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Sunday, October 19, 2008

Joe Biden electrifies Tacoma, urges support for Chris Gregoire and Darcy Burner

The following is a partial transcript of Senator Joe Biden's remarks this afternoon in Tacoma, Washington. A full transcript is coming, but we wanted to publish the first part of Biden's speech - in which he urges support for Chris Gregoire and Darcy Burner - early, for those of you who weren't there.

Senator Joe Biden Addresses Rally for Change in Tacoma
Sunday, October 19th, 2008 at Cheney Stadium

Hello Tacoma!

Well, I tell you what...Thank you all! Thank you all!

But I know why you're here. I know why you're all here. Where I come from [takes Gregoire's arm], this is called power.

Thank you all so very much. I tell you what...this is as close as I've come to playing pro baseball. I was a center fielder.

Your coach gave me a jersey, Number Twenty One [holds up jersey with his name on it, then says...] Put me in coach, I'm ready to play!

Joe Biden On Stage

By the way, as we say in the Senate, if you'll pardon a moment of personal privilege here... Twenty one reminds me of the most famous number in all of American college sports. It's Number Forty Four. It was my alma mater, Syracuse; Jimmy Brown wore it. Ernie Davis, if you've seen the movie [The] Express, wore it.

And one of your own, right here, who has a car dealership, one of the greatest running backs in the history of college football and pro football... Floyd Little, Number Forty Four, lives right here! And I know he's here somewhere...Floyd, you tried to help me make it. I used to have soft hands, but I guess they figured they'd run over me too quickly.

Ladies and gentlemen, it's an honor to be here, and I want to thank you for making this stadium today - temporarily changing the name, from Cheney Stadium to Obama-Biden Stadium - besides, if it was Cheney Stadium, we'd be in undisclosed location! We'd never have been able to find it!

[Laughter]

I'm happy to be here with my good friend Norm Dicks. Norm and I have served a long... a long time together. And Jim McDermott... and two of my closest allies in the Senate, and two of my best friends: Patty Murray... God love ya, Patty! I tell ya something: You don't mess with Patty!

And Maria Cantwell! We're all talking about energy; Maria Cantwell, from the day she hit the Senate, started talking about energy...

She's going to be someone that the Obama-Biden administration's [going] to be looking to, literally, to lead our way out of our dependence [on foreign oil].

And you know, you're never taken for as much as you're worth in your home state, because everyone knows Patty; they know her as Patty.

Patty Murray, Maria Cantwell, Chris Gregoire, and Joe Biden

But let me tell ya - all kidding aside - Patty Murray is one of the most influential members of the United States Senate. She's the engine that keeps our operation going. And Patty, one of my jobs, for real, God willing, if we win... and I'm going to be spending a lot of time with you... because my job's going to be to help put through Barack's agenda through the United States Senate.

And the person we're going to look to the most... is Patty Murray!

And Patty, we're going to have a new colleague in the House. We're going to have a new colleague in [the] House. Darcy... by the way, where's Darcy, here?

Darcy Burner, I wanna tell you... [looks around for her, but can't see her].

[Appeals to crowd] You gotta explain to Darcy... [then, finally notices people pointing to Darcy, who is part of the crowd standing front of the stage]

Darcy! Now, only one message I want you to understand. The way it works is, that when I pick up the phone as Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, Darcy, and I call a House member - with the exception of Norm Dicks - they take the call.

[Laughter]

Norm knows more about national security than I do, so he doesn't take the call. But [generally] they take the call.

But we all know vice presidents ain't much. We got that. We understand that. I understood that when I took the job. [Crowd objects] But... the only deal I want, the only rule I want, Darcy, you gotta promise me... when I call you, you'll say, "Come up, Joe." Okay? You promise?

[Darcy promises]

Alright! Good luck to you, kiddo!

[To the crowd] You gotta elect her!

Folks... [Crowd chants, Darcy, Darcy] You got it!

Darcy, you also are going to be in the Congress working back home for one of the best - and I mean this sincerely - one of the finest governors in the United States of America, Governor Gregoire.

You know, the kind of change Barack and I want to bring this country will be lost, will be lost here in the State of Washington if you don't reelect Governor Gregoire. She's already doing it. She's already doing it!

Folks! I'm hearing the simple message that the governor has already begun to deliver. And it's change... change, the right way. Change the right way. And the governor's already begun this year.

The crowd around the main stage

You know, as I came out of the locker room... I kind of like coming out of the dugout, it brings me back to, you know, the good old days.

You can't see this [holds up photograph] but, Coach left a note for me. He said, "I thought you might like to see your predecessor at Cheney [Stadium]."

And there's a picture here of two of the three men, here, that I served with. [Describes picture] John F. Kennedy, speaking at this podium, and Warren Magnuson, and Scoop Jackson. Well, ladies and gentlemen, this a crowd befitting Warren Magnuson and Scoop Jackson!

[End transcript, for now]

Comments:

Blogger University Place said...

Thank you for providing this link. We have it posted on www.tacomapiercecountyforobama.net
with a link to your site. The speakers were awesome and Senator Joe Biden inspires such confidence.
He will kick some butt with our democratic leaders from Washington State. This was a great event and we wish more people could have attended. Thank you, Students, Parents Volunteers. www.tacomapiercecountyforobama.net

October 21, 2008 6:23 PM  

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