By George E. Curry
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Democratic Vice Presidential Candidate Joe Biden Speaks at the 2008 Democratic National
Convention in Denver's Pepsi Center (Photo: demconvention.com)
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DENVER (August 29, 2008) - Whenever a politician prefaces his or her remarks by calling someone in the opposition party a friend, get prepared for an attack. That’s exactly what Democratic Vice Presidential nominee Joseph Biden did Wednesday night as he talked about his “friend” John McCain, the Republican presidential candidate in waiting.
“You know, John McCain is my friend, and I know you hear that phrase used all the time in politics,” Biden said. “I mean it. John McCain is my friend. We've traveled the world together. It's a friendship that goes beyond politics. And the personal courage and heroism demonstrated by John still amazes me. “But I profoundly — I profoundly disagree with the direction that John wants to take the country, from Afghanistan to Iraq. From Amtrak to veterans.”
Biden was picked as Barack Obama’s running mate, in part, because he will serve as the ticket’s chief attacker. In sharp contrast to the low-key Obama, Biden seems to relish the role of taking on McCain.
“John thinks that during the Bush years ‘we've made great economic progress.’ I think it's been abysmal. And in the Senate, John has voted with President Bush 95 percent of the time. And that is very hard to believe. And when John McCain proposes $200 billion in new tax breaks for corporate America, $1 billion alone for just eight of the largest companies, but no, none, no relief for 100 million American families, that's not change; that's more of the same. Even today, as oil companies post the biggest profits in history — nearly a half trillion dollars in the last five years — John wants to give them another $4 billion in tax breaks. That's not change, that's the same.” The “more of the same” line was repeated several times by Biden.
Another reason Biden was selected was because of his ability to appeal to working-class voters, a supposed weakness in Obama. “Millions of Americans have seen their jobs go offshore, yet John continues to support corporations that send them there. That's not change. That's more of the same,” Biden said, as the crowd joined in with:, “That’s not change, that’s more of the same.”
Biden continued, “He voted 19 times against raising minimum wage for people that are struggling just to make it to the next day. That's not change. That's more of the same. And when he says to continue to spend $10 billion a month when the Iraqis have a surplus of nearly $80 billion, that's not change. That's more of the same."
“The choice in this election is clear. These times require more than a good soldier. They require a wise leader. A leader who can change, change — the change that everybody knows we need. Barack Obama is going to deliver that change. Because, I want to tell you, Barack Obama will reform our tax code. He will cut taxes for 95 percent of the American people who draw a paycheck. That's the change we need. Barack Obama, Barack Obama will transform our economy by making alternative energy a national priority and in the process creating 5 million new jobs and finally, finally freeing us from the grip of foreign oil. That's the change we need.”
In an indirect way, Democrats are trying to paint themselves as the party of family values. That might be useful this year because McCain divorced his first wife, who was seriously injured in an automobile accident while he was a prisoner of war in Vietnam. Within months of the divorce, McCain married his current wife, Cindy.
Without referencing McCain’s marital history, Democrats and Biden family members have noted that Biden’s first wife was killed in a car accident, along with one of his children.
Beau Biden, now the attorney general of Delaware, mentioned his father’s commitment to family during his introduction of him. “The truth is, he almost wasn't a senator at all. In 1972, shortly after his improbable victory, but before he took the oath of office, my father went to Washington to look at his new office space,” the younger Biden recalled. “My mom took us to go buy a Christmas tree. On the way home, we were in an automobile accident. My mom, Neilia, and sister, Naomi, were killed. My brother, Hunter, and I were seriously injured and hospitalized for weeks. I was just short of 4 years old. One of my earliest memories was being in that hospital, Dad always at our side. We, not the Senate, were all he cared about. “As a single parent, he decided to be there to put us to bed, to be there when we woke from a bad dream, to make us breakfast…”
“He decided not to take the oath of office. He said, "Delaware can get another senator, but my boys can't get another father." However, great men like Ted Kennedy, Mike Mansfield, Hubert Humphrey — men who had been tested themselves — convinced him to serve. So he was sworn in, in the hospital, at my bedside. As a single parent, he decided to be there to put us to bed, to be there when we woke from a bad dream, to make us breakfast, so he'd travel to and from Washington, four hours a day.”
The candidate referenced the tragedy in his speech on Wednesday, recalling his mother’s advice. “After the accident, she told me, ‘Joey, God sends no cross you cannot bear.’"
But it was another piece of motherly advice that may come into play during the general election.
“When I got knocked down by guys bigger than me, she sent me back out and demanded that I bloody their nose so I could walk down that street the next day,” Biden recounted.
Democrats have been knocked down in the past two presidential elections and if they get up, it might be as a result of Biden’s ability to bloody the nose of his friend John McCain.
“As a single parent, he decided to be there to put us to bed, to be there when we woke from a bad dream, to make us breakfast…”