Biden: 'Barack Obama is the right man'

Biden Stumps for Obama at Flathead High

By Dan Testa, 9-07-08

	Caption: Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Biden speaks to a crowd of supporters at the Flathead High School gymnasium in Kalispell. - Lido Vizzutti/Flathead Beacon Click here for more photos of Sen. Biden's visit to Kalispell.

Democratic vice presidential nominee Joseph Biden walked up to the lectern before an audience of nearly 2,000 in Flathead High School, and told the group gathered there they were “crazy” for crowding into a hot gymnasium to hear him speak on a sunny Sunday afternoon.

“A magnificent day like this, in the most magnificent place in the world,” the Delaware senator said. “I’d be outside, hiking or playing golf or something.”

But Biden stayed put, and over the next 45 minutes gave a rousing stump speech focused on healthcare, the economy, education, and praise for his party’s presidential nominee, Barack Obama.

“Anybody who tells you (Obama) is this sort of crazy, liberal guy who no one is going to be able to work with, it’s simply, simply not true,” Biden said. “This guy’s tapped into a feeling, a yearning of the American people he shares, that is unlike anything I’ve ever seen in my 35 years in the U.S. Senate.”

Biden did not mention his long-time colleague in the U.S. Senate, John McCain, until 30 minutes into his remarks, when he laid into the Republican presidential nominee for his energy, tax and healthcare policies.

“If I walked from here to Bozeman I don’t think I’d run into a single person who thought the economy was doing well, unless I ran into John McCain,” Biden said.

Of Biden’s counterpart, Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, he praised her acceptance speech last week at the Republican National Convention, but criticized topics unmentioned by her, like healthcare and foreign policy.

“I thought Gov. Palin gave one heck of a political speech,” Biden said. “But her silence on the issues was deafening.”

“God love John, but he didn’t do much better,” Biden added about McCain’s acceptance speech.

Biden spoke little about current U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq. Instead he painted a picture of an ailing economy – with eight months of job losses, unemployment above 6 percent, and a federal bailout underway of mortgage banks Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – along with a broken healthcare system imposing significant difficulty on the middle class.

“It’s about your dignity, it’s about your identity,” Biden said. “What we underestimate about the health insurance issue is the anxiety that it causes.”

Biden hit on a number of policy points, including tax cuts for the middle class while allowing the tax cuts enacted by the Bush administration to expire for people making more than $250,000 annually.

“The wealthy are as patriotic as the poor,” Biden said. “We just don’t ask anything of them.”

He also touched on a college affordability plan, universal health care, and complimented Montana for figuring out how to produce energy while accommodating the environment. As the crowd cheered, Biden pledged that he and Obama would invest $150 billion into renewable energy research, spurring an industry that could create “5 million green jobs that can’t be exported.”

Biden noted that he was campaigning in an area of the country traditionally considered a Republican stronghold. In Flathead County in 2004, George Bush beat John Kerry 68 to 30 percent. But Biden noted Obama has paid five visits to Montana so far, and held up the recent success of Democrats like Gov. Brian Schweitzer and U.S. Sen. Jon Tester as proof of changing political winds in Montana, while saving his deepest praise for legendary Senate leader Mike Mansfield, who he called, “the best guy I ever served with.”

Recalling the darkest moments of American history like World War II and the Civil War, Biden sought to frame the current election as one in which, through foreign and domestic policy, the U.S. cannot afford to continue on its current trajectory for four more years.

“At every critical moment in our history, we seem to have delivered to us the right person, with the right temperament, at the right time,” Biden said. “Barack Obama is the right man.”

After the speech, Melissa Werner of Kalispell, said she was impressed by the policy details Biden laid out. She remains undecided about whom to vote for, and said she has felt disillusioned with both parties for some time.

“I think he mentioned all the major issues that we need to deal with in this country,” she said, but questioned Biden’s description of a $4,000 tax credit for college. It’s an idea that’s been tried before, she added, and proven unsuccessful.

Diane Keen, of Whitefish, said she considers herself an Independent. The last Republican president she voted for was Ronald Reagan, but said she has been an Obama supporter since he entered the race, and praised Biden’s “character and honesty.”

“(Biden) may be old Washington to some, but he’s got experience,” Keen said.

Shortly after Biden’s remarks, Montana GOP Chairman Erik Iverson described the McCain-Palin ticket as two westerners running against two liberal Democrats from back east, and hammered Biden and Obama on gun rights and energy exploration.

“The Obama-Biden team is probably the most anti-gun ticket ever to run for the presidency,” Iverson said. “Montana Republicans and, I think, Montanans in general are going to embrace the McCain-Palin ticket as one that’s good for Montana and good for the West.” [End of article]

How can we even CONSIDER McCains choice for running mate, someone that we know less about then the bag boy at our local grocery store?  This is a situation that could put her in the position as commander in chief of the United States Of America.  The more I read about her the more I become concerned.  I remember during the primaries the media kept asking if America was ready for a woman president.  Well after raking Hillary over the coals for months and months the answer was yes. Like all the candidates she ran the gauntlet, faced the public and the press and by the end of the primaries we knew everything about her.  WE KNOW VERY little ABOUT SARAH PALIN!  How can this even be considered!

Well, we know little about obama, and/or are overlooking what we know anyway.  don’t worry, we’ll get the gov’t we deserve.

Excellent photo series !
Thank you.

McCain—the oldest potential president in US history wants to put a relatively unknown person a heart-beat away from the presidency… But now they are refusing to let the media ask her any questions! She may be fine and a good choice—but how can we know if she is protected from questions and shielded from the very citizens she is proposing to lead? How can you run a democracy when the candidates refuse to talk to the press? This is very very fishy.

Paying to watch Biden talk is like flushing money down the toilet.

Good thing it was free then! Imagine that—it didn’t cost us anything to watch history in the making.

Sure, it may be free to watch him speak, but you’ll be paying for it through the nose in taxes if Obama and he get elected.

Roark—The Obama-Biden tax plan calls for allowing the Bush tax cuts for those making over $250,000 a year to expire while providing tax breaks for middle-income Americans making $80K each year or less. There are other tax cuts for middle income Americans such as a tax credit for college tuition etc. Beyond the expiration of the tax breaks for $250K + per year the Obama campaign also is in favor of eliminating the $20 billion in tax BREAKS that the Republicans have given to corporations that offshore US jobs and also the $4 Billion in tax BREAKS that the Republicans have given to oil companies that have enjoyed over $600 Billion in profits since Bush came into office. All Obama and Biden are saying is that these oil companies don’t need tax breaks—they should be able to pay the same taxes as every other company.

While at the same time the Republican plan is to add taxes to company health care benefits. For example, if you make $50k each year and your company pays $10k for your health insurance—you’re now going to be taxed on $60k and not on the $50k you were before. How’s that for a tax increase on the middle class?

All I am saying is you need to get your facts straight before you make these tired old Republican blanket indictments - especially when they’re not true.

I know enough about both Obama and McCain to know not to vote for either of them.  As long as my vote goes to neither of them, that’s good enough for me.

As for Schweitzer and Tester...you’d think they would have sense enough not to follow the winds of American political rhetoric.  Obama is NOT the choice for Montana - don’t be fooled by the spin from Biden.

Hey Henry - gee whiz, I’m thinking you work for the O’biden campaign.  and have you forgotten, the Prez cannot enact any of those things without Congress approval.  And Congress will not approve it !!!  That is O’Biden’s way out.  I want to do this but THEY won’t let me.

Just say NoBama.

The event was free, Roark.

So JMO—are you going to be so bright as to continue to vote for republicans who vote to give tax breaks to companies that send jobs to other countries? Are you going to be such a beacon of wisdom to continue to vote for republicans that give tax breaks to oil companies while blocking tax breaks for alternative energy production? Are you going to be so brilliant as to continue to vote for republicans that will spend billions of your tax dollars building roads and schools for Iraq while they sit on their own budget surplus of $78 billion? Are you going to be so financially astute as to vote again for republicans that took a budget surplus and turned it into the largest budget deficit in American history?

The fact is; the Obama/Biden ticket will raise everyone’s taxes and further enlarge government power. If you like paying more in taxes and having the government be more in control of your life, then yes vote Obama. If you value liberty, small government, and personal responsibility then don’t waste your vote on Obama or McCain.
Henry, who is Biden to decide who needs a tax break and who doesn’t? What’s more, who gives ANY candidate the right to set an arbitrary number on who gets a tax break and how much “they” will decide it will be?
If Obama is anyone’s idea of a stellar candidate, then you must be obviously be confusing the liberty with socialism, and hence you belong in a European nation that embraces statist values.

Roark—we’re never going to even come close to agreeing—but I do respect that you are voting for a third party (or 4th party). I do think it is not being honest for you to call Obama a socialist—or European nations as statist. That is the same as me calling you an Anarchist.

As an overall political skeptic I was very impressed by Biden’s speech. Engaging, factually on topic and best of all he was speaking from his thoughts and not from a teleprompter or written speech. “As my staff would surely tell you afterwards they wrote a great speech for me today.” Heh, heh. Well done Biden. You’ve got my vote.

PS - Roark you embody pretty much everything that is wrong with this country with your comments. You do a wonderful job of instigating people here. Congratulations. Your prolific commenting can mean only one of two things; you are paid by the Beacon or you have no social life to speak off. Wonder why that would be…

Henry, when one espouses nationalizing healthcare, education, and energy, etc. as well as calling for mandatory national service, then YES that is very much socialism.

WEBSTERS Dict.: SOCIALISM; A political theory advocating state ownership of industry. 2. An economic system based on state ownership of capital. (Healthcare); A system of government in which means of production and distribution of goods are controlled by the state. SEE ALSO http://www.barackobama.com/issues/

Hey now, there’s a really peachy idea!  Let’s just give all our money to the state/feds, then they can give us food, houses, med care, maybe they’ll toss in a chevy for the commute etc.  Yuppers - a “free” Aveo and flat screen TV for everybody.  And - all the chicken you can eat.  All for “free”.

Roark and Carl—Good thing your guys had to use taxpayers dollars to bailout the housing industry today. Socialisim is when all industries are nationalized (kind of like what the republicans did to Fannie Mae and Mac today).

Nobody running for office is trying to nationalize all industry in America. You know that so you are not being honest in your arguments.

Civilized societies throughout the world realize there are some things that we do better as societies. Are you saying you want to do away with public education? Do you want to do away with the national highway system (no more freeways), do you want to do away with air transportation, etc etc etc. The reality is that it is total fantasy to say that a society can operate without a goverment. If you really want that kind of society you should move to Somalia. There are plenty of places without any government and no taxes—but NOBODY wants to live there. If you really want that kind of society move to one of those countries. Otherwise—become a constructive part of our community and look for ways to make our government better and more reponsible instead of trying to chase some mythological world without a government.

Henry, where did I ever say that I approve of the Fannie Mae bailout??? I am vehemently against it. Don’t get ahead of yourself. Fannie Mae is controlled by the government mind you.

YOU SAID,"Nobody running for office is trying to nationalize all industry in America. You know that so you are not being honest in your arguments.”
---Let me refer you to this page once again; http://www.barackobama.com/issues/

YOU SAID,"Are you saying you want to do away with public education? “
---YES. Maybe you can explain to me how you can justify morally using the force of government to make people pay for the education of another. How can you justify violated the rights of one for the benefit of another. Also, please help me locate where that is in the US Constitution.

YOU SAID,"The reality is that it is total fantasy to say that a society can operate without a goverment.”
---You seem to have a knack for context dropping. I certainly don’t espouse anarchy in any way shape or form. In fact no government is just as bad, if not worse, than big gov’t. What is needed is appropriate and legitimate government, ie. military, police, courts, disaster relief, et al. Somalia is ruled by warlords. That is not anarchy but thuggish tribalism.

Vote RON PAUL!  Who cares who wins, the other two are both the same.  Both members of CFR, both pro war in the middle east, both pro big government, both refuse to address fiscal responsibility, both refuse to address revamping foreign policy, both refuse to bring US troops home from the 700 foreign bases in 130 countries, both refuse to look at our failing monetary system.  Only Ron Paul addresses the serious issues.  Even though Ron Paul has no chance, I am voting for him out of principle.  He is the candidate I believe in and agree with.  Obama and McCain, whoever wins, I can care less.  Best of luck to Obama though.

I actually went to the Biden show. Why did the HANDLERS ask us all to move to the center for the photo op? Why wasn’t my seat with no one around me OK? Then they held up the applause signs when no one was applauding. What gives? Was this a show or what? He and Obama really don’t care about MT and its 3 electorial college votes. This is a show that us hicks are supposed to buy into. Give em a break. Phony baloney.

November 5th, we’ll be celebrating Obama winning the Whitehouse!!

Then they will call it the Black house.

Geez Stanley—how did you get here from the 18th Century?

Stanley, please stop embarassing Montana.

Roark, your opinion is so flawed in many ways. Where to start? Wire tapping? The Patriot Act? You’re nuts if you think these policies by your Republican government honored your privacy. So let’s say you argue that McCain is not George W. Remember, McCain admitted himself he votes with the President 90% of the time.

McCainMcShame, Dude-where have you been???-where did you get the ludicrous idea in your head that I am a McCain supporter?-let alone a mainstream GOP supporter? Get your facts straight about me before you make a completely false accusation. A) I am casting my vote for Barr, and B) There are only a small handful of GOP Rep’s. and Senator’s who I actually think are dignified leaders who uphold the idea’s of liberty.

“The process of thinking . . . is the process of defining identity and discovering causal connections.”
-Ayn Rand

McCainMcShame - another “dude where have you been”. Obama voted to support FISA legislation. That pretty much makes him a pandering hypocrite.

See Martha, I told you there was no intelligent life here.  Let’s go back to N.Dak.

I was not too happy with the vote for the FISA bill either. Then I learned why Obama voted for it. He compromises. He listens to all voters, Republicans, Independents and Democrats. It was a better bill then we had before, it was needed for our national security, and was the best bill that could be negotiated with a Republican dominated senate, and a President that vetos everything that the Democrats send him. I don’t like it but I respect it. This is the essence of politics, compromise and aggreement to move ideas forward. Everyone isn’t always happy. I actually respect Senator Obama more for voting for it.

“...compromise and aggreement to move ideas forward...”

---That’s the problem; compromise of principles. It is precisely the bi-partianship of the House and Senate, which Obama and McCain are guilty of ad nauseaum, that at the end of the day enacts bills that are inimical to liberty. Compromising the fundamental values of liberty, capitalism, and individualism can only further our loss of rights and the continuation statism and/or corruption and violence both private and public.
---I’ve had it with compromise, idea’s and values matter too much to make light of them, especially when the ultimate end is affected; life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

syhbhjatpssrbeucfqqmkiwcotmavp

Go Obama!!!!!