Grassroots Rally with Joe Biden by Doug McVadon
His whole job is creating a new possibility.
He creates it in the listening of others, whom he has never met, yet with whom he claims and creates a profound sense of kinship.
And he does it by acknowledgment.
Talking about a populist, a man who obviously lives for those moments in front of people, in front of the cameras, in front of the whole damn country, willing to be ridiculed and to expose his flaws, for a cause he believes to be a mighty one.
Talking about Joe Biden.
He got me, in person, in a way I wasn’t expecting.
His message was predictable, about protecting Medicare and looking out for the middle class, but his authenticity was not.
Politician. We spit the word out with disdain. Joe gives back the luster to the profession by demonstrating it: he was informed (lots of facts and figures which he openly challenged the assembled press to check, saying “they ought to!”); he was funny, by noticing what was going on, not by reciting jokes; he was PRESENT and did not use notes, and seemed to make eye contact with many in the crowd.
He had a message and was intent on “bringing the message to the people” about the good work that IS happening, about the commitment he and Barack Obama continue to have to caring about the least of us. It was inspiring to watch the man work. He has done his homework, but most important, he has done the work.
The work to keep his commitment alive when his wife and kids were killed in a car accident.
The work to keep going in the face of personal attacks and caricatures in the cruelest of professions.
The work to know the budget numbers and the legislation and the names of the mayor and congressmen and campaign organizers and not to get them wrong.
I said he did it with acknowledgment.
First, he acknowledged that he was late. He told us about having to try to land three times due to a thunderstorm, and joked that he was “surprised anyone stuck around,” but mainly he DID NOT STEP OVER IT. He acknowledged that we had been standing there a long time (over two hours for me, longer for some) and that showed respect for our time. It was the beginning of dozens of little acknowledgments. He kept mentioning the organizers, the mayor, and us—he kept talking to the ones who were actually in the room.
He is good at a stump speech, but it’s more than a technique. He heard people shouting his name in adulation and quieted them so he could talk substance. When he mentioned the Republican plan and the crowd began to boo enthusiastically, he quelled that, too, saying, I love ya, but booing, hey, we need to know WHAT we are against, not just who.
He continued, "you may want to boo, but they don’t say what they are FOR, they just say what THEY say WE are for, and that they’re against that. If you want to be against them, at least know what you’re FOR! "And then he proceeded to lay out the case for caring for people, veterans, the elderly, because we OWE them, NOT because they are victims who refuse to be responsible.
My dad gets a government pension. My brother gets disability from the federal government. Don’t call my family lazy. I’ll sic Joe Biden on you.
See, he got my blood going, got me to think for a minute about my stands.
He got me to meditate for a change, and in the middle of that crowd with my back balking and feet hurting, I achieved a few minutes of perfect balance with zero pain, standing in the crowded room with hundreds of strangers.
And we were together to move something forward, to express a shared commitment.
We could have been mobilized to hate, to vilify, to call out for vengeance.
But I was proud that at this political event, in America, there was no call to destroy or damage, no attacks on personal character. There was a clarion call to get involved, to share with your family and friends what brought you here today, and to share what you believe in, with the people important to you.
And so I have.
He creates it in the listening of others, whom he has never met, yet with whom he claims and creates a profound sense of kinship.
And he does it by acknowledgment.
Talking about a populist, a man who obviously lives for those moments in front of people, in front of the cameras, in front of the whole damn country, willing to be ridiculed and to expose his flaws, for a cause he believes to be a mighty one.
Talking about Joe Biden.
He got me, in person, in a way I wasn’t expecting.
His message was predictable, about protecting Medicare and looking out for the middle class, but his authenticity was not.
Politician. We spit the word out with disdain. Joe gives back the luster to the profession by demonstrating it: he was informed (lots of facts and figures which he openly challenged the assembled press to check, saying “they ought to!”); he was funny, by noticing what was going on, not by reciting jokes; he was PRESENT and did not use notes, and seemed to make eye contact with many in the crowd.
He had a message and was intent on “bringing the message to the people” about the good work that IS happening, about the commitment he and Barack Obama continue to have to caring about the least of us. It was inspiring to watch the man work. He has done his homework, but most important, he has done the work.
The work to keep his commitment alive when his wife and kids were killed in a car accident.
The work to keep going in the face of personal attacks and caricatures in the cruelest of professions.
The work to know the budget numbers and the legislation and the names of the mayor and congressmen and campaign organizers and not to get them wrong.
I said he did it with acknowledgment.
First, he acknowledged that he was late. He told us about having to try to land three times due to a thunderstorm, and joked that he was “surprised anyone stuck around,” but mainly he DID NOT STEP OVER IT. He acknowledged that we had been standing there a long time (over two hours for me, longer for some) and that showed respect for our time. It was the beginning of dozens of little acknowledgments. He kept mentioning the organizers, the mayor, and us—he kept talking to the ones who were actually in the room.
He is good at a stump speech, but it’s more than a technique. He heard people shouting his name in adulation and quieted them so he could talk substance. When he mentioned the Republican plan and the crowd began to boo enthusiastically, he quelled that, too, saying, I love ya, but booing, hey, we need to know WHAT we are against, not just who.
He continued, "you may want to boo, but they don’t say what they are FOR, they just say what THEY say WE are for, and that they’re against that. If you want to be against them, at least know what you’re FOR! "And then he proceeded to lay out the case for caring for people, veterans, the elderly, because we OWE them, NOT because they are victims who refuse to be responsible.
My dad gets a government pension. My brother gets disability from the federal government. Don’t call my family lazy. I’ll sic Joe Biden on you.
See, he got my blood going, got me to think for a minute about my stands.
He got me to meditate for a change, and in the middle of that crowd with my back balking and feet hurting, I achieved a few minutes of perfect balance with zero pain, standing in the crowded room with hundreds of strangers.
And we were together to move something forward, to express a shared commitment.
We could have been mobilized to hate, to vilify, to call out for vengeance.
But I was proud that at this political event, in America, there was no call to destroy or damage, no attacks on personal character. There was a clarion call to get involved, to share with your family and friends what brought you here today, and to share what you believe in, with the people important to you.
And so I have.
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