In his first public appearance after being picked by Obama for the vice-presidential candidacy, an energized and forceful Joe Biden hit the ball out of the ball park yesterday in Springfield–and more!
It was a great first inning of what promises to be a fabulous “ball game.” But what is even greater is that, knowing Joe Biden, he will do it again, and again, and again, until the very last inning in November. (And I don’t even play baseball)
Joe Biden really stepped up to the plate for Obama, for the Democratic Party, and for America yesterday in Springfield.
Joe Biden clearly showed that he will continue to do what he does best: a superb statesman and a “scrappy” fighter–in addition to continuing to be what he has always been: a dedicated family man, a great patriot, and someone who has never forgotten his humble roots and, thus, will continue to fight for the working man and against injustice and tyranny.
But enough about who Joe Biden is–we will see, read and hear much more about this man’s great American story in coming days.
These are some of the great things Joe Biden said yesterday in Springfield:
Referring to his and Obama’s “American story”:
That’s the America Barack Obama and I believe in. That’s the American dream. And ladies and gentlemen, [these are] no ordinary times, and this is no ordinary election. Because the truth of the matter is, and you know it, that American dream under eight years of Bush and McCain, that American dream is slipping away.
Continuing to refer to Bush-McCain:
Ladies and gentlemen, your kitchen table is like mine. You sit there at night before you put the kids — after you put the kids to bed and you talk, you talk about what you need. You talk about how much you are worried about being able to pay the bills. Well, ladies and gentlemen, that’s not a worry John McCain has to worry about. It’s a pretty hard experience. He’ll have to figure out which of the seven kitchen tables to sit at.
Ladies and gentlemen, we believe that our tomorrows will be better than our yesterdays, and we believe we’ll pass on to our children an even better life than the one we lived. That literally has been the American way, and it can be that way again. But there’s a big, missing piece. The missing piece is leadership.
… I have never in my life seen Washington so broken. I have never seen so many dreams denied and so many decisions deferred by politicians who are trying like the devil to escape their responsibility and accountability. But, ladies and gentlemen, the reckoning is now. And the reality, the reality is that we must answer the call or we will risk the harshest version and verdict of history. These times call for a total change in Washington’s worldview. These times require more than a good soldier. They require a wise leader. A leader — a leader who can deliver. A leader who can deliver the change we need.
[John McCain] served our country with extraordinary courage and I know he wants to do right by America. But the harsh truth is, ladies and gentlemen, you can’t change America when you boast. And these are John’s words, quote, the most important issues of our day, I’ve been totally in agreement and support of President Bush. Ladies and gentlemen, that’s what he said. You can’t change America when you supported George Bush’s policies 95% of the time…Ladies and gentlemen, you can’t change America, you can’t change America when you know your first four years as president will look exactly like the last eight years of George Bush’s presidency.
…And during those 18 months, I must tell you, frankly, I’ve been disappointed in my friend, John McCain, who gave in to the right wing of his party and yielded to the very swiftboat politics that he so — once so deplored. And folks, campaigns for presidents are a test of character and leadership. And in this campaign, one candidate, one candidate has passed that test.
Referring to Barack Obama:
Barack has the vision, and what you can’t forget, you know his vision, but let me tell you something. He also has the courage, the courage to make this a better place, and let me tell you something else, this man is a clear eyed pragmatist who will get the job done…I was proudest, when I watched him spontaneously focus the attention of the nation on the shameful neglect of America’s wounded warriors at Walter Reed Army Hospital. Ladies and gentlemen, I know I’m told I talk too colloquially, but there’s something about this guy….It’s been amazing to watch him. But then again, that’s been the story of his whole life.
I end where I began. This is a man raised by a single mother who sometimes was on food stamps as she worked to put herself through school, by grandparents from the prairies of Kansas who loved him, a grandfather, a grandfather who marched in Patton’s Army and then came home and went to college on the G.I. Bill, and a grandmother, a grandmother with just a high school education, started off working in a small bank in the secretarial pool and rose to be vice president of that bank. Ladies and gentlemen, ladies and gentlemen, these remarkable people gave Barack Obama the determination and drive, and, yes, the values to turn down that big job on Wall Street, to come to Chicago’s south side, where he helped workers help themselves after the steel mills had been shut down and the jobs disappeared.
And so typically Joe:
Ladies and gentlemen, my wife Jill, who you’ll meet soon, is drop dead gorgeous. My wife Jill, who you’ll meet soon, she also has her doctorate degree, which is a problem. But all kidding aside, my Jill, my Jill, my wife Jill and I are honored to join Barack and Michelle on this journey, because that’s what it is. it’s a journey. We share the same values, the values that we had passed on to us by our parents and the values Jill and I are passing on to our sons Beau and Hunter and Ashley.
Finally,
Ladies and gentlemen, I’m here for their future. I’m here for the future of your kids. I’m here for everyone I – I’m here for everyone I grew up in Scranton, Pennsylvania, who’s been forgotten and everybody in Claymont, Delaware, in Wilmington where I lived. I’m here for the cops and the fire fighters, the teachers and the line workers, the folks who live – the folks whose lives are the measure of whether the American dream endures…this may be our last chance to reclaim the America we love, to restore America’s soul.
Ladies and gentlemen, America gave Jill and me our chance. It gave Barack and Michelle their chance to stand on this stage today. It’s literally incredible. These values, this country gave us that chance. And now it’s time for all of us, as Lincoln said, to put our feet in the right place and to stand firm. Ladies and gentlemen, it’s time to elect Barack Obama president. It’s our time. It’s America’s time. God bless America, and may he protect our troops.
Go, Joe, go! Tell it from your heart, but also tell it like it is–gaffes and all. Say it loud and clear, and don’t mince any words. The other side sure as hell doesn’t intend to speak “with affected delicacy.”
The author is a retired U.S. Air Force officer and a writer.