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Joe Biden's Tears: the Political Power of Paternal Love

huffingtonpost.com — Joe Biden did more for the equality of the sexes with his honest display of paternal emotion during the vice presidential debate than Sarah Palin's presence on the executive ticket has or will ever do. Biden visibly teared up when he rebutted the idea that "just because I am a man" he didn't understand what it was like to wonder whether a child wou

Who dugg this? Made popular Oct 3, 2008

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  • raaya79, on 10/03/2008, -35/+518I think that moment actually won him the debate.
  • u2wedge, on 10/03/2008, -25/+406I like Joe.
  • inactive, on 10/03/2008, -13/+370Yeah, I wasn't expecting that moment and it moved me, too. I didn't appreciate how Palin ignored it and went back to talking points. She could have at least shown a brief sign of empathy; her coaching today to stick to her talking points backfired in this regard.
  • Dustee, on 10/03/2008, -16/+311They forgot to put empathy in Palins script - so she didn't have any.

    Good job Senator Biden - err, Mr. Vice President!!!
  • Treven, on 10/03/2008, -21/+309This what a real man looks like.
  • qdkk, on 10/03/2008, -13/+194Watching the two VP candidates debate, a huge difference that one can observe is their honesty. Biden was completely open. He let us see him as he is. Palin was putting on an act.
  • TycoonDreamer, on 10/03/2008, -8/+160Here's the deal: Even Joe Biden would be a better POTUS than John McCain. He's human. He understands the average American.

    Here's another thing I noticed: Gwen Ifill, probably for fear of backlash, was too easy on Palin. In the beginning of the debate, Palin practically chose her own questions and decided to stick with Energy policy. Huh? Wasn't the question about health care? Bankruptcy? Etc?
  • Braeden, on 10/03/2008, -8/+153Here's the clip to subject yourself to again: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pC1W1_sTgFE

    Of all the things we have seen from the McCain campaign, a heart has not been one of them. "You betcha" Joe makes me proud to be a dad.
  • macaca, on 10/03/2008, -17/+159He broke the sex barrier and showed that strong men can get emotional too.
  • inactive, on 10/03/2008, -7/+129I agree, I dont think anyone was expecting that
  • Elohir, on 10/03/2008, -13/+124It didn't win him the debate at all. The fact he simply outclassed Palin won him the debate.
  • col381, on 10/03/2008, -10/+118What I admired was that it didn't look scripted or fake in anyway - you could see it on his face, it was a genuine moment, and I think it surprised him just as much as everybody else.



  • paintgrl, on 10/03/2008, -12/+115I teared up when Joe's voice cracked. I am a big softy.
  • Insightful, on 10/03/2008, -2/+102Trust me, if ever my wife and daughter died and two sons were critically injured I will choke up that quickly.

    And then I will kick anyone's else ass for accusing me of acting.
  • Cowomonoco, on 10/03/2008, -17/+117This is clearly the most important issue that we have faced in this election. I hope Jesus forgives her for keeping her babies up too late to see Mommy in the most important night of her life.

    I hate Palin, but at least try to bash her with something relevant.
  • axor112, on 10/03/2008, -15/+115Palin is just a wind up doll. She couldn't even respond to that, kind of scary. I guess McCain and Co. forgot to program emotion into her.
  • jynweythek, on 10/03/2008, -7/+101Normally my ***** detector goes off when politicians choke up / cry (clinton) but this one was very genuine.
  • Jeffler, on 10/03/2008, -8/+99People complaining Biden faked it like Hilary:

    Because a tough campaign and a tragic accident are totally the same.
  • RadioKBWS, on 10/03/2008, -59/+144Speaking of kids and family, why aren't Palin's in school? Do they have a private tutor traveling with them or is the Alaskan school year totally different?

    And as Matthews pointed out ... shouldn't that infant (and the younger kids) be asleep by the time the debate ended?
  • Gerz1219, on 10/03/2008, -1/+80Remember that most people don't watch debates to weigh opposing rational arguments. They want to see which candidate they identify with more, and which one they think shares their values. Politicians like Bush and Palin typically understand this much more viscerally than old-style liberals have in the past, who always seem to think that the point of a debate is to win on the merits.

    This moment was significant because Palin spent the entire debate answering important policy questions by winking for the camera and condescendingly reciting talking points about being a hockey mom. But towards the end, apparently unfamiliar with Biden's life story, she overreached and suggested that Biden doesn't know anything about the struggles parents face.

    Biden's doubtlessly genuine reaction contrasted sharply with Palin's repeated exploitation of every element of her family life -- including (sickeningly) her Down's syndrome child -- for political purposes. And Palin quickly responded to Biden with some ridiculous babbling talking point about McCain's mavericky maverickness, an exchange that kind of reminded me of Dukakis's answer to that rape question.

    I really don't think this debate is going to turn the election on its head, but if Biden had supplied rote wonky lists at every turn while Palin was busy genuinely connecting with viewers, that might have lost Obama some swing voters.
  • inactive, on 10/03/2008, -10/+87Won the debate for whom exactly? People walking around without a 3rd grade command of logic and English? Biden clearly won the debate less than 20 seconds into Palin's first rebuttal, when it became all too painfully clear that her exhaustive inexperience is ubiquitous; she's precisely as experienced a debater as she is an experienced slice of marble rye, which is to say not even in the slightest.
  • artfuldodga, on 10/03/2008, -8/+72Hey there folks down south, do us all a favor? Vote for this guy as your next VP.
  • skertso, on 10/03/2008, -19/+82This was a very touching moment and my eyes welled. This man obviously cares deeply, not only about his family and friends but about all of us in this country.
  • RobbyDigital, on 10/03/2008, -18/+80It was definitely a real moment. Palin held her own pretty good tonight, but her answers seemed pretty scripted and not very genuine.
  • Vyrlemuse, on 10/03/2008, -9/+67The part that anyone can see, was that his swelling of emotion was not planned no one chokes up that quickly, then try's to recompose themself to look strong in the face of the fact their son is in danger.
  • stinkymonkey, on 10/03/2008, -6/+63And note how Palin just ignored Joe, not offering any kind words. No compassion. No sentiment. Nothing. Kind of made me ill watching Palin not-react at all.
  • apothekari, on 10/03/2008, -8/+64My thoughts as well.
    I think this will resonate with a VERY important group of undecided voters that Obama needs a few more of ...working class males.
    I felt it was by far the best "real-I get -it -folks- I -really-do"moment in the debate.
    It was convincing and poignant.
  • GenReefer, on 10/03/2008, -6/+60Jesus the posters above me are real ***** suckers. Just wait till something bad happens to the people you love. Then when that moment hits you will eat your own words. *****
  • inactive, on 10/03/2008, -7/+59Yes. It takes more strength to admit weakness than to pretend we have none.
  • FyreGoddess, on 10/03/2008, -1/+52Including him. He didn't look prepared for that line of thought or the emotions that came along with it.
  • adml_shake, on 10/03/2008, -1/+50I'm not voting for her, and think she's a bad choice for McCain's running mate, but I mean come on how many kids would get to see their parents do THAT. If that were my wife up there on the stage, I wouldn't have any problems at all pulling them out of school for a few days and letting them stay up late to watch. This is one of the biggest and most important elections of our time, I don't think it's going to hurt anything.
  • jordanwlee, on 10/03/2008, -7/+55At that moment I saw Biden not as a politician but as a man, a father and someone with passion. Debate aside, this was something really powerful, maybe one of the most powerful moments of the night. It must be tough defending policies and issues in front of millions of Americans, but it must be even more difficult being completely transparent almost to the point of tears with millions of Americans.
  • BeeArePro, on 10/03/2008, -10/+57I teared up a bit watching hearing him talk about the tragedy.
  • inactive, on 10/03/2008, -4/+51Everytime Palin opened her mouth he won the debate.

    Edit: come to think of it, he won the debate when she started to grin like she's in a beauty pageant.
  • aussieNickuss, on 10/03/2008, -3/+49I doubt she was even listening to a word he said....she probably just had the topic at hand in her head and was memorising the talking points from her notes in front of her.
  • oldgal, on 10/03/2008, -3/+48I have never seen him mention this tragedy in any of his campaigns. I think the replicated implication that only Gov. Palin, sitting around the table with her 5 kids could understand the average American family finally got to him. I agree, I think he totally surprised himself and for a moment he forgot the pain that remembrance brings...and then the remembrance brought back the pain.
  • azshortsale, on 10/03/2008, -8/+49Sarah Palin will announce she's pregnant right before November 4th.
  • inactive, on 10/03/2008, -1/+40Maverick this Maverick that... STFU ALREADY! That word has lost it's luster and it's totally obnoxious when the Republicanst say it!

    BTW thanks for posting the link!
  • jynweythek, on 10/03/2008, -5/+42*****. he outclassed palin in every aspect of the debate. sure, it helped us see the man under the politician, but to suggest that's the main/only reason he won is just an insult to him.
  • evetsleep, on 10/03/2008, -1/+37I now ... and forever will ... hate the word maverick.

    Thanks Sarah.
  • medfreak, on 10/03/2008, -7/+43You see people, that is the difference between genuine personal experience, and the abused, overused and now meaningless PEEEOHHHHDUBLUUUUUUU that McCain keeps repeating. I mean I am a Palestinian, and I know how much Joe Biden supports Israel blindly (not that McCain is going to be any different, I guess the Palestinian people are just bound to suffer continuous demonization for a long time in US politics and we have to get used to it) but I could not help but feel for the guy.

    Truly a moving moment.
  • Volatile36, on 10/03/2008, -2/+38That's the best bread reference I've ever read...
  • BellaVitaGirl, on 10/03/2008, -3/+37I couldn't believe he actually kept his composure. I was looking away from the TV and I heard him hesitate/stutter ever so slightly and then I looked and he was tearing up...it was pretty subtle actually, and I immediately looked up his bio and found out about the car accident. It was a "...Whoa" moment for me. So, yeah, he definitely deserved to be upset about it.
    And as for Palin not responding to his display of emotion a) she probably couldn't see him real well, I know people that watched the closeups on TV and didn't catch it and b) probably didn't know about the accident (which happened in the 70s). I know I didn't. And it sure seems like I know more about what's going on than Palin in a lot of incidents. Besides, it was probably better to keep going and let him regain his composure. If she had kept bringing it up it may have upset him more OR he would have had to explain better and people would have accused him of faking the incident to get sympathy points.
  • Prayformojo777, on 10/03/2008, -2/+35If your loved ones ever die in a car wreck, see if you need to fake tears when bringing up those memories.
  • vinod1978, on 10/03/2008, -0/+33When your wife, and one of your children dies, and you are in a hospital waiting room waiting to see if your 2 other children are going to die you will remember that moment for the rest of your life. You can't tell me that was staged. C'mon - have you never had anyone in your life that was close to you go? No? How about 2?

    This wasn't like Hillary's Clinton's tears about winning a state. That was real. *****.
  • vinod1978, on 10/03/2008, -1/+33A tragedy like that you don't soon forget. It's impossible to fake that. My mom died a while ago, I still tear up sometimes. Are you telling me that Joe Biden has to put on an act to show that he misses his 1st wife, and his daughter? You are an idiot - there was no reason to pretend, there are real tears there.
  • nick1971, on 10/03/2008, -6/+37I think it was the most moving moment that I have seen in politics in a long time.
  • Jeepy, on 10/03/2008, -3/+34Yeah Palin's immediate response to a story about Biden almost losing a child, "John McCain is a maverick". I guess she is too because she doesn't do the insider political thing and show empathy, cause darn'it she won't react the way any of us want her to.

    Maybe it's for the best because when we see her talk off the cuff she completely melts down. An ad lib there might of been something along the lines of I felt the same way when my son's hockey team lost.
  • averagemario, on 10/03/2008, -10/+40A four month old baby does not need to stay up late to see Mommy in the most important night of her life. If you're a good parent you know how important it is for babies to be on a strict sleep schedule.

    Poor kid is being used as a stage prop for her.
  • blix01, on 10/03/2008, -16/+46that's because she would be.
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