By Staff
barbed wit
at his rivals
Veep nominee visits ECU
By GREG KATSKI
Staff Writer
GREENVILLE — Sen. Joe Biden, the Democratic vice-presidential nominee, delivered a lighthearted speech at a campaign stop on the campus of East Carolina University on Monday morning, but his message was a serious one.
More than 200 ECU students and supporters came out to the brickyard in front of the Mendenhall Student Center for the rally, which started at 10 a.m. The brickyard was fenced off for the rally, resulting in many students and others observing the rally from afar instead of going through security checkpoints to reach the brickyard.
As Biden walked across the stage to the podium, he donned an ECU baseball cap.
Talking about his younger days as a baseball player, Biden said, “I like this hat.”
Acknowledging the crowd, Biden noticed a man in the audience holding an “08 Obama” license plate. Barack Obama is the Democratic nominee for president.
Biden then delivered a brief speech about the goals of the Obama/Biden ticket.
He said the ticket has committed “every waking hour to two overriding goals: Restoring middle-class families and restoring America’s respect in the world.”
According to Biden, the nation’s first step toward regaining respect throughout the world is ending the war in Iraq.
He said having Barack Obama in the White House will result in ending the war responsibly.
Biden said that he and Obama hope to accomplish their other chief campaign promise of restoring prosperity to middle-class families by providing tax cuts for working people and small businesses.
Biden said the Bush administration is hurting the middle class by sending jobs overseas.
Biden cited North Carolina’s disappearing textile industry as an example of the failed Bush policies.
Biden said Obama will help bring working class jobs back to North Carolina and the U.S.
Biden said that he and Obama will help produce 60,000 new high-paying jobs in less than 10 years, if voters elect them next week.
Biden also said the issue goes much deeper for working-class men and women without jobs.
Biden said the battle for the White House is ultimately all about jobs.
The Obama/Biden ticket also plans to help middle-class families by enacting a three-month moratorium on mortgages for every homeowner in America, said Biden.
He called for an energy policy free from the grip of foreign oil, citing energy-producing alternatives such as wind-power and solar technologies.
Biden also said the government should help provide affordable health care to Americans who need it.
Biden also took time to comment on the McCain/Palin ticket, in particular Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain’s recent attack on the fiscal policies of the Bush administration.
Biden said McCain sided with Bush over 90 percent of the time while Bush has been president.
He said Bush participated in early voting for the upcoming election.
Biden had other views of the Republican ticket.
Biden also compared Obama to celebrated presidents Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy.
The candidate said he’s got faith in the American people.