Joey Biden From Scranton Takes the Stage as Obama's Running Mate
The veteran senator discussed his working-class roots—and attacked McCain's record
DENVER—Joseph Biden is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, widely respected for his knowledge of international affairs.
He is former chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, familiar with the most contentious social and legal issues facing the country.
He has spent 35 years in Washington, developing rare expertise in the folkways of the capital.
But Wednesday night, he billed himself as scrappy Joey Biden, a hard-working kid from Middle America who has experienced adversity and tragedy, and managed to rise above both.
"My dad, who fell on hard economic times, always told me, 'Champ, when you get knocked down, get up,' " Biden said. "Failure at some point in your life is inevitable, but giving up is unforgivable."
Biden, 65, was an also-ran in the presidential race this year, but he never alienated any of his rivals and remained on good terms with Barack Obama, who chose him as his vice presidential running mate.
In accepting the Democratic nomination, Biden demonstrated an eagerness to take on Republican candidate John McCain. He argued that McCain has been wrong on some of the most important issues of the past few years, including going to war in Iraq. Biden also questioned whether McCain's military background and experience as a prisoner of war in Vietnam give him superior credentials to be commander in chief. "These times require more than a good soldier," Biden said. "They require a wise leader."
But most of all, Biden's emphasis was on his own biography—which Obama hopes will endear the ticket to Middle America. Biden told of how he overcame a stutter as a child, and was inspired to persevere by the work ethic of his parents (his father was a car salesman) in Scranton, Pa., and later in Wilmington, Del. Biden won election to the Senate in 1972 at age 29, but shortly thereafter endured the deaths of his first wife, Neilia, and infant daughter in a car accident. He remarried in 1977 and since then has taken the train home from Washington each night to be with his family.
"I am here for everyone I grew up with in Scranton and Wilmington," Biden told the convention. "I am here for the cops and firefighters, the teachers and assembly line workers—the folks whose lives are the very measure of whether the American dream endures. Our greatest presidents, from Abraham Lincoln to Franklin Roosevelt to John Kennedy—they all challenged us to embrace change. Now, it's our responsibility to meet that challenge. Millions of Americans have been knocked down. And this is the time as Americans, together, we get back up—back up together. Our debt to our parents and grandparents [is] too great. Our obligation to our children is too sacred."
Biden was introduced by his son Beau, 39, Delaware's attorney general and a National Guard captain who will be deployed soon to Iraq. As Beau spoke movingly of his father's love for the family and his admiration for his dad, network television cameras showed Michelle Obama in the rapt crowd, wiping away tears.
Reader Comments
We need a problem solver!
Between the obscene amount of money invested in an unwinnable war and China owning the majority of our rising debt America is standing at the precipice of fiscal ruin. We can no longer continue with business as usual. We are obligated to seek change not only for ourselves but for our children.
There is an immediate need for government to reprioritize when hundreds of dollars are spent per child in school each year, while thousands of dollars are spent on a prisoner each year. It is ridiculous to the point that I often ask myself if this is the governments way of actively recruiting prisoners? Why is incarceration of the middle class preferable to the education of the middle class?
I look to our President to be a compassionate problem solver - not a rigid, intolerant finger pointer. I believe that Barack Obama has demonstrated these qualities & America could greatly benefit from his leadership.
BRAVO
Obama chose a running mate to compliment his abilities. We will have real leaders in these two candidates!
sarah
Sarah can go back to her wildlife hunts.
She is a small town girl on an uptown mission. Her comment about not having thought much about the war in Iraq really gives insight to her being out of touch. How can anyone with a child in the military not think about a war when over 4000 U.S.soldiers have been killed and thousands of others injured?
If running Alaska keeps her that busy, think of her trying to run this country. The outcry to end the invasion of Iraq did not reach Bush, perhaps it did not reach her either.
Joe Biden is an inspiration to us all. He is a loving husband, beloved father and has served his country with dedication. He provides a wealth of knowledge.
History has been made and there will be a new chapter after Nov 4. Let's vote for the vision - Vote Obama!
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