{"id":4703,"date":"2016-07-11T21:00:21","date_gmt":"2016-07-11T21:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/repeatright.com\/engine\/?p=4703"},"modified":"2018-10-09T05:27:53","modified_gmt":"2018-10-09T05:27:53","slug":"biden-joseph","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.repeatright.com\/engine\/biden-joseph\/","title":{"rendered":"BIDEN, Joseph, Jr."},"content":{"rendered":"
[vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1453315804311{margin-top: -40px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;}”][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_tta_tabs style=”modern” shape=”square” active_section=”1″][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-book” add_icon=”true” title=”Citation” tab_id=”1449531588223-e020d87d-f7dd094f-cf635381-89e5″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]\n

\u201cFor much too long we have sacrificed personal excellence and moral values for the mere accumulation of material things….we have celebrated unrestrained individualism over common community. For too long as a nation, we have been lulled by the anthem of self-interest.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

~Joe Biden<\/strong>, 47th Vice President of the United States<\/p>\n

As U.S. Senator, announcing his candidacy as a Democratic presidential primary candidate (10 June 1987) Wilmington Delaware, via \u201cPresidential Candidacy Announcement,\u201d C-SPAN II [video-42:26, cited excerpt begins 34:07]; online via C-SPAN, www.c-span.org<\/a><\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-plus-circle” add_icon=”true” title=”Context” tab_id=”1449531588755-96303790-852e094f-cf635381-89e5″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]Extended excerpt<\/em><\/strong>:<\/p>\n[Speech announcing candidacy in the Democratic Party presidential primary election. Video of original speech; transcript via Repeat Right: errors appear in the current (March 2018) C-SPAN “uncorrected Closed Caption transcript.”]\n

\u201cFor much too long we have sacrificed personal excellence and moral values for the mere accumulation of material things. For too long in this society, we have celebrated unrestrained individualism over common community. For too long as a nation, we have been lulled by the anthem of self-interest. And for a decade, led by Ronald Reagan, self-aggrandizement has been the full-throated cry of this society: \u201cI\u2019ve got mine, so why don\u2019t you go get yours?\u201d or \u201cWhat\u2019s in it for me?\u201d[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-search” add_icon=”true” title=”Source Link” tab_id=”1449531589797-29580b31-8c50094f-cf635381-89e5″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]\n

Source links<\/em><\/span><\/strong>: \u201cBiden announcement\u201d (9 June 1987) video & transcript online via C-SPAN: https:\/\/www.c-span.org\/video\/?3310-1\/biden-announcement<\/a>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][\/vc_tta_tabs][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1453316221301{margin-top: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;}”][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_tta_tabs style=”modern” shape=”square” active_section=”1″][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-book” add_icon=”true” title=”Citation” tab_id=”1453315828001-b5e2e52e-ea1e5381-89e5″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]\n

\u201cWe all know \u2013 or at least we are told continually \u2013 that we are a divided people. And we know there\u2019s a degree of truth in it. We have too often allowed our differences to prevail among us. We have too often allowed ambitious men to play off those differences for political gain. We have too often retreated behind our differences when no one really tried to lead us beyond them. But all our differences hardly measure up to the values we all hold in common.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

~Joe Biden<\/strong>, 47th Vice President of the United States<\/p>\n

Speech announcing initial candidacy for U.S. Senate (1972) Hotel du Pont, Wilmington, Delaware; cited by Biden in Promises to Keep<\/em>, 2007, New York: Random House, pp. xvi-xvii<\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-plus-circle” add_icon=”true” title=”Context” tab_id=”1453315828385-86abfac4-79bf5381-89e5″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]Extended excerpt<\/em><\/strong>:<\/p>\n[Biden, in memoir prologue, citing first speech announcing run for U.S. Senator. Biden won the 1972 election, and ultimately represented Delaware as a U.S. Senator until he resigned to serve as U.S. Vice President in January 2009. Ellipsis in text below original to Biden\u2019s 2007 text.]\n

\u201cOur failure in recent years has not<\/em> been the failure of the people to meet the challenges placed before them, but rather the failure of both our great political parties to place those challenges honestly and courageously before the people, and to trust the willingness of the people to do the things that really need to be done…We all know – or at least we are told continually \u2013 that we are a divided people. And we know there\u2019s a degree of truth in it. We have too often allowed our differences to prevail among us. We have too often allowed ambitious men to play off those differences for political gain. We have too often retreated behind our differences when no one really tried to lead us beyond them. But all our differences hardly measure up to the values we all hold in common.\u201d (pp. xvi-xvii)[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-search” add_icon=”true” title=”Source ISBN” tab_id=”1453315828572-dac97b48-68e05381-89e5″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]\n

Source<\/em><\/strong><\/span>: Library \u2013 Promises to Keep<\/em> (2007, Random House first edition) International Standard Book Number (ISBN) 978-1-4000-6536-3[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][\/vc_tta_tabs][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_tta_tabs style=”modern” shape=”square” active_section=”1″][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-book” add_icon=”true” title=”Citation” tab_id=”1449531591105-7edf5f39-feaa094f-cf635381-89e5″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]\n

\u201cW<\/strong>e must rekindle the fire of idealism in this country, for….nothing suffocates the promise of America more than unbounded cynicism and indifference.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

~Joe Biden<\/strong>, 47th Vice President of the United States<\/p>\n

As U.S. Senator, announcing his candidacy as a Democratic presidential primary candidate (10 June 1987) Wilmington Delaware, via \u201cPresidential Candidacy Announcement,\u201d C-SPAN II [video-42:26, cited excerpt begins 36:29]; online via C-SPAN, www.c-span.org<\/a><\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-ban” add_icon=”true” title=”Misquotes” tab_id=”1449531592148-05fdd3db-5676094f-cf635381-89e5″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]Misquote notes<\/em><\/strong><\/span>:<\/p>\n

The C-SPAN transcript accompanying the cited Biden video is \u201ccompiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning\u201d – and it contains a few errors. There are also partial \u2018transcripts\u2019 online which do not accurately quote Biden\u2019s speech. One common misquote example [bold emphasis, Repeat Right]:<\/p>\n

Accurate Biden quote<\/u>: \u201cW<\/strong>e must rekindle the fire of idealism in this country,<\/strong> for ladies and gentleme<\/strong>n \u2013 nothing suffocates the promise of America more than unbounded cynicism and indifference.”<\/p>\n

Misquote<\/u><\/span>: \u201cW<\/strong>e must rekindle the fire of idealism in our society<\/strong>, for nothing suffocates the promise of America more than unbounded cynicism and indifference<\/span>.\u201d[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-plus-circle” add_icon=”true” title=”Context” tab_id=”1449531591631-43861bc7-da28094f-cf635381-89e5″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]Extended excerpt<\/em><\/strong>: [Speech announcing candidacy in Democratic presidential primary. Quote from video of original speech; transcript via Repeat Right. Please note that errors appear in the current (March 2018) ‘uncorrected’ C-SPAN transcript]\n

\u201cAnd finally, we must rekindle the fire of idealism in this country, for ladies and gentlemen \u2013 nothing suffocates the promise of America more than unbounded cynicism and indifference. We must reclaim the tradition of community in our society. For only by recognizing that we share a common obligation to one another and to our country can we ever hope to maximize our national and personal potential. We must reassert the oneness of America.\u201d[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-search” add_icon=”true” title=”Source Link” tab_id=”1449531592891-f39e055b-a66e094f-cf635381-89e5″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]\n

Source links<\/em><\/span><\/strong>: \u201cBiden announcement\u201d (9 June 1987) video & transcript online via C-SPAN: https:\/\/www.c-span.org\/video\/?3310-1\/biden-announcement<\/a>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][\/vc_tta_tabs][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1453316221301{margin-top: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;}”][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_tta_tabs style=”modern” shape=”square” active_section=”1″][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-book” add_icon=”true” title=”Citation” tab_id=”1523160241592-51145742-0cb4″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]\n

\u201cWhen we say that the American political system is the best money can buy, it is not a compliment, it is an epitaph.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

~Joe Biden<\/strong>, 47th Vice President of the United States<\/p>\n

Remarks on the Senate floor (August 1973) U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C., cited in Ben A. Franklin, \u201cElection Finance Reform: Idea Whose Time Came,\u201d The New York Times<\/em>, 4 August 2018, p. 13, column 5; online via The New York Times, \u2018TimesMachine\u2019 archives [subscription service] timesmachine.nytimes.com<\/a><\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-plus-circle” add_icon=”true” title=”Context” tab_id=”1523160241684-72db8a55-501c”][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]Extended excerpt<\/em><\/strong>: [Remarks as a U.S. Senator, on the Senate floor.]\n

\u201cWhen we say that the American political system is the best money can buy,\u201d Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr., Democrat of Delaware, observed bitterly on the Senate floor this week, \u201cit is not a compliment, it is an epitaph.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked whether the outspoken 30-year-old freshman Senator had meant to say \u201cepithet\u201d rather than \u201cepitaph,\u201d a Biden aide said: \u201cOh no, not at all. He meant the thing you write as the last words \u2013 you know, on a tombstone.\u201d (p. 13, column 5)[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-search” add_icon=”true” title=”Source Link” tab_id=”1523160241774-6ea89fef-9f9f”][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]\n

Source link<\/em><\/strong><\/span>: \u201cElection Finance Reform: Idea Whose Time Came\u201d (4 August 1973) online via The New York Times [subscription service]: https:\/\/timesmachine.nytimes.com\/timesmachine\/1973\/08\/04\/106108391.html?action=click&contentCollection=Archives&module=LedeAsset&region=ArchiveBody&pgtype=article&pageNumber=13<\/a>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][\/vc_tta_tabs][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_tta_tabs style=”modern” shape=”square” active_section=”1″][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-book” add_icon=”true” title=”Citation” tab_id=”1523160241974-6c365cc5-bf4a”][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]Misattribution to Joe Biden, Jr.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a lucky person who gets up in the morning, puts both feet on the floor, knows what they\u2019re about to do and thinks it still matters.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

~Joseph R. Biden<\/strong>, Senior<\/strong> – Father of future Vice President Joe Biden, Jr.<\/p>\n

Expression cited by his son Joe Biden, Jr. (1 February 2017) Joe Biden (Jr.), official Facebook page, www.facebook.com\/joebiden<\/a><\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-ban” add_icon=”true” title=”Misquotes” tab_id=”1523160242072-66814a6c-04ba”][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]Misquote notes<\/em><\/strong><\/span>:<\/p>\n

If you attribute this quote to Joseph R. Biden, then you’re safe. Citation sticklers, however, should note that Joseph ‘Joe’ R. Biden, Jr.<\/span><\/strong> credited his father, Joseph R. Biden, Sr<\/strong><\/span>. as the original source of the words:<\/p>\n

Vice President Joe Biden, Jr. (1 February 2017) Facebook post:<\/p>\n

\u201cMy dad used to have an expression. He said: \u201cIt\u2019s a lucky person who gets up in the morning, puts both feet on the floor, knows what they\u2019re about to do and thinks it still matters<\/span>.\u201d<\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-plus-circle” add_icon=”true” title=”Context” tab_id=”1523160242178-e1b6153a-a702″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]Extended excerpt<\/em><\/strong>: [Joe Biden, Jr., citing his father, Joseph Biden, Sr., in a Facebook social media post]\n

\u201cMy dad used to have an expression. He said: \u201cIt\u2019s a lucky person who gets up in the morning, puts both feet on the floor, knows what they\u2019re about to do and thinks it still matters.\u201d[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-search” add_icon=”true” title=”Source Link” tab_id=”1523160242298-9ce880e1-6102″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]\n

Source links<\/em><\/span><\/strong>: Vice President\u00a0Joe Biden, Facebook post (1 February 2017) online via Facebook: https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/joebiden\/posts\/10154079164661104<\/a><\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][\/vc_tta_tabs][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]\n

Resources<\/h4>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css_animation=”none” el_class=”Wrapper-Author-Resources”]Learn more about Joe Biden <\/strong><\/span>| Here are a few good places to find out more –<\/p>\n