Joe Biden

I had the the great fortune tonight, through the kindness of some wonderful fellow Chicagoans, to be able to attend a fundraising reception at which Joe Biden was the guest of honour. As my loyal readers will remember, I didn’t know much about him before he was chosen as the VP candidate, but I was so impressed with what I saw in Springfield and everything since then, that I jumped at the chance.
The reception was at a private house, and we stood around chatting for a bit over wine and nibblies before we were ushered out to the garden which had cement steps in the back. almost as if it had been designed for open-air theatre — or itinerant speech-making vice presidential candidates.
Finally, the guest of honour arrived, and we hung on his every word.  He had some notes written up, but he put them in his pocket and spoke off the cuff for a few moments.  This was a speech that was given far from the press to an enthusiastic and intimate audience of supporters and friends.  What impressed me the most was his awareness of the critical nature of this moment he has become part of, the opportunity for real change we have now and maybe only now.  After he spoke, he answered a few questions, one not surprisingly about how he is going to handle Gov. Palin in the debates.  His answer was revealing.  He said that this was a question that might have made sense thirty five years ago, when he was first in the Senate and there were very few women in politics.  But he has been debating all kinds of strong and powerful women for years.  This is going to be nothing new for him. You may be afraid, but he is totally unfazed.
There was a brief chance to talk more informally after the questions were over. I was enormously impressed by every moment of this evening. Joe Biden is a man who knows what he’s doing, why he’s doing it (and who he’s in this for), and how to do it best. We should all have such a strong sense of purpose.