Biden addresses Pennsylvania delegation, visits Invesco
By David Montero, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Published August 29, 2008 at 2:29 a.m.
INVESCO FIELD — Vice-presidential hopeful Joe Biden showed up to meet some Denver firefighters and National Guard troops from Colorado, Nebraska and Georgia this morning and thanked them for their service while using his personal story to illustrate how grateful he was.
Biden met with Kendry Jackson, a Denver firefighter, who said Biden told him about the infamous accident where the Delaware senator lost his first wife and infant daughter in a car crash and how thankful he was to firefighters that helped on the scene.
"He got pretty emotional," Jackson said. "It wasn't just the usual 'thanks for everything' talk. It's nice to hear from people who have experienced it.
Jackson, who is registered unaffiliated, said he was going to support the Obama-Biden ticket.
Nine members of Denver's Heavy Rescue Tower 9 gathered around Biden and, as he spoke, he gently tapped his fist into Jackson's chest. Biden's wife, Jill, stood next to him while the senator talked about how valuable they were to society. The crew was gathered under the Colfax bridge while preparations were still underway at Invesco Field for Barack Obama's speech tonight.
When he was done, Biden walked over to the National Guard units and was greeted with a loud whoop.
He returned the favor.
Biden, whose son Beau will be deployed soon, told them the nation was grateful for their service and he thanked them as well.
Lt. Col. Mary Mild, a medic in the Nebraska National Guard, posed for pictures with both Bidens and said she was grateful he made the stop to see them.
"We've been working hard this whole time," she said. "It's a nice cap to that."
It was the second stop for the senator this morning. He first addressed Pennsylvania Democrats at the Mariott this morning, fresh off of his nomination speech at Pepsi Center and a day before he and the presidential nominee head on a bus tour through the swing states of Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania.
Sometimes nicknamed "Pennsylvania's third senator" because of Delaware's proximity to the Keystone State and because he was born in Scranton, Biden joined the Democrats at a breakfast of scrambled eggs, muffins and fresh fruit.
When he strode in, he got a standing ovation.
"I want to say to Joe Biden, welcome home," Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey said as he introduced Biden to the room of about 300. The room erupted in applause. "When things are getting tough, some people jump off the side of the boat. With Joe Biden, you will never hear that splash from the side of the boat."
Biden, joined with his wife there as well, started off by thanking Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell. And, of course, Biden used humor from the outset.
"This room is about the size of my state," Biden said to laughs.
He talked to the room about growing up in Scranton, listening to his family discuss and argue politics - not as a matter of casual conversation, but as a matter of everyday life.
"It's this way throughout the whole state," he said. "It's about this notion - this ethic - that nobody is better than you."
Seemingly every time he mentioned Scranton, he got applause.
Sometimes sounding wistful, Biden reflected on his childhood and how his family shaped his politics. He told the room that America has suffered in the last eight years and that an Obama presidency was the remedy for what ailed it. Biden said those conversations that shaped him when he was young have prepared him for the challenges of today.
But in his 15 minute speech, he also fixated on the state's importance in the general election. It has 21 electoral votes, narrowly went to John Kerry in 2004 and hasn't voted for a Republican since 1988.
"We cannot win without winning Pennsylvania," Biden said.
He promised lots of Obama offices openings, a lot of resources poured into the state and then ended, once again, with his trademark humor.
"You're gonna have a whole hell of a lot of me because I'm coming home," he said.
While Biden spoke, the Republicans began a so-called Biden Gaffe Clock — a running ticker of things the Delaware senator says that are mistakes. Biden, known for speaking off-the-cuff and making remarks he regrets later, already had one gaffe, according to the GOP.
Last night, in his nomination speech, he told the crowd that Obama advocated for two additional battalions in Afghanistan.
The GOP Gaffe patrol pointed out that what Obama really said was two extra brigades.
"A small verbal slip, but a significant numerical one," the GOP statement read.
After Biden's speech — which did not appear to have any gaffes — he posed for photos with some Pennsylvania delegates and then had a private meeting with some Georgian officials. He is expected to be at Obama's historic speech tonight.
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August 28, 2008
8:49 a.m.
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DenverDan writes:
Biden Rules, he rocked the house!!
August 28, 2008
9:27 a.m.
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mojambo writes:
Biden's history of lies and lifted quotes
http://www.suntimes.com/news/commenta...
August 28, 2008
9:40 a.m.
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Buff4Life writes:
McCain's lies from the past 24 hours...
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpun...
August 28, 2008
9:52 a.m.
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mojambo writes:
I mean, think about it. Iran, Cuba, Venezuela -- these countries are tiny, compared to the Soviet Union. They don't pose a serious threat to us the way the Soviet Union posed a threat to us.
August 28, 2008
10:07 a.m.
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joggle writes:
Biden rocks! He will be the best VP since before I was born.
August 28, 2008
11:32 a.m.
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gogreen writes:
Spell check David
August 28, 2008
12:15 p.m.
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fastnloose writes:
Biden, best pick the republicans could or would have made.Thank heaven Hillary is out of the way,she would have been a force. Obama standing alone is a light weight.Wait 2 weeks and watch the polls.
August 28, 2008
12:30 p.m.
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Buff4Life writes:
Let's all vote republican and maybe we can get 4 more years of:
Outing of CIA officers by the Chief of Staff to the VP
Invading soverign nations based on evidence falsified/created by the Administration
Not catching Osama
Another 9/11 on their watch
No accountability for Haliburton and Blackwater
Inhumane/Tortuous treatment of prisoners including the suspension of habeous corpus for prisoners held for years by the US
A Katrina-type disaster
Warrantless Wiretapping
“Missing” WH emails
and the list goes on and on and on and on and on...
August 28, 2008
1:25 p.m.
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fastnloose writes:
Buff,how in the world can you blame Katrina and 9-11 on the president. That type of reasoning is a joke and the reason you lefties are not taken seriously.