Aug 23

As I had said earlier, one of the things that I disliked about Obama’s primary win over Hillary is that it reminded me once again of being a woman overlooked in favor of younger, less experienced men. Joe Biden’s selection for the Vice Presidency in the Obama campaign is a great olive branch for people like me. Yes, Joe is not a woman. That is a strike against him in a small way. But the bigger pluses in knowing that the Obama folks do indeed respect age and wisdom and experience work very well on me.

Joe Biden

Joe Biden

I had already made my decision to support Obama. But I didn’t send my first donation until today. The donation was very small, but it was in fact a donation from a brand new contributor so it does count as being a bit special. Many Hillary supporters have not yet donated any money at all to Obama.

I do like McCain’s experience. I don’t like where that experience has been taking him. It seems like all those years in the Navy have him blustering too much. I think he could be very harmful to our nation because making the wrong decision is the wrong decision whether you are experienced or not.

Biden wasn’t picked to make the Republicans quake in their boots.

I think he is an excellent choice to assist Obama with the connections and experience to cause the changes Obama talks about to actually happen.

I was worried about Obama’s lack of deep connections. But now Biden can play an LBJ role and get stuff through congress in the same way LBJ did it for Kennedy.

Biden is a great choice for being able to actually govern.

The Amtrak is a great connection between ordinary folks and Biden. I have been on a train commuting home from work so I could be with my spouse just like Biden. I am pleased that it was important enough to him to be home with his family that he did not create a residence in Washington. I looked up trains from Washington, CD to Wilmington, DE and discovered that Joe Biden has been commuting between the WIL station in Delaware and the WAS station in Washington’s union station — a commute requiring 3 hours on the train each day round trip. He also had to get to the train station on each side of the trip twice a day. Apparently, his children also felt the tremendous impact that the train ride had on them each day as well. One of Biden’s sons is an executive for Amtrak in Delaware!

Trains are a great way to commute. You get on the train and you have an uninterrupted portion of time that you can use for reading, making calls, and making notes. It creates some of the most productive time a person can have a reality, and saves fuel at the same time.

Even with the bonus of the commuting time being freed up by not having to drive, most people would probably at least rent an apartment in Washington so they wouldn’t have to spend so much time commuting. I know first hand, though, that being gone all week and only seeing your spouse and children on weekends is an unhappy way to live. I’m pleased to see Joe Biden shares my values, and keeps his family ties close. He illustrates with that one action that he realizes his responsibility to his family is important even though he must be in Washington so much.

What a good message to convey to the families all over America — that putting family first still matters.