Several bloggers and TV commentators have mentioned Joe Biden's passion that surfaced a few times last night. They point particularly to his emotional reference to the loss of his first wife and infant daughter. That was a touching moment, and it did steal the thunder from Sarah Painful's introducing what it's like to be a parent with a job and home responsibilities and government responsibilities.
But I thought Biden's passion was at its strongest when he interrupted Gwen Ifill after Painful finished referring--for the umpteenth time--to McCain and herself as "mavericks." Biden said (and these are close to but probably not exact quotes), "Gwen, I have to interrupt you at this point to refute what the governor has said about John and her being mavericks. I love John [a point he made just a liiiiiittle too often last night], but he's no maverick most of the time, and certainly NOT on the issues that matter most to the American middle class." And then Biden looked straight to the camera, which zeroed in on his face, and he listed the litany of times that McCain supported the dubya administration's policies that adversely affected normal, middle-class Americans. It was, from my point of view, the most powerful moment in the debate.
It is this kind of passion, straight from the heart, that connects Joe Biden with the blue-collar voters in Michigan and Pennsylvania and, I hope, Ohio.
Next post: a return to the states that are moving.
-- triton --
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