The second time I met Joe Biden was in April of 2010, on the South Lawn of the White House. I was part of a group of active-duty service members sending off our wounded brothers and sisters for the White House to Lighthouse Challenge — a 60-mile, three-day ride that starts on the South Lawn of the White House and ends in Annapolis, Maryland.
Joe was definitely running late for some meeting or another, because his staff was getting increasingly persistent — “Sir, we really need to go.” Not in a way that was disrespectful. It was just clear that they needed to be on their way.
Finally, Joe turned to his aides and said:
“I’m going to stay here shaking hands until there’s nobody left to shake hands with, and taking photos with these people until they get every photo they want.”
That’s exactly what he did. And I promise you that the service men and women who were on the South Lawn that day haven’t forgotten it, either.
Character is about what you do when the cameras aren’t rolling.
Joe Biden is a man of character.
2. Character is about doing what is right because it is right, not for the attention it will give you.
Ron Klain was Biden's chief of staff during his first term, and he saw how Biden changed up the job description compared with Al Gore, for whom Klain had also served as chief of staff. "From day one," Klain says, "Al Gore planned on running for president. The project was to ready him. If the president was doing a public event, he was going to stand behind the president whether he had a role or not.
"Biden didn't have any interest in that. That was not the model he wanted. He put his political capital on helping Obama succeed. He wanted projects. Beginning, middle, and end projects."
3. Character is about choosing to get good things done rather than winning every argument.
"Joe Biden doesn't have a mean bone in his body," says John McCain. "He's unique from the day he was elected before he was 30 years old. He's unique in that he's had some role in every major national-security crisis that his nation has faced in the last thirty-five years. I don't know anyone like him in the U.S. Senate. Look at the number of times he's been able to conclude agreements. I would say he's been the most impactful vice president that I've known—certainly in modern times."
4. Character is about never appealing to the lowest common denominator.
"My brother hates, hates, hates bullies," [Joe’s sister] says. "The man who pushed the girl. The guy who makes fun of you because you're fat.
"Joe never appeals to the lowest common denominator. Look what's happened in our political environment. If you don't agree with me, you're a bad person. You're immoral. You want to screw with me. You're bad, bad, bad. That's the climate. And Joe—never."
5. Character is about caring for the least powerful amongst us.
On the single occasion when my family was invited to a gathering on the grounds of the Naval Observatory, the vice president crossed a patio to greet my kids, introduced them to similarly aged guests, showed them where to find towels, hauled floats out of a shed, and cajoled them into the pool. This story shows me the same thing I see any time any host stops mingling to meet the needs of his least important guests—here’s someone who cares for the meekest among us.
There are countless stories just like this one out there — about Biden taking the time to make people feel heard and cared for and giving his time to help people who are hurting.
He doesn’t do this because he gets attention for it. He does it because he has great character.
Is there still more work to be done? 100%! Lots more work. But Biden has done so much more than many people guessed could be done. He deserves a lot of credit. AND he deserves to be re-elected.
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This is an entry in my ongoing series Boosting Biden.
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These posts are written by Goodnewsroundup (Goodie),
edited by Matilda Briggs, supported by 2thanks and WolverineForTJatAW,
and reinforced by several other notable Kossacks!
As with all good things, it takes a village.