|
Democratic Party vice-presidential candidate Joe Biden (foreground) listens to a question from a person in the audience during a town-hall style meeting yesterday.
Vice-presidential candidate Joe Biden spoke at a meeting |
MANASSAS
--Democratic vice-presidential nominee Joe Biden said yesterday that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin gave a "good speech" as she accepted the Republican nomination for vice president Wednesday.But aside from the fact that Biden misidentified Palin as a lieutenant governor, he did have some problems with the message she and other Republicans delivered on the second night of their party's convention.
"I heard a lot of appeals to division in America. I heard a lot of scare tactics. I heard a lot of things that weren't accurate from some of the speakers about [Democratic presidential nominee] Barack Obama's record," said Biden, a U.S. senator from Delaware.
Biden stopped in Manassas after making a morning appearance in Virginia Beach.
Gov. Tim Kaine introduced him at George Mason University.
"We need better partners in Washington," said Kaine, who was said to be among those on Obama's "short list" of candidates for the vice-presidential slot.
Kaine and Biden spent a few minutes trading compliments after Biden walked out on stage.
While he may have complimented Palin's speech delivery, Biden noted a few things he thought were missing.
"I didn't hear the phrase, health insurance, mentioned once," he said. "I didn't hear a single syllable about how hard it is for middle-class folks to get their kids to college. I didn't hear anything concrete about jobs."
To fill in some of those perceived gaps, Biden was joined onstage by five Manassas-area residents.
While four of them talked about how hard it was for them to pay for health care, save for their children's education and cope with the drastic drop in regional housing values, the fifth man struck a more positive tone.
He said he'd anticipated that his engineering job might be cut when the real estate market turned sour. He sought out ways to start his own business and, with plenty in savings, he appeared to be on his way to getting his Class A contractor's license.
Biden took notes during the individual stories, then stood to say of the five speakers, "They've done everything right. They've played by the rules. I don't think a single one of you people are looking for the government to solve your problem."
He then said there are things government should do to help them.
Those include working to bring gas prices down, providing tax credits and increasing the grants available to help parents pay for college and providing affordable health care to everyone.
That, Biden said, could be paid for if the government eliminated the tax cuts for people making more than $250,000 a year.
Of that group of people, Biden said, "These are patriotic Americans, just nothing's been asked of them."
For those not in that category, Biden promised that an Obama administration would deliver a tax cut that would average about $3,700 per family in Virginia.
Biden's audience was largely supportive.
During a question-and-answer period, Leesburg resident Jennifer Halpin stood to say, "I'm really tired of the Republicans pandering to the women voters. It's preposterous for the Republicans to think that just because they add any woman to their ticket that we are going to be dumb enough to turn into Stepford Wives and vote for their ticket."
Emily Battle: 540/374-5413
Email: ebattle@freelancestar.com
