It’s hard for me to judge. Coming from Jersey and Southeast Pennsylvania, Joey Biden is somewhat of an institution to me. I currently live about 15 miles from the Delaware border. So, I already know Biden. I know his story and I know countless people just like him. His type of smart, loud-mouthed, opinionated personality is mass-produced in the Mid-Atlantic and we take pride in it. The only thing different about Joey is that he rose to the top. Most politicians around here buy their seats or come out of embarrassingly corrupt machines.
Now, we Mid-Atlantic loudmouths know that our routine doesn’t necessarily sell well in other areas of the country. People from the Midwest are much more polite, for example. So I don’t really know how Joe comes off. In these parts his shtick is just lovable (at least, if you’re not a Republican). But maybe Joey is a little too in-your-face for some people. I don’t know.
Biden talked about how his mother would force him to bloody bullies’ noses so he could walk down the street. There are a lot of mothers like that in these parts. Rep. Patrick Murphy had a father like that. Joey is a brawler who never backs down and always gets back up when he is decked. Maybe some people can’t relate to that.
From where I sit, Biden is the exact kind of guy you want by your side when trouble turns up. And I know a lot of Democrats are reassured by that. I also know that McCain would be nuts to send in a lightweight like Mitt Romney to debate Joe Biden. Romney doesn’t strike me as a man that gets up once he’s been decked. I think he runs home and cries. I think John McCain knows that.