Most awesome split-screen ever! What's up with Fox driving home Biden's point with a shot of the tanking Dow? Talk about a priceless visual.

Aye, and that's why he's on the ticket!

Steve,

You've been around politics long enough to know that there are critical roles to be played in our politics, and Joe Biden is now the sole candidate in one of those critical roles: elder statesman. That was supposed to be the role John McCain played against Barack Obama, but McCain has vacated that role for the role of lying-ass-weasel -- made famous by George W. Bush several years ago (in a winning cause -- which is why McCain's doing it).

But I digress....

Sarah Palin isn't going to wear well. She's a hot ticket with crazy people on the right. The same way that Kucinich as VP would be a hot ticket on the left. But voters in the middle are going to be wary of her, and when they come to election day they're going to be looking for safety and reassurance in a VP, not potential, not sex appeal, and not radicalized right-wing wedge-issue politics.

If I was Joe Biden I'd be the happiest of the four people running right now, because I would know I have the upper hand in every way. And good for him for coming out swinging on a thematically appropriate day, in a thematically appropriate way.

I read the speech. I would love to see the whole thing. I guess it will be on youtube by this evening.

Biden hits a home run with this speech. In fact he hits several. We all have been wondering whatever happened to Joe Biden. The press really ought to give this speech play. It deserves real attention.

Just one thing Steve,

I didn't know you were a hockey fan :D

Just one question Steve,

How long have you been a hockey fan? It must be all that fresh Vermont air I guess...regardless, it's always good to hear a respected voice channeling his inner Foster Hewitt :D

cheers!

Sounds like Biden got the Edwards economic populists notes. Great!!

I could walk from here to Lansing, and I wouldn't run into a single person who thought our economy was doing well -- unless I ran into John McCain.

This line (modified with a local reference) and a good bit of the rest of it was used by Biden in his St. Louis speech last week. He has been saying this stuff all along, but it hasn't been picked up by national media.

ack!

double posts suck (especially when you think you've deleted the first!)

sorry guys and gals.

After a layoff you lie in bed staring at the ceiling late at night worrying about bills, and then you hear the refrigerator and A/C or heater start up, adding to the utility bills.

My guess is that there won't be a whole lot left of Sarah Palin by the end of her debate with Joe Biden.

Hopefully Biden will be getting more media attention soon. Sarah Palin is becoming something of a one-note. I can't see the media's infatuation lasting much longer.

I have no idea if the networks carried any of this, but it's awfully strong.

Was it a glib and facile lie, preferably involving a reference to sex, celebrity or a personal grooming product? Then probably not, no.

The fundamental question is this.

Do you think the mortgage meltdown and ripple impact on wall street was fundamentally a problem of too much oversight, or too little oversight?

If you think too much regulation is to blame for this madness, then McSamelin is your ticket.

If you think a generation of letting speculators run amok because there was/is apparently this magic, unwritten, implicit promise by the fed that they'll bail out the speculators - but with no increased oversight to play watchdog over our "investment" - was behind this, then Obama-Biden is your ticket.

Not bad - I certainly like the framing of economic policy with moral values. Dignity, pride and respect - now those are values I think any American can get behind whether they live in a small town or not.

However does anyone else find it as grating as I do when you hear "we're here for the firefighters, the cops, the teachers, the janitors" (or any other similar blue-collar professions).

Gah! I hate the treacly, sloppy glorp of that phrase almost as much as I hate "Godspeed" or "God bless America".*

What about us free-lance video professionals or mortgage brokers (who clearly need some helpful regulation)? Who's thinking about the C++ programmers, bike messengers and conceptual artists?

I don't doubt the sincerity or the intention of the statement but surely there must be some less bull-be-shitted way to articulate it.

Nevertheless, good job Joe - you're making me very excited about the debates.

* And no, devout Christians I am not mocking. I just think God should bless America because we deserve it, not because we demand it.

Great speech. I've heard Biden use the line about "show me your budget and I'll tell you what you value" before and think it's enormously effective. McCain/Palin can prattle on about how they'll stand up for working Americans, but even the briefest examination of their voting records tells a different story.

I agree that Palin's best days may already be behind her. She's got nothing new to say and you can literally see the MSM's collective eyes glazing over.

Go Joe-bama!

I saw this, and Biden was great, especially as juxtaposed with the fist-pumping Palin neocon rally (ugh).

Too bad the MSNBC "comentators" saw fit to praise Palin's pap while slamming Biden for talking about average people's economic struggles while wearing "French cuffs." The mainstream media is simply appalling.

My guess is that there won't be a whole lot left of Sarah Palin by the end of her debate with Joe Biden.

Biden vs. Palin will be like Alex Ovechkin going one-on-one vs. Wasilla High School's backup goaltender.

As someone who has been a Biden supporter for many years (since we were both 29 and he was running for Senate the first time) -- I knew this moment would come.

Joe is not perfect -- he makes mistakes and his taking care of his state's big industries (MBNA & Dow) can at times make one tear one's hair out ... BUT

But what makes Joe different (having met him once on the Amtrak, I like to think it's ok to call him Joe) is that he really believes this stuff and has a great combination of big heart and big brain [but not big head] both in the right place.

If the MSM would pay attention to him, he'd be a game-changer for Obama and that ticket would look unbeatable.

Still Andrew Sullivan is right about one thing --- Joe, release your medical records.

As someone who has been a Biden supporter for many years (since we were both 29 and he was running for Senate the first time) -- I knew this moment would come.

Joe is not perfect -- he makes mistakes and his taking care of his state's big industries (MBNA & Dow) can at times make one tear one's hair out ... BUT

But what makes Joe different (having met him once on the Amtrak, I like to think it's ok to call him Joe) is that he really believes this stuff and has a great combination of big heart and big brain [but not big head] both in the right place.

If the MSM would pay attention to him, he'd be a game-changer for Obama and that ticket would look unbeatable.

Still Andrew Sullivan is right about one thing --- Joe, release your medical records.

As someone who has been a Biden supporter for many years (since we were both 29 and he was running for Senate the first time) -- I knew this moment would come.

Joe is not perfect -- he makes mistakes and his taking care of his state's big industries (MBNA & Dow) can at times make one tear one's hair out ... BUT

But what makes Joe different (having met him once on the Amtrak, I like to think it's ok to call him Joe) is that he really believes this stuff and has a great combination of big heart and big brain [but not big head] both in the right place.

If the MSM would pay attention to him, he'd be a game-changer for Obama and that ticket would look unbeatable.

Still Andrew Sullivan is right about one thing --- Joe, release your medical records.

Would they please start hitting these points in their ads, so I can finally exhale. If they can't come up with anything better, start showing exerpts from the stump speeches.

Democratic talk must now move from focusing on the individuals -- Bush, McCain -- and hit the American people over the head time and time again with this question: Why in God's name would we put the same TEAM that has made such a colossal mess of our economy back in charge?

"McCAIN'S TEAM is the identical team bound tightly with Wall Street, to Big Money, with a little lip service with zero results paid to fundamentalist Christians -- with Karl Rove pretending to try to knock down the Constitutional barrier between Chrurch and State that fundamentalist Christians demanded to protect their religious beliefs in the beginnings of this country. It's the team that calls workers thrown out of jobs with no pensions and no health insurance "whiners."

Democrats, on the other hand, must if they are to get elected and re-elected listen to auto workers and their representatives, teachers, police officers and firefighter, service workers, miners and small business people -- the whole gamut of American workers, white, black, Hispanic, male, female. Barack Obama has recieved contributions from more ordinary Americans than any candidate has in the history of the country. That's why only the Democrats can say "We the People" and really mean it. It's the whole point of the Party, and why more than ever it's time for a whole new team. It's not about getting the rich, it's about solving our problems. Only "We the People" acting together for the good of the country can fix the mess that the Bush-McCain-Wall Street Team has dragged us into. There is no way a party beholden to Wall Street can work for "We the People."

Populism done right -- hatred that will trigger the media into counterattack is unnecessary -- will sell.

Biden gave a great speech, that the networks did cover, right after the GOP convention. He was really strong talking about all the things Republicans were not talking about. Keep it up pitching Biden. I suspect the media will catch up cause Biden's throwing some pretty good punches -- and most of them do not seem to be below the belt.

if a Veep candidate gives a hella speech in the forest and no media leads with it, did the Veep really make a sound?

maybe the timing with what happened on Wall Street today will help, but every time someone here over the past two weeks (and there have been several) has asked "where's Biden?" I keep thinking "he's everywhere and saying great stuff." my wife saw him in Iowa and he was fantastic. it isn't his fault the media are too busy with the shiny new thing. he's been out their busting his chops and the media is almost gleefully writing "Biden can't get coverage now that Palin is in" stories (and whose fault is that, storywriter?)

i'm not sure i have a point. i may be just venting about the recent unfair non-coverage of Biden.

good to see Biden finally getting a little bit of press. Someone else may remember the specifics, but there was some Bush quotation regarding Iraq earlier this summer that prompted Biden to publicly call the remarks "bullshit and malarkey"- another phrase that would be nice to see in his speech. If nothing else, public profanity would probably garner press coverage, especially if it's spot on.

That's why Biden is on the Dems ticket - got my vote. I hope this gets huge press and not shoved aside for lipstick pics....

I believe that the fundamentals of lying and deception are fundamentally sound

McSame/pAlien!

0-wait!

Biden should also link this to taking the train home most nights---ie, "there's a reason I take the train home to Delaware most nights, and that's to make sure that I stay connected to the folks outside the Beltway. Apparently, aside from visiting Italian con men and their movie star girlfriends on their yachts, Sen. McCain prefers the DC bubble to the rest of America."

Several posters have lamented the fact that the "media" haven't taken note of Sen. Biden's speeches.
Actually, these posters are wrong. The national media may not have, but the local media most assuredly will have. Local newspapers, radio and television will all be running clips from the Senator's speeches.
So, no, everyone in the US won't be able to hear/see every speech Sen. Biden makes; just as well, when he pops up on their local outlet he will be that more fresh and interesting.
I'm just hoping that Sen. Biden can continue making his speeches for the next six weeks without suffering from complete exhaustion.

This afternoon I was walking through Crossroads Mall in Omaha. A proprietor of a jewelry store had Biden's speech on. Loud.

It's not just about a job, it's about dignity. It's not just about a paycheck. It's about pride. It's not just about opportunity. It's about respect. -- Biden

My God, but he sure *"gets it"*!

There's nothing as demoralizing and as destructive to self-respect, as not being able to take care of your nearest and dearest. Having to look for handouts at food banks and presenting food stamps at the grocery store's check-out. Being dependent on someone's whim on whether your kid gets a tooth pulled or dies from infection. Having to swallow your pride and tug your forelock in thanks for charity, often grudgingly given...

Frank Rich had a column that explains why reason and facts will never change a certain demographic's mind in this election. Read it and weep.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/14/opinion/14rich.html?ex=1379217600&en=e536afa4668308e4&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

Here are a few words brought to you by the Republicans and their poster kids, John McCain and Sarah Palin:

Alberto Gonzalez

Abu Ghraib

Keating Five

Troopergate

Waterboarding

"Open" Pork

Katrina

Bush Doctrine

Not knowing Bush Doctrine

Sunni, or was it Shia?

I could go on, but...

While Sarah Palin is certainly attractive and can read a teleprompter with the best of them (clearly the pride of whichever of the several colleges she attended in order to secure that much ballyhooed journalism degree) the same people who are promoting her for VP of the US would refuse to vote her VP of their co-op boards.

John McCain is the second in a series of Presidential wannabees who celebrate their poor performance in college, their failure to grasp complex ideas and their "common touch".

What we need at this point is someone with the "uncommon touch", someone who has the intellectual rigor and judgment to collect wise counsel, consider it and take action informed by facts, not folklore. Barack Obama will not be able to overcome the fact that he is an articulate, measured truth-teller, because he finally puts a face on the outcome of Johnson's Great Society--a society that didn't turn out so great for the complacent overclass who figured they'd never be displaced from their cozy dominance.

I get sick when I hear people moan about the "elitist" tone the Democrats take. If it is elitist to have worked hard and proven oneself superior amongst the best young minds our country has to offer, if it is elitist to ask Americans to raise the bar rather than continue our ideological limbo dance--then the world really is upside down.

I'm weary of the media championing the "medioc-ritocracy" represented by Mister 5th From The Bottom John Mc Cain, and Sarah Palin. Her elevation to national prominence is not a triumph, but a defeat for all women, because her selection was a cynical chess move, not a sincere effort to bring fresh perspectives and voices to the national discussion.