The Great Democratic Hope and His Fantastic Insights

The amazing thing is, the man we honor today wasn’t always a talker. He suffered from a debilitating stutter for most of his childhood. He was teased for it, but he was determined to overcome it, and so he did—with hard work, with determination, with the support of his family. It is classic Joe Biden. He has never stopped talking since. He cites overcoming that stutter as one of the most important lessons in his life. It led him down a path few might have foreseen: winning election to the county council, securing an improbable victory for the U.S. Senate, becoming our Nation’s 47th Vice President. Now, the Presiding Officer would be the first to tell you that he has been blessed in many ways. He has also been tested, knocked down, pushed to the edge of what anyone could be expected to bear, but from the grip of unknowable despair came a new man—a better man: stronger and more compassionate, grateful for every moment, appreciative of what really matters. Here in the Senate he heeded the advice of Mike Mansfield. Here is what Senator Mansfield had to say: ‘‘Your job here is to find the good things in your colleagues. And, Joe, never attack another man’s motive, because you don’t know his motive.’’ Look for the good. Don’t attack motives. It is the basis of a simple philosophy and a very powerful one. Vice President Biden says he views his competitors as competitors, not enemies, and he has been able to cultivate many unlikely friendships across the aisle—with Jesse Helms, with Strom Thurmond, with me.

Over the years, we have worked together on issues of mutual interest, like Burma—and regarding the vote we just took a few moments ago—21st Century Cures, and the Cancer Moonshot. We have also negotiated in good faith when the country needed bipartisan leadership. We got results that would not have been possible without a negotiating partner like Joe Biden. Obviously, I don’t always agree with him, but I do trust him implicitly. He doesn’t break his word. He doesn’t waste time telling me why I am wrong. He gets down to brass tacks, and he keeps in sight the stakes. There is a reason ‘‘Get Joe on the phone’’ is shorthand for ‘‘time to get serious’’ in my office. The Vice President is a likeable guy too. He has a well developed sense of humor. He doesn’t take himself too seriously either. When The Onion ran a mock photo of him washing a Trans-Am in the White House driveway, shirtless, Americans embraced it, and so did he. ‘‘I think it’s hilarious,’’ he said, but ‘‘by the way, I have a Corvette—’67 Corvette— not a Trans-Am.’’ So you see what I mean.