Joe Biden--help him break through--Go Joe!

Well folks, Joe Biden broke another fundraising goal--he was going for $500,000 by the 16th and I just checked in on the official campaign site (www.joebiden.com) and they've raked in a bit more than that as of today, the 13th, but with the Iowa Caucus, New Hampshire primary and other important contests coming so close to the holidays, advertising is going to be going for top dollars. And, Joe needs to break through to a national audience. On Thursday evening, the 15th of November, there will be another Democratic Debate, this one out of Las Vegas, Nevada, a state who this year will be holding an early caucus--that's right caucus. According to The News Hour on PBS, the Democratic party has been working hard to educate its folks about the process and to register and energize new voters--especially Latinos, so this state will have a different flavor to it than that of Iowa or New Hampshire. Biden supporters can only hope that he will get a little more air time this go round to introduce himself to this audience and to the Nation.

If you haven't checked Biden out yet, I urge you to do so. If you go to www.joebiden.com, you can access a slew of videos. If you don't have a lot of time to spend sorting them all out for yourself, I recommend the following clips: "Biden on This Week" (3 weeks ago, 19:41 minutes), "Sacred Obligation" (1 day ago, 8:18 minutes), "The Situation in Pakistan" (5 days ago, 6:52 minutes), "Joe Biden on Pakistan" (on Face the Nation, 1 week ago, 13:52 minutes).

We need this man. We really do. As he says himself on This Week he offers both "authenticity and insight". If there ever was a time in American when we needed these two traits in a leader, it is now. On Facebook, there was a guy who asked flat out, why should I support Biden. This is what I posted:

Because he has an incredible record in the Senate that stretches back over three decades, because he helped bring about peace in the Balkans, because his crime bill helped bring down violent crime in American cities, because he introduced the Violence Against Women Act, because he is a practicing Catholic, but doesn't think he needs to foist his beliefs on the entire nation, because he has raised incredibly well-balanced kids, because he doesn't lie to us, because he has a plan for Iraq that could actually work, because the worst thing he has ever been guilty of is sticking his foot in his mouth a couple of times--because he is more preoccupied with his work, our country and the truth than with the polls--because he has a sense of urgency and a sense of humor. Is that enough?

For those of you who do not know this man's personal story, he was elected to the U.S. Senate at the age of 29. Before he was sworn in at the age of 30, his wife and baby daughter were killed in a car crash. His two young son's were injured. He took his oath of office by one of his son's hospital beds. In order to bring stability to his family, he has commuted back and forth to Deleware on Amtrak trains from his Washington office since he was first elected more than 30 years ago. Eventually, he remarried, and with his wife raised his boys and a daughter who was a product of this second marriage. One son, is the Attorney General of Deleware and an officer in the Deleware National Guard. He is slated to go to Iraq. His other son, is a lawyer who ran a homeless shelter in Washington, DC after his graduation from Georgetown. His daughter is a social worker. His wife worked as a school teacher.
In 1988 he was a candidate for the Democratic nomination, and he admits that at the time, he was not ready. At the time he lost focus on his presidential campaign to head the Bork hearings, as Chairman of the Senate Judiciary committee, a committee on which had served since entering the Senate just before the Watergate hearings. He knew those hearings were incredibly important to the balance of the Supreme Court and thus to the nation. With his eye off the ball, he used a line he had often used and cited on the campaign trail during a debate. This one time, he forgot to cite the British politician who originally authored the line and was accused of plagiarism.This stuck to him. Additionally, throughout the campaign he had been experiencing excruciating head aches, which he ignored as stress induced. Shortly after the campaign ended, he suffered a severe brain hemorrhage, which almost killed him. It took many long months to recover from this event. But he did.
Senator Biden went on to sponsor crime legislation, which helped to bring down the violent crime rate in many U.S. cities, he sponsored and eventually passed the Violence Against Women Act. He became the chairman of the Senate Foreign relations committee where he has served with great distinction. He was one of the chief arccitechs of the plan that brought peace to the Balkans, and which has sustained peace in that region since the end of the Bosnian War. He also authored an amendment outlining a plan to bring a political end to the Iraq War. This plan was passed by the Senate and supported by other Democrat Presidential hopefuls. He is extremely well versed in Middle Eastern affairs and spoke to both Mussharof and Bhutro in the aftermath of the suspension on the Pakistani Constitution before they spoke to President Bush.

Check him out. Contribute to his campaign. Tell your friends and neighbors. Go Joe!