Biden In Raleigh: Driving The Message

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All images © 2008 New Raleigh

Joe Biden rolled into to a warm welcome from a chilly outdoor crowd of roughly 7,500 at Meredith College Thursday night, October 23rd, completing the final leg of his North Carolina bus tour. In Charlotte, Winston-Salem, and Raleigh, Biden literally drove a message, through NASCAR references, of unity and hope for the middle class. “Right now our campaigns are trading paint,” Biden said, jeering that “the McCain campaign is getting a little loose in the road out there.”

Biden mentioned John McCain’s recent comparison of Barack Obama to George W. Bush, drawing boos from the crowd and then laughter as he continued to say that soon McCain will be comparing him to Dick Cheney. With the crowd warmed up, Joe-the-Senator toned down the humor and the crowd became hushed and attentive.

Stating the significance of this election and the challenges facing Americans, Biden took on a populist tone. He spoke about the profound, yet common questions discussed across dinner tables nationwide, citing economic worries ranging from property value to foreclosures, job loss to retirement, and student loans. He emphasized that middle class is in trouble through no fault of their own, placing much of the blame on Bush/ McCain economic policies that outsource jobs, and then promised to repeal tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas in order to reward companies that keep jobs in America.

Lightening the mood, Joe lit back into the comedy routine saying “I turn on the news and I see Governor Palin and John McCain up there together… I watch them and they look at each other and they go ‘maverick, they’re mavericks, we’re mavericks!’ I love these mavericks, don’t you?” He continued, paraphrasing Sen. Casey of Scranton, Pennsylvania, “You can’t call yourself a maverick when all you’ve been the last eight years is a sidekick.”

Returning to a serious but optimistic tone, Biden said that the two biggest objectives over the next four years would be to restore the middle class, calling it the engine of the economy, and to reclaim America’s respect in the world, emphatically saying the first step “is to end this war in Iraq! End this war responsibly now!” Elaborating on the middle class, Biden stressed the importance of developing alternative energies and investing infrastructure to break dependence on foreign oil, providing affordable health care, and broadening the definition of national service to include those willing to serve in schools and hospitals. Biden said, “We’ll make a deal with you. You serve America, we’ll get you to college.” Biden also proposed a three month moratorium on home foreclosures.

In a call for unity, Biden said divisive politics must end in order to strengthen the middle class at the end of the day. He responded to Palin’s recent comments at Elon University, in which she stated she was happy to be in the pro-American part of the country. Citing the 790,000+ veterans in North Carolina, he continued to say Pueblo, CO, where he recently stumped, was every bit as patriotic and rambled off other cities across the nation saying that in every state and every town “there are heroes all over America.”

He admonished the robocalls circulating in NC that imply Obama’s relationship to William Ayers link him to domestic terrorism. He said these calls will not hurt Obama, claiming Barack “has a backbone like a ramrod,” but these smears deny that America is one nation under God.

Playing off the Meredith College mascot, Biden said that Barack would not appeal to Avenging Angels, but to better angels. In a final call of unity, he pleaded with citizens to leave divisive politics behind. “You’re ready America. I’m ready. Barack Obama is ready. Get up America! Get up! Get up!”

There were also several students donning McCain shirts in the crowd. An Obama volunteer who spoke with some of them mentioned after the event that these McCain supporters expressed a sincere interest in the rally and were not present to cause a spectacle. Perhaps this shows that supporters of both candidates are ready to move past the election, regardless of the outcome. Through constructive criticism and civil discourse, Americans may just be ready to meet the challenges and solve the problems facing our nation.

Thanks to Derek Noble and The Pendulum for the video highlights and for the links to the entire speech and reactions.
Photography by Tim Ayers
All images © 2008 New Raleigh

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