This morning I attended a national security roundtable event with Senator Joe Biden, Democratic nominee for Vice President. Biden is widely regarded as an expert in national security and military issues, so this is a natural fit for him, particularly in the military community here in the Virginia Beach area.
My friend, blogger, fellow Blue Star Families for Obama leadership team member, and honorary MOMocrat, Vivian, was on the panel with Senator Biden.
While we all expected a major emphasis on the military, Iraq, and other national security issues, Biden surprised us all by taking off-topic questions from the audience. He covered everything from the economy to the military "don't ask, don't tell policy." This is the first in a series of posts covering Biden's responses to the issues raised during the roundtable.
Fortunately, I had my cell phone with me and was able to capture some of Biden's responses on video. The quality is bad & you'll need to turn the volume up to hear him, but it's worth it. (Although watch out for the clapping at the beginning. It's quite loud.)
At speech after speech at the Democratic National Convention I heard nothing but respect for John McCain, the man. His heroism and service to his country both as a prisoner of war and as a Senator were lauded universally. The Democrats were very careful to criticize only McCain's proposed policies. At the time I wondered if the Republicans would extend the Obamas and Biden the same courtesy.
This week at the RNC has definitively determined that no, the Republicans will not be courteous or respectful. In the video below, an audience member brings up Sarah Palin's very critical speech at the RNC last night and asks Biden to please promise to "go after her in the same way he would a man." This is his response:
This video explains why I am a Democrat. Criticize the policy, not the people. We all put our "country first."
Cross posted at MOMocrats.
I really liked the event - Joe seemed enthusiastic and prepared to take on some big tasks.
It's NOT a personal attack to correct the lies of McCain/Palin.
And, as we have seen the lies they tell about our candidate seem to be believed by enough voters to tighten the polls. I expect our candidates to stand up to these deceptions: Not just the lies the GOPher candidates told about Obama, but also the lies Mc And Palin have told about their own records --and Bush's (now he's running "from" Bush after 95% support of Bush policies in 2007 and 100% in 2008)..
Also, this is swiftly morphing into a so-called "character" debate. This is just bs for trying to swipe the issues (which are stacked against Republicans, and McCain in particular) under the rug. McCain doesn't want to compete on the issues. And the facts are crucial to understanding just what the real "character" of McCain and Palin are.
I didn't hear Joe Bidden say that he wouldn't attack what Palin says or what she has done. He said that he wouldn't attack her. If she tries in a public debate what she did in her acceptance speech, she's going to wind up looking even more shrill, even more unpleasant, even more unattractive to anyone who doesn't share her extreme views. Joe will smile and look like a gentleman and slip in the knife the way he did with that mention of foreign policy expertise....
Two many of us think of politics as boxing. Barack and Joe know that jujitsu and aikido are much more effective.
I wish I could be as confident as you. That quickness and subtlety play in the American theater as well as (or better than) reactionary bludgeoning, I mean. Recent history especially seems to favor demagogues. I hate to be cynical, and I'm not attacking you personally, but look back 2000 and 2004, and then tell me that the voice of calm experience overcame the shrill repetition of manufactured truths.