![]() When he meets with military families who’ve lost their hero, he does it as a kindred spirit the parent of an American soldier somebody whose faith has endured the hardest loss there is.įor eight years, Joe was the last one in the room whenever I faced a big decision. When Joe listens to a parent who’s trying to hold it all together right now, he does it as the single dad who took the train back to Wilmington each and every night so he could tuck his kids into bed. When he talks with someone who’s lost her job, Joe remembers the night his father sat him down to say that he’d lost his. That empathy, that decency, the belief that everybody counts – that’s who Joe is. Joe’s a man who learned – early on – to treat every person he meets with respect and dignity, living by the words his parents taught him: “No one’s better than you, Joe, but you’re better than nobody.” But what I quickly came to admire about him is his resilience, born of too much struggle his empathy, born of too much grief. Joe and I came from different places and different generations. Twelve years ago, when I began my search for a vice president, I didn’t know I’d end up finding a brother. ![]() So let me tell you about my friend Joe Biden. Maybe you’re tired of the direction we’re headed, but you can’t see a better path yet, or you just don’t know enough about the person who wants to lead us there. But maybe you’re still not sure which candidate you’ll vote for – or whether you’ll vote at all. Now, I know that in times as polarized as these, most of you have already made up your mind. Our worst impulses unleashed, our proud reputation around the world badly diminished, and our democratic institutions threatened like never before. Millions of jobs gone while those at the top take in more than ever. And the consequences of that failure are severe. For close to four years now, he’s shown no interest in putting in the work no interest in finding common ground no interest in using the awesome power of his office to help anyone but himself and his friends no interest in treating the presidency as anything but one more reality show that he can use to get the attention he craves.ĭonald Trump hasn’t grown into the job because he can’t. I did hope, for the sake of our country, that Donald Trump might show some interest in taking the job seriously that he might come to feel the weight of the office and discover some reverence for the democracy that had been placed in his care.īut he never did. I never expected that my successor would embrace my vision or continue my policies. I have sat in the Oval Office with both of the men who are running for president. We should expect that regardless of ego, ambition, or political beliefs, the president will preserve, protect, and defend the freedoms and ideals that so many Americans marched for and went to jail for fought for and died for. So at minimum, we should expect a president to feel a sense of responsibility for the safety and welfare of all 330 million of us – regardless of what we look like, how we worship, who we love, how much money we have – or who we voted for.īut we should also expect a president to be the custodian of this democracy. The one Constitutional office elected by all of the people is the presidency. ![]() And gradually, we made this country more just, more equal, and more free. ![]() Through civil war and bitter struggles, we improved this Constitution to include the voices of those who’d once been left out. But embedded in this document was a North Star that would guide future generations a system of representative government – a democracy – through which we could better realize our highest ideals. It allowed for the inhumanity of slavery and failed to guarantee women – and even men who didn’t own property – the right to participate in the political process. I’m in Philadelphia, where our Constitution was drafted and signed. Because what we do these next 76 days will echo through generations to come. So tonight, I want to talk as plainly as I can about the stakes in this election. As you’ve seen by now, this isn’t a normal convention. Read former President Barack Obama’s speech to the 2020 Democratic National Convention, as prepared for delivery:
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