Biden on the three debates so far:
If this was the best of five series, it'd be over.
Biden on McCain's performance last night:
What was most notable to me was what you didn't hear.... On the middle class, John McCain's silence was deafening once again.
Biden on what this election is about:
The American people are looking for answers ... How to deal with the jobs that are being lost in this economy, their jobs. The lack of affordable health care that affects their kids, their husbands, their wives.... The retirement security they see literally vanishing before their very eyes.... You didn't hear a single question [from town hall participants last night] about the ugly inferences launched by the McCain campaign.... This election is about you, not us. This election ... is literally about dignity and respect, the respect the American people deserve.... It's about fairness.... It's simply about how to reclaim the greatness of this country.
Biden on what this election is not about:
John McCain's campaign has reached a very difficult place....
The McCain campaign went out and hired some of the very political manipulators who in the Republican primary in 2000 led those vicious attacks against John's daughters and John's lovely wife. They hired those people to come on board, and now these same people, they're attacking Barack Obama in the ugliest of ways. Ladies and gentleman, this is beyond disappointing, this is wrong.
Biden on Republican's desperation:
A recent analysis showed that 100% of the advertisements John McCain is now running are advertisements attacking Barack Obama. 100%. Well folks, I guess when you vote with George W. Bush 90% of the time, your best hope is to attach your opponent 100% of the time
Biden with a question for McCain holdouts:
Ask your friends who are still for John .... "What about the past 8 years would John McCain change in the next four years?" ... Nothing consequential. You can't change the next four years if you stood with George Bush.
NOTE: All quotes above verified with video highlights at MSNBC and CNN. The following quotes are rough transcriptions done while watching the rest of the speech live:
Every baseless attack is an attempt to get you to ignore what's going on in this country.
Biden on Iraq:
We will end this war.
Biden on being a maverick:
You can't call yourself a maverick when all you've ever been is a sidekick [to George Bush].
Biden on McCain's erratic behavior on the economy:
When everything was crashing, John McCain said the fundamentals of the economy were strong. [Hours later] he said we were in an economic crisis.
Presidents have to instill confidence ... they must provide steady leadership in times of challenge, not lurch from one side to the other ...
Biden on the fundamental issue:
We need a wholesale change in our economic philosophy. What got us here was [McCain's] philosophy.
So, while McCain launches character assassination, Biden says Democrats will focus on:
Jobs, jobs, jobs.
Biden is doing a superb job of reinforcing Obama's key message on the stump in recent weeks:
This financial crisis is a direct result of the greed and irresponsibility that has dominated Washington and Wall Street for years. It’s the result of speculators who gamed the system, regulators who looked the other way, and lobbyists who bought their way into our government. It’s the result of an economic philosophy that says we should give more and more to those with the most and hope that prosperity trickles down to everyone else; a philosophy that views even the most common-sense regulations as unwise and unnecessary. And this crisis is the final verdict on this failed philosophy – a philosophy that we cannot afford to continue.
Biden and Obama are doing a fantastic job of framing the debate. Here's my small contribution to reinforcing their message about the widespread failure of Republican economics.
Yeah, Right: "This Economy Is Strong" and Other Tall Tales