My son's relationship with Joe Biden showed me his great character and warm heart

[highplainsdem]

Guest column in a Memphis newspaper:

https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/opinion/2020/02/26/joe-biden-can-bring-our-country-together/4868378002/

In this time of extreme partisan and ideological divides in our country, it is nearly impossible to imagine that politics can have a very human side. I was fortunate to have witnessed this humanity firsthand, through my son’s eyes.

Ten years ago, my 12 year old son was struggling with a stutter. An avid fan of history and politics, he became aware of Vice President Joe Biden’s own childhood struggle with stuttering. As luck would have it, Joe Biden made a visit near our hometown during that time. I was hopeful that my son would get a chance to shake the Vice President’s hand.

As it turned out, my son did not get to shake the Vice President’s hand that evening. Instead, he began a remarkable friendship with an extraordinary person. I could go on from here and tell you about how that night ended up with my son getting to tour Air Force 2, or the times that he has received calls and notes of encouragement, congratulations and condolences from Joe Biden in the decade since.

I could elaborate on the tour he received of the West Wing when his 8th grade class went to DC, or maybe I should talk more about his high school graduation, complete with a video commencement address from the Vice President of the United States.

-snip-

Biden's tweet about this:

Link to tweet

You raised an incredible young man, Elisa. I'm honored to have been a part of his journey.

[Sloumeau]

1. highplainsdem, thanks so much for posting this! :)

This is good news for Joe Biden!

[George II]

2. I started to admire Biden around 2008 when I read his autobiography, "Promises to Keep"....

It showed the human side of him, more so than any other politician that I know of.

This story is very typical of Biden's compassion for people far beyond being just a politician looking for votes.

[LaMouffette]

5. If you liked "Promises to Keep," then you'll love . . .

"Promise Me, Dad"! But I promise you that it will make you cry. Reading this book sold me on Joe Biden. He is a wonderful man with an enormous amount of empathy and compassion.

[llmart]

11. I've read that book and recommended it on here in the past.

"Promise Me, Dad" will show anyone who reads it who Joe really is at his core. Just a genuine, relatable human being.

[LaMouffette]

14. Absolutely!

And the book also shows his ability to stay calm and continue carrying out the responsibilities of his job as vice president, despite having to deal with the heartbreaking diagnosis of brain cancer in his beloved son Beau. Talk about tremendous inner strength and conscientiousness and devotion to his duties. He had to continue carrying out intense, high-level negotiations with foreign governments while at the same time being there to support Beau and the rest of his family.

Meanwhile, our attention-(and soul)-deficit president can't talk and breathe at the same time.

[HarlanPepper]

3. This is vintage Joe.

[Cha]

4. Wonderful heartwarming story..

Thank you, hpd!

[Dave in VA]

6. Can someone please

make this into an promotional video? This has to go viral!

[MacKasey]

9. Totally agree

If someone could this woman voice on a video, this would be explosive!

It made me tear up just reading it

[peggysue2]

7. BOOM!

Incredible affirmation of who Joe Biden is as a human being and how big his heart truly is. Stories like this one serve as a testament from behind the scenes, out of the limelight or glare of the press that Joe Biden character is solid, true and absolutely empathetic to the needs and struggles of others.

We could use a big helping of heart after the cruel and ruinous Trump reign. Add experience and the best qualifications for POTUS to the mix and you have a powerful and winning combination.

Thanks for putting this up, highplainsdem.

[MustLoveBeagles]

8. K&R

[Karadeniz]

10. A great ❤

[crono]

12. lucky kid

[oasis]

13. Joe's inner beauty comes shining through.

[Gothmog]

15. This made me smile

Link to tweet