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October 10, 2008

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Anonymous The Joplin Globe Fri Oct 10, 2008, 08:57 PM CDT

By Roger McKinney

rmckinney@joplinglobe.com

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — U.S. Sen. Joe Biden, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, brought the campaign being waged by Sen. Barack Obama and himself deep into traditionally Republican territory Friday with an appearance in Springfield’s Jordan Valley Park.

“We need a fundamental, wholesale change in the political and economic philosophy of this country,” Biden said.

Biden in his speech reminded the crowd that a manager for U.S. Sen. John McCain’s presidential campaign had recently said the campaign wants to “turn the page on the economy.”

“He didn’t mean solving the crisis,” Biden said. “He meant ignoring it and attacking Barack Obama.”

Biden said the page can’t be turned on the economy until there’s a better ending to the story.

He didn’t repeat the claims of McCain, the Republican presidential nominee, and his running mate, Sarah Palin. He presumably was referring to the Republican campaign’s attacks related to Obama’s loose association with education professor William Ayres, a former member of the radical and violent Weather Underground, and related to Obama’s former pastor, Jeremiah Wright.

Biden said the false charges don’t hurt Obama or him.

“Beyond these attacks, what is John McCain really offering?” Biden said. “What about the past eight years is he going to change?”

Biden said John McCain’s idea he put forward in Tuesday’s debate to spend $300 billion to buy back bad mortgages at face value simply bails out the banks engaged in risky behavior.

“The banks wouldn’t lose a single penny,” Biden said.

He said on Sept. 15, McCain said that “the fundamentals of the economy are strong” before two hours later saying there was an economic crisis.

“The economic crisis is the final verdict on Bush’s economic policy of the past eight years,” Biden said.

He said McCain’s change of tone on a single day wasn’t a religious epiphany.

“He didn’t see the light,” Biden said. “He saw the presidency receding from his grasp.”

Biden said by contrast, Obama has established a well-respected team of economic advisers.

“Barack Obama is a leader,” Biden said. “The tools to deal with these problems are available. In whose hands are you going to place those tools? We know how to get this job done.”

He said an Obama administration would focus on creating good-paying jobs and it would reward companies that create jobs in the United States rather than rewarding them for shipping jobs overseas.

“There is no way to rebuild the economy without rebuilding the middle class,” Biden said.

He characterized George Bush’s foreign policy as “shoot first, ask questions later.”

“We will end this war” in Iraq, Biden said. “And we’ll end it responsibly.”

A chorus of “yes, we can” arose when Biden discussed his and Obama’s plan to address the environment with clean energy. He compared the project to President John F. Kennedy’s challenge to put men on the moon by the end of the 1960s.

“We’re going to get serious about energy that’s made in America,” Biden said. “We’re going to end our addiction to oil.”

He said the Obama administration would invest $15 billion for 10 years in renewable energy sources, including wind and solar.

He said Obama’s health-care plan would insure every American. He said under Obama’s plan, the government could bargain with insurance companies for lower prices and better protection.

He described John McCain’s health plan as “the ultimate bridge to nowhere,” one that seeks to deregulate health care. “John will do for the health-care industry what he did for banking,” Biden said.

He said Obama would lower the cost of college by allowing people who serve their countries, in the military, or in poor rural areas and inner cities to go to college when they commit to the service.

A contingent of Joplin Democrats had good seats for Biden’s appearance.

Emery Hutson said after the event he thought Biden’s speech was uplifting. He said he’s confident Obama and Biden will win in Missouri and win the election.

“He’s just very inspiring,” Hutson said. “I’m more confident about how the election is going to turn out than I was before the speech.”

“I think it was powerful,” said Vince Morton, of Joplin, after the speech. “It was direct and clear. Joe Biden presented a stark difference between Barack Obama and John McCain.”

His wife, DeDe Morton, said Biden presented workable solutions to the economic crisis and other problems.

“I think he spoke with conviction and honesty about difficult decisions we’re facing,” she said.

Dayan Edwards, of Joplin, said Biden’s speech gave her confidence that things will improve in the country under a Democratic administration.

Hill gallery

Latecomers to Joe Biden’s speech watched the event from a hill beyond security barricades. They cheered when Biden acknowledged them by asking if they could hear him.