LANGHORNE, PA — Joe Biden was the Obama campaign’s most forceful attack dog on the stump in the Philadelphia area today, turning in strong hits on the Republican ticket for twisting the knife into Democrats at their convention, but failing to mention so much as a single idea to help the American middle class.

Riling himself up along with the crowd of 2000 at a gymnasium in Langhorne, PA, Biden railed against the convention speakers. “It’s not so much I heard in the Republican convention, when I heard John speak last night, or not so much what I heard when I heard what the governor had to say, the Vice Presidential candidate. It’s what I didn’t hear. The silence. The silence of the Republican party was deafening,” he shouted, deafening in his own right. “It was deafening on jobs, on health care, on environment, on all the things that matter, on the neighborhoods I grew up in. Deafening.”

As the crowd built to its own crescendo along with the Vice Presidential contender, Biden exclaimed “their America is not the America I live in. They see something different than I see.”

“This isn’t theater here, this is real. It makes me angry,” he said
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VIRGINIA BEACH, VA — Joe Biden gives his Republican rival high marks for her speech at the GOP national Convention last night.

“I thought the Vice Presidential nominee did an incredible job. I’m telling you, she is good. She is good and she was laying it out there, and she delivered an incredible speech,” he said at a discussion with veterans at the Virginia Beach convention center.

Then he dropped the “but.”

“But the thing I was most impressed by beyond her standing and how confident she was what she didn’t say. She didn’t mention the word health care. She didn’t mention the world, the word education. She didn’t mention college education,” Biden said. “Not one time that I am aware of, I know in her speech and I assume in her speeches, not one time did I hear the phrase middle class part their lips.”

The Democratic VP nominee has been as nice as can be with Sarah Palin, defending her on the morning shows this morning against media questions about the pregnancy of her teenage daughter. He even told the crowd of military veterans — including one questioner who seemed to want him to go for blood in the VP debate next month — that he would be respectful.

“I will be unrelenting in my debate with the governor of Alaska in terms of the positions she has taken. But what I will not do what she is able to do so well, and many others,” said Biden. “I am not good at the one line zingers and all that, you know, that’s not my deal. So if that’s going to be the measure of how these debates go, I’m not going to do very well. but if the measure of the debates are me stating forthrightly about me and Barack Obama and what we’ll do to change the country, I think you’ll be proud. “

But while he’s respectful of the GOP ticket — even defending John McCain at length against a Navy veteran who questioned why the son and grandson of admirals never had a command of his own — Biden continued to attack on policy and judgment. On Iraq, the Delaware senator lumped the two Republicans together as the lone holdouts against withdrawing troops. “There’s only one odd man out, two actually, a man and a woman: McCain and Palin. They say stay there indefinitely, with no end in sight. “

“Who has been right? And who has been wrong? On the big, big, big ticket items,” Biden asked. “Don’t buy this malarkey about Barack Obama is not ready.”

In a strongly worded email to supporters, Obama’s campaign manager David Plouffe said last night’s Republican convention displayed “McCain’s attack squad of negative, cynical politicians” that lied, attacked, mocked, and insulted its way through a series of prime time speeches. Read the email - sent early this morning - below.

Friend –

I wasn’t planning on sending you something tonight. But if you saw
what I saw from the Republican convention, you know that it demands a
response.

I saw John McCain’s attack squad of negative, cynical politicians.
They lied about Barack Obama and Joe Biden, and they attacked you for
being a part of this campaign.

But worst of all — and this deserves to be noted — they insulted
the very idea that ordinary people have a role to play in our
political process.

You know that despite what John McCain and his attack squad say,
everyday people have the power to build something extraordinary when
we come together. Make a donation of $5 or more right now to remind
them.

Both Rudy Giuliani and Sarah Palin specifically mocked Barack’s
experience as a community organizer on the South Side of Chicago more
than two decades ago, where he worked with people who had lost jobs
and been left behind when the local steel plants closed.

Let’s clarify something for them right now.

Community organizing is how ordinary people respond to out-of-touch
politicians and their failed policies.

And it’s no surprise that, after eight years of George Bush, millions
of people have found that by coming together in their local
communities they can change the course of history. That promise is
what our campaign has been about from the beginning.

(more…)

Soon after Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin finished her speech Wednesday night, the Obama campaign sent out the following response:

“The speech that Governor Palin gave was well delivered, but it was written by George Bush’s speechwriter and sounds exactly like the same divisive, partisan attacks we’ve heard from George Bush for the last eight years.  If Governor Palin and John McCain want to define ‘change’ as voting with George Bush 90% of the time, that’s their choice, but we don’t think the American people are ready to take a 10% chance on change,” said Bill Burton, Obama Campaign Spokesman.

At his town hall meeting in New Philadelphia, Ohio, Obama cited a quote from McCain’s campaign manager, who told the Washington Post that “this election is not about issues.” Rick Davis tried to clarify his statement on a conference call, saying he meant the election is partially about issues, but it’s also about a conglomerate of “stuff,” including the candidates’ views on leadership, character, and values.

Obama had a slightly different interpretation. “He said it’s not going to be about – it’s not going to be about the issues, it’s going to be about personalities, which probably explains why last night when they were speaking, all these speakers came up – you did not hear a single word about the economy,” he said of last night’s Republican convention (the Obama campaign could not say if the candidate monitored last night’s events from his Chicago home).

Obama has been working hard to portray John McCain as out of touch when it comes to the economy. He’s poked fun at the Republican for not knowing how many homes he owns, and defining wealthy as those making more than $5 million. He’s linked McCain to George W. Bush by saying he supports the same tax cuts on the wealthiest Americans as the unpopular president supported. Obama has given McCain a hard time for claiming we’ve undergone “great progress” economically, and he’s highlighted remarks made by one time top advisor Phil Gramm for saying this was a “nation of whiners” who were going through a “mental recession.”

The onslaught is meant to appeal to those who feel as though the economy is the biggest issue this election, and continued today when Obama made an issue out of the Republicans’ omission last night.

“Not once did people mention the hardships that folks are going through, not once did they mention what are we going to do about keeping jobs here in Ohio. Not once did they mention what are we doing about all these retirees that are losing their pensions. Not once did they mention how are we going to make sure social security is there for the next generation. Not once did they mention how are we going to make college more affordable so that young people aren’t taking out 40 or 50 thousands dollars in debt. Not once did they mention how are we going to make sure people can stay in their homes,” he said. “I guess I don’t blame them because if you don’t have any issues to run on I guess you want it all to be on personality. And if you’ve got George Bush’s track record and John McCain voting 90% of the time in agreement with George Bush they you probably don’t want to talk about the issues either,” he continued.

Responding to speeches given by President Bush, Fred Thompson, and Joe Lieberman, the Obama camp released the following statement:

“At a time when millions of Americans are struggling like never before to pay their mortgage, their medical bills, and their gas bills, tonight’s speakers at John McCain’s Republican convention proved how out of touch their candidate is by saying not one word about his plans to put our economy back on track and provide real relief to middle-class families. Apparently, John McCain’s belief that we’ve made ‘great progress’ economically over the last eight years means he doesn’t have to offer any plans at all to fix our ailing economy,” said Obama campaign spokesman Tommy Vietor.

The Obama campaign is doing its best to make George Bush the star of the Republican convention. They began airing an ad on national cable networks linking John McCain to the unpopular president, and have already issued a response to Mr. Bush’s yet-to-be-delivered speech tonight.

From Obama campaign manager David Plouffe:

“Tonight, George Bush enthusiastically passed the torch to the man who’s earned it by voting with him 90% of the time, and who will continue this President’s legacy for the next four years – his disastrous economic policies, his foreign policy that hasn’t made us safer, and his misguided war in Iraq that’s costing us $10 billion a month.  The man George Bush needs may be John McCain, but the change America needs is Barack Obama.”

George Bush is expected to address the Republican convention tonight by satellite - meaning Democrats won’t have any new video of the unpopular president rallying the troops. Which may explain why the Obama campaign will be airing a new ad to coincide with the events in Minneapolis.

The ad, called “Same,” features images of John McCain and George Bush together and uses video of McCain himself saying, ” I voted with the president over 90 percent of the time, higher than a lot of my even Republican colleagues.”

The ad begins airing today on national cable and in battleground states.

Just released by the Obama camp:

Excerpts of the Remarks of Senator Barack Obama

“The American Promise”

Democratic National Convention

August 28, 2008

Denver, Colorado

As prepared for delivery

“Four years ago, I stood before you and told you my story – of the brief union between a young man from Kenya and a young woman from Kansas who weren’t well-off or well-known, but shared a belief that in America, their son could achieve whatever he put his mind to.

“It is that promise that has always set this country apart – that through hard work and sacrifice, each of us can pursue our individual dreams but still come together as one American family, to ensure that the next generation can pursue their dreams as well.

“It is why I stand here tonight. Because for two hundred and thirty two years, at each moment when that promise was in jeopardy, ordinary men and women – students and soldiers, farmers and teachers, nurses and janitors — found the courage to keep it alive.

“We meet at one of those defining moments – a moment when our nation is at war, our economy is in turmoil, and the American promise has been threatened once more.

“Tonight, more Americans are out of work and more are working harder for less. More of you have lost your homes and more are watching your home values plummet. More of you have cars you can’t afford to drive, credit card bills you can’t afford to pay and tuition that is beyond your reach

“These challenges are not all of government’s making. But the failure to respond is a direct result of a broken politics in Washington and the failed presidency of George W. Bush.

“America, we are better than these last eight years. We are a better country than this.”

(more…)

“I have a speech tonight that I wanted to practice out on you guys,” Barack Obama said to an Illinois women’s delegation luncheon in Denver today. “See if it works in front of a friendly audience,” he joked.

Hours before he will speak to an estimated 75,000 people at Denver’s Mile High Stadium tonight to accept his party’s nomination, Obama dropped by the luncheon to say thank you. “I just wanted to come by because I haven’t had a chance to spend as much time with you as I’d like - to let you know that I have not forgotten where I came from,” he told the gathering, which was surprised by the entourage that interrupted their meal.

Of course Obama did not practice his speech on the roomful of supporters. In fact, he’s likely still tinkering with the speech.

Obama’s top advisor, David Axelrod, told reporters yesterday that the speech “is substantially written, but as with all Obama speeches he’ll be refining it, and buffing it up and working on it, I’m sure, right until the very end.”

As for what to expect tonight, Obama himself told reporters it won’t be like his soaring speech at the 2004 Democratic convention because his role “is different now.” As a member of John Kerry’s supporting cast, he said he “could structure a speech that was all about inspiration and broad themes.” But this time around it will be more “workmanlike.”

So does that mean boring? “Boring? Yeah, that’s why it’s taking so long because it was really not boring, and we were trying to get it to be boring - we were having a hard time with that and we’re hoping to get it boring in time,” Axelrod said with a smile. “I don’t think he was saying, ‘I’m purposely trying to tamp that down.’ I think he has some things he wants to say that are very simple and direct about where we need to go as a country…I think he thinks we can be direct, and clear with people, yet still not boring,” he explained.

The speech will not be biographical in nature, Axelrod said, but will focus on the issues at stake and the choices this election. “This speech and this election are not about Barack Obama. It’s about the American people. It’s about this country. It’s about the direction that we have to go to get us out of the ditch we are in and so he’s going to spent the bulk of his time talking about the country and where we are today and where we need to go,” he said, adding Obama will make “a respectful argument” when it comes to John McCain.

The candidate has been working on the speech since before his Hawaiian vacation and is the principal speechwriter. According to Axelrod, he wrote the speech in longhand before putting it on his computer to crank out a draft to his top speechwriter.

The campaign would not guess how long the speech will run.