One of the things I find most persuasive about Joe Biden is that he rides Amtrak every day between Washington, DC and Wilmington, Delaware.
I've made that trip many times myself, on my way from New York to Washington and vice versa. I've never actually stopped in Wilmington, but the city on the Amtrak line has always appealed to me. I'm not kidding, I even put in the Wilmington, DE Amtrak station as a major place of action in my 2004 novel, The Pixel Eye.
Biden's taking trains shows he's not only in touch with the people, but the future. Trains are much more comfortable than planes in America for short distances. They would work as well for long distances, if only we constructed decent long distance rails like they have in many other parts of the world.
McCain wants to kill Amtrak, and let private industry take over. That worked well up until about 50 years ago. Not surprising that McCain would have this position.
Obama wants to expand Amtrak's excellent high speed service in the Northeast corridor to the midwest, for starters. Much like Obama expanded and deepened his ticket with Joe Biden today in Illinois.
I'm looking forward to Biden taking the train down to Obama's inauguration in January 2009.