptical Delawareans would later redeem themselves by electing Rodney as their state president, their post-Declaration rebuke of this intrepid soldier and statesman remains striking hundreds of years later.

Today, Caesar Rodney’s horse-riding statue presides somberly over a block-sized park in gritty downtown Wilmington, Delaware’s largest city and the capital of corporate America. The core of Wilmington is an interesting amalgam of large modern skyscrapers, stately older buildings and row houses, and a depressing commercial strip that empties out at night and on weekends. There is no Starbucks in downtown Wilmington, but there are pawn shops and check-cashing stores aplenty.

How can Obama claim to stand for a new style of politics when his running mate, a 36-year veteran of the Wilmington-Washington corridor, so aptly embodies the old style?

Wilmington is a microcosm of the two Delawares: one a bustling corporate hub fueled by favorable tax policies and business-friendly courts, the other a struggling economy that in recent years has shed many blue-collar chemical and manufacturing jobs. The First State is home to the headquarters of 60 percent of Fortune 500 companies, and it ranks among the top ten states for per capita income. Yet between 2000 and 2007, its poverty rate ticked upward and its median income declined by 5 percent.

Delaware’s latest favorite son, Senator Joseph Biden, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, has long supported the state’s curious combination of corporate welfare and social welfare. He has steadfastly protected Delaware’s business-friendly environment—and accepted generous corporate campaign donations in return—but also nurtured traditional liberal spending programs.

After his selection as Senator Barack Obama’s running mate, Biden immediately began fending off allegations that his son Hunter improperly lobbied Congress on behalf of credit card giant MBNA, one of Delaware’s largest employers, which was deeply immersed in the bankruptcy and lending debates. Speaking to Tom Brokaw on “Meet the Press,” Biden forcefully denied any impropriety, telling Brokaw that “my son graduated from Yale Law School. The starting salary in Wall Street is $140,000 a year if you want to lawyer. Options he had. He came home to work for a bank. Surprise, surprise....” Biden went on to explain that only a small portion of his own campaign contributions come from corporate interests back home.

It may seems unfair to single out Biden for special scrutiny, since he doesn’t seem to be engaged in anything unethical or improper, at least by the standards of modern-day politics. This is simply how our political system works. But the problem for the Obama campaign is that Biden’s background could prove a drag on the Illinois senator’s reformist message. How can Obama claim to stand for a new style of politics when his running mate, a 36-year veteran of the Wilmington-Washington corridor, so aptly embodies the old style? Indeed, how can Obama promise to forge a new America when his partner stands for old Delaware?

Perhaps if Biden were to attack the complacent, polarized status quo of modern-day Wilmington, he could marry his own reformist message to Obama’s. But this would be difficult, and there are few signs that Biden is interested in assailing the politics of his home state. “Hope and change” makes for a good political slogan, but Biden seems perfectly comfortable backing Delaware’s status quo, however flawed it may be.

Michael M. Rosen is an attorney in San Diego.

Image by Getty Images.