Biden On Debates, Duty, and His Hair

By: Ryan Corsaro
Topics: Joe Biden

(CBS)

From CBS News' Ryan Corsaro:

(DOVER, DEL.) - Joe Biden loves a crowd of Democrats as much as a crowd of Democrats loves him, and he had no trouble flexing his wit and his political weight tonight in Delaware.

Biden had a suggestion for his fellow Democrats when they watch the final debate between Barack Obama and John McCain – kill the volume.

"For this debate, for part of this next debate, do what I did for part of the last two debates. Literally, turn the sound off. I'm not being…I'm not joking now. Literally, turn the sound off. And just watch. Watch the body language of both men. You can sense it folks. You know it, when there's a command [sic] presence. You know it when someone has the confidence and the certitude about himself and what he believes in."

Biden made the remarks to fellow Delaware Democrats at a Jefferson Jackson dinner tonight, where he received the Alexis I. DuPont Bayard award for distinguished service to his party.

He thanked the crowd for their role in his successes over the past year, saying "You are my support and you are my sustenance and that is not an exaggeration. Beau, Jill, Hunter, Ashley and I, we love you for everything you've done for our family because honest to God you've made a difference in my life, thank you."

Energized by his supporters, many of them being loyal, lifelong Biden voters, who dined on chicken and chocolate mousse (with his picture on it), Biden used the stage time to criticize his opponents in a more humorous tone.

"It appears that all Sarah Palin and John McCain want to do is attack us. We want to attack problems. They want to attack us. In my debate with Gov. Palin – at least I think it was a debate - I saw it on 'Saturday Night Live'," said Biden, to laughter and applause.

"Damn, I wish I had his hair," said Biden, referring to the comedian who impersonated Biden, Jason Sudeikis.

"She brought up the length of my service. She said in the middle of that debate as she was winking at y'all, she said she'd been listening to my speeches since she was in second grade. Well, I guess, just like she can see Russia from Alaska, she can see Delaware from Alaska. She's got great eyesight. I was inclined to tell her in that debate, but I was trying to be a good boy, I know you were all surprised I was, weren't you? You were all surprised. You were, weren't you?" joked the senator.

Biden, who is also up for re-election this year along with being the vice presidential nominee, reminded Delaware voters that he's still running to keep his Senate seat.

"Just remember, folks, I am on the ballot. Don't be carried away with this vice president stuff. I am on the ballot running for my seventh term…so don't forget, don't stop at the top of that ticket, walk your way down. You can vote twice for the first time in your life for the same guy and it'd be legal."

He promised, as Barack Obama did today, that the two would work together in the next session of the Senate before inaugural day to aide immediately in the economic crisis facing the United States. He vowed to pass a three month moratorium on home foreclosures and a three thousand dollar tax credit for small businesses during these uncertain financial times.

Sensing there might still be apprehension by some about voting for Barack Obama, Biden sought to assure voters, saying "For those of you who wonder about Barack Obama, don't wonder. Don't wonder. I guarantee you, he feels as passionately about this as I do."

"He has the same measure, the same respect. Look folks, this is a guy who is the American dream. Raised by a white grandmom and grandpop from Kansas. A grandfather who fought in Patton's army. A grandmother who was the equivalent of Rosie the Riveter, building aircraft. A single mother."

"Look folks, I'm getting tired of this stuff about Barack Obama, but I guarantee you, I know the guy and I know his family. A let me tell you something, this guy knows how much he owes this great country. And he knows it couldn't have happened anywhere else but the United States of America. So I don't want to hear about how different he is. I don't want to hear it."

"He's like me. He's like me!" shouted Biden forcefully. "And all of you!"

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by abbe91 October 15, 2008 8:37 AM EDT: Who said

"My government is my worst enemy. I''''m going to fight them with any means at hand."

?; Reply to this comment


by clintatl October 15, 2008 1:40 AM EDT: Joe Biden is the best. He is a good man.; Reply to this comment


by dennis-101 October 14, 2008 8:37 PM EDT: sunspro - I don''t know if that is true and I don''t really care. He was busted up badly went he ejected from his bomber. To me that is a fake issue. Plenty of real policy reasons not to want another 4 years of Bush-Lite.; Reply to this comment


by hpolitician October 14, 2008 8:11 PM EDT: very good pick for this great country.

politicaladattacks.blogspot.com; Reply to this comment


by john43218 October 14, 2008 5:32 PM EDT: Obama gave legitimacy - and a whole lot of money - to education programs built around the same extremist anti-American ideology preached by Reverend Wright. [....]

John McCain, take note. Obama''s tie to Wright is no longer a purely personal question (if it ever was one) about one man''s choice of his pastor. The fact that Obama funded extremist Afrocentrists who shared Wright''s anti-Americanism means that this is now a matter of public policy, and therefore an entirely legitimate issue in this campaign.

The adolescent rites of passage movement that flowered in the 1990s grew out of the "cultural nationalist" or "Pan-African" thinking popular in radical black circles of the 1960s and 1970s. The attempt to create a virtually separate and intensely anti-American black social world began to take hold in the mid-1980s in small private schools, which carefully guarded the contents of their controversial curricula.

The background of this movement supported by Obama is breathtaking. The Big Media will never report to the American public what Obama was up to in running the CAC, information that is essential for the public to understand what he practices, as opposed to the airy platitudes he preaches. This is an astonishing dereliction of duty, yet all too common these days.; Reply to this comment


by john43218 October 14, 2008 5:03 PM EDT: My favorite Biden attack was the one he launched, repetedly, against Obama.
You all remember, don''t you ?

It went something like this:

Barrack Obama is a very articulate, well educated, "clean", young black man, who, in no way is ready to be President.

So, which Joe should we believe?
The ''Palin is not ready'' Joe, or the ''Obama is not ready'' Joe.
Or, should reasonable people conclude that Biden will say anything, at any time, just so long as it helps his political future ?; Reply to this comment


by misha128-2009 October 14, 2008 3:52 PM EDT: The republicans have proven in the past that they will do anything and everything to win. ...

Posted by cacatua08 at 11:53 AM

It is important we all show up and vote on election day so the Republicans are clearly aware of the strength of the opposition to their policies. In this regard even votes for candidates other than the two major parties are significant voices. I am especially impressed by the conservative voters Barr is attracting compared to the pseudo-conservatives currently running the Republican party.; Reply to this comment


by cacatua08 October 14, 2008 2:53 PM EDT: The republicans have proven in the past that they will do anything and everything to win. So I wouldn''t turn my back on them. They view this as war, and will keep changing tactics to find something that will work.; Reply to this comment


by misha128-2009 October 14, 2008 2:36 PM EDT: Posted by john43218 at 07:25 AM

The story is the band played on the Titianic as the ship sank. Republicans true to form will lie their way to election day. I wonder how much longer the legacy of these lies will last compared to the Nixon lies.; Reply to this comment


by cacatua08 October 14, 2008 2:10 PM EDT: OneAmerican7,
I feel your despair. It must be awful to be on a sinking ship.
If it makes you feel bigger and better to tear someone else down, then knock yourself out.; Reply to this comment