More Than A Regular Joe

I am a huge Joe Biden fan. If he hadn't dropped out of the race before Pennsylvania, he would have received my vote regardless of his chances of winning the nomination. And I have to admit I admire him not only for his politics, but also for the way he has overcome the many challenges he has faced in his life.

You see, we in Pennsylvania are so close to Delaware, that Biden's adversities usually make Section I news. I remember reading the heartbreaking story of how he was sworn in to the Senate by his son's bedside in the hospital, shortly after the accident in which he lost his wife and daughter. And I especially remember reading about his brain aneurysm, not too many years later.

Biden is a familiar figure on the Amtrak route. He and Arlen Spector routinely commute to Washington and it is not unusual to spy one or both of them if you make the same trip. They are both friendly and accessible and not in the least bit full of themselves. Just regular "Joes" doing their job.

As anyone who watched Biden's speech Wednesday night will admit, he has overcome the trials in his life with remarkable resilience. He has never abandoned his political career in spite of all his setbacks and during that career he has never lost the values that inspire him to work for the good of all. He was clearly raised to be strong and take the good with the bad, but he was also brought up to believe that equality is a right, not a privilege.

Actually at some point in the campaign, I thought he was lobbying to become the next Secretary of State, a position in which I still think he would be extremely successful. But given Cheney's heavy hand in shaping foreign policy during Bush's tenure in the oval office, I have no doubt that Biden is super qualified to continue that role. In fact, he was the only candidate to have a clear cut, drafted and published plan for the withdrawal of our troops from Iraq that made sense (at least to me).

In my opinion, he is exactly what the Obama ticket needed and the energy and enthusiasm he feels for the honor is palpable. Dare I say he so deserves this moment in the spotlight? Dare I say he still would make a great president? And dare I also wonder just what those two guys promised Hillary to break the chain of Bush, Clinton, Bush, Clinton?

I find it hard not to like Joe Biden and to admire him for having his priorities straight. Guess you know who I'll be voting for come November.