Opinion: Joe Biden, foreign policy expert, hits hard on economics

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

DENVER -- Conventional wisdom has it that Joe Biden, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, can be especially effective combating the Republican ticket on issues of war and peace.

That may prove the case. But in his speech tonight accepting the Democratic vice presidential nomination, Biden talked about the economic woes affecting many Americans in a way that showed an empathy many Democrats believe Barack Obama has failed to exude.

Near the top of his address, Biden set up his commentary by referencing what will become one of his biographical calling cards over the next two-plus months: his long-established routine of taking Amtrak home to Delaware every night.

‘As I look out the window at the homes we pass, I can almost hear’ what folks are talking about at the proverbial kitchen table, he said.

He continued: ‘Like millions of Americans, they’re asking questions as ordinary as they are profound. Questions they never thought they would have to ask.’

It’s likely several of those he then posed, in plain language, resonated with many Americans. They included:

* ‘Fifty, sixty, seventy dollars to fill up the car?’

* ‘Another year, no raise?’

* ‘How in God’s name are we going to send the kids to college?’

If Biden can keep connecting in such a fashion, THAT could prove his most valuable political asset to Obama.

-- Don Frederick