Hope everyone had the best Christmas! Joe and Jill visited

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Walter Reed:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7326235

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1. Thanks!

I wonder if it even got mentioned on TV. Oh well, at least the media is finally treating him with the respect he deserves. I guess the first year of any administration is the harshest and whoever is VP often gets kicked around a lot.

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2. I think when it became known he was advising Obama to hold back

on the Afghanistan escalation, a lot of people were reporting on that with an actual sense of respect in the tone. That may just have been my take through my Biden-eyes, though. :7

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3. It was my take as well,

but then I have Biden-eyes too. My daughter and I were talking about Joe yesterday. She defends him frequently. If someone criticizes him, she asks, "Have you ever seen one of his speeches?" Then she talks about seeing his Fire Fighters speech and being blown away. Like us, she is hooked for life.

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4. I can't help but think if someone catches one of those speeches they'd be

hooked for life, too. He touches you.

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5. He is like a Frank Capra character for me,

the honest, decent American who only exists in fiction. How refreshing to find one that is real. Every time I'd see a really inspiring fictional president in a movie or on TV, I'd wonder why real politicians don't talk ever talk like that. Sadly, when we DO get a good one, most people don't recognize him/her.

I just watched an old Capra film I'd never seen before, "State of the Union" with Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn. Hepburn's character summed it up quite well, "You politicians have stayed professionals only because the voters have remained amateurs." We tend to get what we ask for and then become disillusioned when they don't live up to our uninformed expectations. I used to be an "amateur" too.

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6. I don't think I've ever seen that movie, either. I'll keep an eye out for it.

And yes, Joe is that honest, decent American. We were sooooooo right about him. I sure hope he's happy in his current position. I know I feel a lot better knowing he's there with Obama.

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7. Me too

As sharp as Obama may be, it appears my early concerns about lack of experience may have been justified. Hopefully he'll get off to a better start in his 2nd year.

I'd had never even heard of the movie before and I was surprised at how timely some of the dialogue was. Though Tracy's character was a republican in the movie, his views were extremely radical. Of course, they summed up the different between the two parties quite succinctly:

Kay Thorndyke: But there is one question on his mind you better have the answer to.
Jim Conover: What's that?
Kay Thorndyke: He's beginning to wonder if there is any difference between the Democratic Party and the Republican Party.
Jim Conover: Now that's a fine question for a presidential candidate to ask. There's all the difference in the world. They're in and we're out!