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> http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2016/07/28/joe-bidens-knockout-convention-speech/ <http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2016/07/28/joe-bidens-knockout-convention-speech/>
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> Joe Biden’s Knockout Convention Speech
>
> By
> Doug Heye
>
> Jul 28, 2016 12:40 am ET
> ENLARGE
> Vice President Joe Biden during the third night of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. Photo: Nicholas Kamm/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
>
> Doug Heye is a former communications director for the Republican National Committee and deputy chief of staff to then-House Majority Leader Eric Cantor <http://topics.wsj.com/person/C/eric,-cantor/6639>. He is on Twitter: @DougHeye <https://twitter.com/dougheye>.
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> The second the “Rocky” theme began, it was clear Vice President Biden would deliver a knockout.
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> He started out subdued, referencing a passage from “A Farewell to Arms”–“The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places <http://time.com/4426178/dnc-joe-biden-speech-transcript-video/>.”–as he acknowledged the death of his son <http://www.wsj.com/articles/beau-biden-vice-president-joe-bidens-elder-son-dies-at-age-46-1433037918>.
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> That passage, however, also foreshadowed the optimistic tone his shifted to in speaking about this country. In a sentence, he displayed the grace under pressure that Hemingway called courage–as he has over and over since Beau Biden’s untimely passing last year <http://www.wsj.com/articles/vice-presidents-son-beau-biden-undergoing-medical-treatment-1432079336>.
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> And then he launched into a barnburner of a broadside against Donald Trump–while still remaining optimistic.
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> His optimism reminded me of watching Ronald Reagan as a kid in 1980 and 1984. Vice President Biden might as well have said it was morning in America and called Washington a shining city on a hill. He–and, to an extent <http://www.wsj.com/articles/obama-to-stress-hillary-clintons-foreign-policy-experience-in-democratic-convention-speech-1469661842>, Barack Obama–sounded a lot like Republicans have traditionally sounded…while Republicans this year have tended to emphasize our nation’s faults over its strengths, exactly how, paradoxically, so many Republicans tend to hear Democrats.
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> “We never bow. We never bend. We never break when confronted with crisis. No, we endure,” Mr. Biden said.
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> By the time he was exclaiming that “We own the finish line,” Mr. Biden’s words and passion were inspiring the crowd to chant, “USA! USA!”–also something more typically heard at Republican events.
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> This sort of optimism barely existed at my party’s convention last week <http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2016/07/22/a-republican-convention-trumped-by-self-inflicted-errors/>. The nominees of both major parties have record-high unpopularity ratings. The sort of optimism and positive visions of the future that voters usually hear in presidential campaigns may be in short supply this time.
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> For voters skeptical of both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden’s speech Wednesday night showed how this election could have been a slam-dunk for Democrats if Mr. Biden were their nominee.
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> In the politics that we have, however, it demonstrated how much of an asset Mr. Biden will be for Hillary Clinton on the campaign trail. Nowhere is this more true than in central Pennsylvania, a battleground area that Mr. Trump visited on Wednesday <http://www.wsj.com/articles/donald-trump-hopes-to-turn-scranton-pa-from-blue-to-red-1469657709>. Among the many signs Democrats waved Wednesday night were pro-Biden signs that simply said “Scranton,” referring to the vice-president’s birthplace. It’s a city that is sure to remain a focus throughout the campaign.
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> As Clinton surrogates fan out, we can expect to see the vice president campaigning all over the country. Nowhere will he be more needed, and more of an asset, than his home town.
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> ALSO IN THINK TANK:
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> A Republican Convention Trumped by Self-Inflicted Errors <http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2016/07/22/a-republican-convention-trumped-by-self-inflicted-errors/>
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> Can Hillary Clinton Convince Voters That She Is a ‘Change Maker’? <http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2016/07/27/can-hillary-clinton-convince-voters-that-she-is-a-change-maker/>
> When Voters See a Contested Convention vs. a Unified Convention, Guess Who Wins <http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2016/07/26/when-voters-see-a-contested-convention-vs-a-unified-convention-guess-who-wins/>
> Tim Canova, Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Grass-Roots Rebellions the Next President Doesn’t Want <http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2016/07/26/tim-canova-debbie-wasserman-schultz-and-grass-roots-rebellions-the-next-president-doesnt-want/>

Eric Schwerin
ericschwerin@yahoo.com