An Emotional Joe Biden Opens Up

[gateley]

(Video and Transcript at the Link)


It happened 35 years ago yet it is still painful for Joe Biden to talk about. In 1972, a week before Christmas and roughly six weeks after Biden was elected to be a U.S. Senator, his wife Neilia and his little daughter were killed in a car crash by a drunk driver.

On the campaign trail, Joe Biden hardly ever talks about it. In the few times he's been asked, he doesn't go into detail. It's painful. Well, in a rare emotional moment, Joe Biden did open up and talk to me about that time in his life. You can see the emotional pain even to this day. Read the transcription below but the video clip above really says it all.

http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/276788.aspx

[wiley]

1. I still remember when that happened. He understands loss in a way

that no more fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, lovers and friends should because of Iraq.

[bluetrain]

2. Is he emotional about bankruptcy?

[whirlygigspin]

3. and who do you support? Mr sensitive bluetrain

wow, your really scoring points here dissing his dead wife.

very classy

[bluetrain]

7. You don't think more than one person has lost their spouse because of his

whoring with the Credit Card companies? Seriously? What's tacky is selling out the well being of the American people in the interest of corporate profits. That's beyond tacky. It's fascism.

[southern_belle]

18. It must suck to be you, bluetrain. Have a VERY

Merry Christmas. :eyes:

[Froward69]

28. I am self employed

the new rules put me alongside credit card companies in collecting for my services. and because of Joe Biden I am behind child support rulings. I don't mind that. Biden is not rolling in money from CC Companies. that is a gross misnomer.
http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/select.asp?Ind=F03

please check your facts before you spew.

[ginchinchili]

43. LOL...you obviously don't know what the word "fascism" means.

And when you throw it around like that in any situation that doesn't appeal to you, it diminishes the meaning of the word making it less effective when the word is really called for; in effect, you aid fascism. Bush has done the same thing with that word, and many others, like liberty and freedom.

I also find it intellectually dishonest to try and discount Sen. Biden's candidacy for a vote he cast on something no other candidate is talking about. The country has higher priorities. Furthermore, in case you forgot, the Democrats are in charge. There doesn't seem to be a mad rush to pass new bankruptcy laws, probably because the Democrats in office know that a.)there are more important matters at hand, and b.)most Americans feel that we should all be responsible for our own debts--what a concept.

It's a very complicated bill and could use some cleaning up. All the Democrats have to do is write new legislation, pass it, and get President Biden to sign it, while he takes a moment off from working on getting our soldiers safely out of Iraq before more die or get their limbs blown off, and as he twists Republicans' arms to get them to give health care to all citizens, and to revitalize our lagging education system, ... need I go on? Perspective is everything.

This stuff about the bankruptcy bill that Biden voted in favor of is nothing but a red herring thrown out there to distract people from seeing what a truly fine president Sen. Biden would make. He's very smart, knows people and the world he'd be playing such a big role in, he's a genuinely decent and ethical man, and I'd venture to say that he'd probably get more done--things we need doing--than anyone else running. Now, if you don't want to vote for him because you want to be able to walk away from your fiscal irresponsibilities and a bill he voted for now gets in your way, that is your prerogative. And naturally you're free to criticize him all you want. Just keep in mind that your classless exhibition of sophomoric swiftboating, e.g., "It's fascism," contrasts sharply with the man who is the target of your weak aspersions. He wouldn't return your insults because it's not in his nature, and he has far more important things to deal with.

[1corona4u]

44. BRAVO!!!!

[ginchinchili]

45. Thanks, 1corona4u.

And I must say again, I love the photo.

[1corona4u]

47. LOL, 2 things I LOVE, all in 1 photo. ...

GO JOE!!

(well, part of one...) :-)

[PatSeg]

49. Wow! That was a mouthful

Well said.

:yourock:

[wyldwolf]

35. that mythological "progressive"* messiah who will lead us to the socialist promised land

[xchrom]

4. wow -- that was pretty fuckin tacky. nt

[Byronic]

5. That was really low bluetrain

Some things are above politics, don't you think?

[inthebrain]

12. Apparently Biden beating on the underpriveledged is not one of them

nor is a lot of other peoples sociopathic attitude towards them.

Lets be honest. I'm not out to beat on a guy for losing his wife but finances are a life and death issue for folks as well. I think that's the point being raised.

I also might add that Biden is probably not going to get a lot of sympathy from people here. THere are a lot of folks who took that Bankruptcy Bill to heart here as well. Especially those that are trying to get this party to be more responsive to the needs of people at the bottom of the barrel.

[Kahuna]

17. Then start another thread about those issues. But please don't

hijack a thread about a profound loss that Biden suffered. It's really rather childish to do so.

[livvy]

20. Thank you, Kahuna. n/t

[ginchinchili]

46. That guy you've responded to shows up as "ignored" on my computer.

It got to the point that he'd become an ugly rash that was cropping up everywhere Sen. Biden's name is mentioned, and I found that "ignore" was the only ointment that could make it go away. Now I just smile to myself when I see "ignore" all over a thread. Just a thought.

[suziedemocrat]

19. I might have committed suicide if I hadn't been able to declare bankruptcy.

I saw no way out. I had no hope for the future. 30% interest should be illegal!

Still, that was a very emotional piece.

[Auntie Bush]

48. I'm sorry to hear that. I hope all is well now and that you and yours

will have a Happy Christmas.

However, Bidin had to vote for that bill if he wanted to keep his seat in
DE. His vote didn't really matter one way or the other because it wasn't a close vote. Now if Cheney had to come over and break a tie...that would be an entirely different story. Sometimes congress critters have to hold their nose and vote for repugnant things if they want to be re-elected.

[Name removed]

40. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Bluebear]

6. Are you always this tacky? nt

[oasis]

8. Somehow I get the feeling that Biden cares more about human suffering than a few of his critics.

:think:

[bluetrain]

9. You wouldn't know it by his voting record.

[whirlygigspin]

42. try dealing with facts, mr Rove

Joe Biden is considered to be a liberal, clocking a 77.5 percent liberal voting record in 2006 and lifetime score of 76.8 percent.

(i smell triangulation) some people are starting to sweat, oh my.

[MrSlayer]

10. Dude, that is cold.

To reduce a personal tragedy such as what Senator Biden endured to pure politics is really tasteless.

:tinfoilhat:

[Name removed]

11. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[MrSlayer]

13. No. I do see your point.

It's just ruthless and, dare I say, humorous in a dark way. "Tasteless" in polite society which everyone pretends this is.

:bounce: :patriot: :beer: :hug:

[yodermon]

23. lemme get this straight

Are you implying that Biden supporters are "fascists themselves"?
Or just naive?

[1corona4u]

27. Personal tragedy...

I guess nothing is off limits to some people...

[Mz Pip]

30. It wasn't just him

74 senators voted for it. So there's plenty of blame to go around.

Mz Pip
:dem:

[closeupready]

32. I can appreciate and sympathize Biden's genuine sadness, but it's remarkable

that he's discussing it at this moment in time. My feelings are tempered by the awareness that bankruptcy reform helped spread misery among many lower-income people. So, I have sympathy for him and at the same time I have resentment for what that legislation wrought.

[rucky]

36. Color me a naive facist, but...

I honestly have no idea what these facts are that you expect us to know: How many people have lost their homes because of Joe Biden?

I do know that Carper and 72 other Senators voted for it, as well. That doesn't make it a good piece of legislation by any means, but out of the 74, why single out the only one (of two) who has a halfway acceptable excuse? How did he become the poster child for bankrupcy?

Said it before - it's a mistake, but not a dealbreaker. If that makes me a facist, sorry.

[jillan]

37. How dare you make fun of someone for losing the love of their life and baby to a drunk driver.

I believe in karma - no wonder why you are such a miserable person.

[Cooley Hurd]

15. First off, many credit card companies are based in Delaware...

...so Joe's support of the bankruptcy bill was his acting on behalf of his constituents. Believe it or not, sometimes Senators have to vote in regards to their constituents' wishes. It's one-half of what a Senator has to do.

That said, Joe Biden is a good man who has been a decent progressive senator. His late wife, Neilia Hunter Biden is also my second cousin.

You might show at least a modicum of decorum and not shit all over Senator Biden on this particular thread.:eyes:

[1corona4u]

21. I guess...

some of the hateful people in this thread have never heard of Karma either....what goes around, comes around....and I think they may have just set off some very powerful negative Karma for themselves...too bad when it happens they won't be smart enough to connect the dots and know that their hateful remarks were the cause of it. Karma always wins in the end. Always.


And yes, Joe is a good man, and people are starting to get it.

[closeupready]

33. And yes, Biden is a good man and a good Democrat.

n/t

[faithfulcitizen]

24. You must be a miserable person.

Did you even watch the clip? Just heartless...

[inthebrain]

14. WHOA!!!! CBN NEWS!!! PAT ROBERTSON? 700 CLUB!!!!!!

NOW this makes sense I guess.

I wonder what people have to say about Buh Bye Den appearing on this network after giving Obama shit for it.

[suziedemocrat]

16. Amazing!! Thanks!!

[PatSeg]

22. This thread is about personal loss

Other issues have been covered extensively in other threads and I'm sure will continue to discussed. There is absolutely no reason to bring them up here.

Some people need to pull back and show some courtesy and restraint.

[Carni]

25. Has he remarried?

I had no idea he lost a wife and daughter...is he now married to someone else,
or is he still single?

What a shitty deal! :(

[1corona4u]

26. He's been remarried for 30 years...

[youthere]

29. That was powerful...and a side of Biden I haven't seen.

Thanks for sharing that.

[question everything]

31. Thanks for posting

I belong to a generation that, at a time, was not going to trust anyone over 30.

However, as I was watching him I realized that, really, we do need wisdom that comes from being around to be a leader. That "young turks" are just that. They may be daring and innovative and thinking from outside the ubiquitous box, and could be an asset to any administration. But the leader at the top has to be someone who has been around, seen it all and can differentiate between fads and the real thing.

[rucky]

34. Am I the only one who can't hear the audio?

barely.

maybe I need a bitchin' sound system with some thump?

[jillan]

39. I did too. And I had it turned way up.

[murbley40]

38. kick

[ms liberty]

41. K&R...

I like Biden, I've liked him for a very long time. I have not agreed with his every vote, but I respect his breadth of knowledge, and I can understand some of his votes which have occasioned criticism from other DU'ers, for instance the bankruptcy bill. He can't be blamed for the bill all by himself; as has been pointed out above it passed with above a two-thirds majority, and would have passed even without his vote. He voted for it because Delaware is home sweet home to the credit-card industry - they are his constituents.

[Jersey Devil]

50. Thank you - a very personal side I had never seen

I am just bowled over. Thanks.