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THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Vice President
For Immediate Release October 31, 2012


REMARKS BY VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN
AT A CAMPAIGN EVENT

Sarasota Municipal Auditorium
Sarasota, Florida

11:52 A.M. EDT


THE VICE PRESIDENT: Hello, Sarasota! (Applause.) We're getting there. We're getting there.

Ladies and gentlemen, it's such an honor. God, what a great crowd. Great to see you. (Applause.)

If you have a seat, please take it. (Laughter.) Folks, before I begin I want to introduce you to my best friend in the world, my younger sister. She used to be just four or five years younger, now she's 20 years younger. (Laughter.) She's managed every one of my campaigns and traveled with me the last week, my sister, Valerie Biden Owens. (Applause.)

And also two great friends, Mark and Nancy Gilbert. Mark has traveled all over America with me, helping to raise money and the rest. He's a Florida boy. (Applause.)

He likes Sarasota a lot because this is where he had -- his professional baseball career started in the spring. He did what every guy I grew up wished we were able to do, I tell you what, man.

Hey, it's great, great to be with you. Pattie, thank you for that introduction. And, look, I get a chance to -- the reason why I know the guy I'm about to introduce is such a great guy is I've gotten to know his mom. I judge everybody based on their moms. (Laughter.) You know what I mean? And I want to tell you Keith Fitzgerald is going to be a great, great -- (applause). Where are you, Keith? There you go. (Applause.) We're going to surprise a lot of people here this week. (Applause.)

And, folks, you got representing you one of the guys who over the years has become one of my closest friends, not just in politics, a genuinely close friend, a man with a great deal of physical courage and a man who is just a decent, decent honorable man, Senator Bill Nelson. So make sure you send him back. (Applause.)

Folks, as they say in my business, I'm going to give you the whole load today. (Laughter.) Because I tell you what, I am frustrated -- I am frustrated with these guys. Call you? There's a guy up there going, call me. Hell, just listen. I'm not -- call you. No. Call me. (Laughter.) Anybody want to pick up your phone, I'll be able to call you right now. (Laughter.) No, all kidding aside

Look, I just got off the line this morning -- every morning I've been on the line with the President with the entire national team that we have out there. And it's -- I just want to tell you something. We spent an hour on the phone today at the FEMA headquarters with the President and with all the Cabinet Secretaries, also including the Secretary of Defense. This is the single best -- I am so proud to say of the President -- coordinated effort to deal with something you guys, as that old joke goes, you've forgotten more about hurricanes than most people are ever going to learn. (Laughter.)

But this has been a pretty devastating storm up my neck of the woods -- hit my state of Delaware, New Jersey -- not Maryland, not as bad -- Connecticut into Pennsylvania, up into the Northeast, now even in Lake Michigan they got 15- to 18-foot waves hitting down on that shore. But we're through the worst of it.

But you all know having been through it that in a sense the worst of it is when it's all over and everybody else in the nation says, oh, okay, it's over and you all are digging out. You all are still left there hanging. And I just want to tell you I am so proud -- and I mean this sincerely -- I am so proud of the way everybody's working together. Yesterday, we were on a conference call, the President and I, with the Governors of the affected states and the mayors.

And, look, it's working like it used to work when I was a young senator. You've got Democrats and Republicans working together. (Applause.) They're working together. You got mayors and governors of different parties working together. (Applause.) On that call with the governors, I'm proud of my Governor in Delaware, Jack Markell and the Governor of Maryland, O'Malley, and others.

Here's what they were saying. They're saying, we got hurt, but if Connecticut, New Jersey, New York need what we have, we'll send you our stuff. All kidding aside, that's the way it used to always work in a crisis. That's the way it worked, even though there's real needs in those states, you got these governors saying -- Democratic governors saying to Republican governors, Republican mayors saying to Democratic governors -- look, you need what I have. You're worse off than I am. We'll send help. We'll send our folks. (Applause.)

And, folks, we always -- I hope we all take a lesson from this. We're all better off when there's a national -- we're all better off when everybody is in the deal together, we're all working together. So, hopefully, when this god-awful storm and its aftermath is dealt with, hopefully, when this election is over we'll once again do what we always did as Americans -- work together along party lines, make it -- eliminate it. (Applause.) There's a lot at stake.

Folks, I just want to say something straight up. This new Republican Party representing the national ticket, this is not your father's Republican Party. I really mean that. I served in the Senate a long time. I go back with a lot of Republican governors and senators of this state and other states. We used to always work together. But, ladies and gentlemen, we had our differences but in times of crisis, we worked together.

So when this election is over, we've got to get back to that business again. Look, the American people have an overwhelmingly clear choice in this election -- overwhelmingly clear to choose which direction they want to see the country move in. And the differences are stark.

AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Thank you. All right. We've got to get through the next six days.

Look, folks, here's the deal. Some of you may recall, because I've had the great honor of being in Florida off and on an awful lot this year, I'd come down in the spring and the one thing I used to say was this election at least the thing that's going to be presented here is I used to use the phrase, the Republicans aren't hiding the ball. This is the first time, if you listen to all their debates, they were being absolutely straightforward about what they wanted to do -- we disagreed, but absolutely straightforward about what they wanted to do. You saw those debates and starkly different than we were.

Well now over the last month, I think our Republican friends, Romney and Ryan, have figured out what they are for the people don't like. (Laughter.) No, I'm being serious. And now, they're running away as fast as they can to everything they've said and done the last four -- in the case of Ryan, 14 years. They just keep running. They keep running away.

I don't know whether you saw the last debate with the President. (Applause.) Well, let's keep that prompter where it is. Look, I don't know whether you saw the last debate, but I didn't know when that debate was over or even in the beginning I didn't know whether Romney was there to endorse Obama or to argue with him. (Laughter and applause.) I didn't know. I mean, as we Roman Catholics say, that boy had an epiphany. It was like, whoa, where is this going?

All of a sudden, I heard Romney saying -- when he said for the previous four months it was a tragic mistake for the United States to leave Iraq without leaving 30,000 troops behind, at the debate it was, hey, I wasn't for this war in the beginning. I don't know what's going on. (Laughter.) Boy, this guy can change quick, can't he? Yo, you got to keep a close eye on him, man. You got to watch him. You got to watch him, man. I'm glad he wasn't a running back. I would have had trouble as a defensive halfback with that guy. (Laughter.) Talk about elusive. Yo, he makes Gale Sayers look like he ran in a straight line. (Laughter.)

Then he went on -- all year you heard him labeling -- he calls it -- used to call it the Soviet Union, labeling Russia the greatest geopolitical threat the United States faces. He even went on and opposed in the face of every former Republican Secretary of Defense, every former Republican Secretary of State and National Security Advisor, he opposed the new START Treaty -- only serious Republican -- well, only Republican out there who did that. (Laughter.)

But yet, you heard in the debate, we can work with Russia. (Laughter.) He's Putin's new best buddy. I mean, overnight like bam. Yo, talk about Halloween. (Laughter and applause.)

He went from harshly criticizing us for turning over -- committing to turn over responsibility, total responsibility to the Afghans by the end of 2014 and leaving -- he went from there to say -- in saying that it was a mistake to use such a timetable. Now, he said, no, no, you were right.

But then when asked -- when I asked Ryan -- and I had a debate with Ryan, in case you didn't know. (Applause.) I apologize for smiling. (Laughter.) I mean, come on, guys. These guys -- sometimes the only way to deal with something outrageous is to laugh at it.

But look, folks, remember what I asked them. I said, are you -- Ryan got asked as did Romney earlier, will you commit to leave at the end of 2014? And they used the word that fits them more than any candidates I've ever heard. They said, it depends -- that's what he said, it depends. With these guys, everything depends. It depends on the audience you're talking to. It depends on what the poll says. It depends on which state you're in. It depends on what year it is. It depends on what the temperature is. (Applause.) It depends on who you are. It depends on everything. It all depends. (Applause.)

How are you all doing today? Well, it depends. (Laughter.) Let me find out how you're doing first and I'll tell you. (Laughter.)

Look, man, I used to have a grandfather -- everybody has had a grandfather. (Laughter.) But my grandpop, who was still alive when Val and I were kids, his name was Ambrose Finnegan, from Scranton. He used to say -- seriously, he had an expression. These guys sound like they're totally converted now if you listen to them. My grandpop used to say, Joey, beware of the converted. Beware of the converted. (Laughter.) Like, yo, you know what I'm talking about, don't you? (Laughter.) You know what I'm talking about.

Look, but on related issues -- not just foreign policy -- on women, as hard as they try, they still couldn't bring themselves to climb into the 21st century. I mean, they still couldn't quite get there. They're still stuck in the '50s. Their refusal to condemn the Senate candidate in Indiana, Richard Mourdock, tells you an awful lot about --

AUDIENCE: Booo -

THE VICE PRESIDENT: -- no, I'm serious. You know that old expression, silence can be deafening? (Laughter.) Their silence has been deafening on a plethora of these candidates being run on the Republican side, some of the outrageous things that they've said. I mean, even Congressman Ryan voting to redefine what constitutes -- I mean, the whole thing about rape and, I mean, it's just amazing. But their silence is deafening.

When Governor Romney, at the second debate, was asked -- remember he was asked? -- he said the direct question that we just heard referenced earlier by Pattie, when asked do you think women are entitled to equal pay for equal work, what did he do? He started talking about binders. Binders. (Laughter and applause.) It's amazing. Eureka! He found there was a binder full of qualified women. (Laughter.) All he had to do was come and knock on my door. (Laughter.) I mean, speaking of qualified women, you've got it, man.

Well, let me -- but all kidding aside. It spoke -- that binder comment spoke volumes -- spoke volumes. And guess what? He never did answer the question whether or not women are entitled to equal pay for equal work.

But here's what he did say. He did say he wanted to repeal the law we passed that says that insurance companies will no longer be able to charge women 50 percent more than men for the same health insurance. He did say he wanted to repeal the law we have passed saying that pregnancy is no longer a preexisting condition to get -- oh, it is. I'm serious. Some of you younger women don't know that. Ask some of the older women. No, I'm not joking. You go to try to get an insurance policy and you're pregnant, you've got a preexisting condition.

Oh, these guys love life so much. I tell you, it's amazing. (Laughter.) They're so concerned about everybody. But I'm serious, that's what they want to repeal.

And it's clear what kind of Justices they would appoint to the Supreme Court. I'd just ask you to -- I'm not joking about this -- just close your eyes. Imagine what the 40 years of progress women have made in this country, what would happen to it after four years of a Romney-appointed Supreme Court.

AUDIENCE: Booo!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: That may be the single most significant sleeper issue in this campaign because -- (applause) -- the appointments made by a President last long after a President is gone.

And when it comes to women's rights, I want to be absolutely clear, which I think you all understand, but make no mistake about it. Do not support us if you disagree with this statement I'm about to make: With Barack and me, it is absolutely central -- we believe that my daughter, his daughters, my granddaughters deserve every single opportunity my sons and my grandsons have. Every single, solitary opportunity, no exceptions. (Applause.) That is core. That is here. That is in our gut. (Applause.) What a waste of assets. What a waste, as Pattie said. This is not just a women's issue; this is a family issue, this is an economic issue. This is so much bigger.

Ladies and gentlemen, the final weeks of this campaign, it's not just their position on foreign policy they've attempted to rewrite, not just their position on women that they can't hide. It's what they're running from overall -- the central tenet of the new Republican Party has been two things. It's the building blocks upon which they've made this new tea party, Republican Party, House Republican Party. And what has it been?

The one pillar is this $5 trillion tax cut. The $5 trillion, which, I might add, would add -- would give of that $5 trillion, $1.6 trillion of it goes to people making a minimum of $1 million a year, causing, by every serious study, middle-class taxes to go up. The Tax Policy Center says because there are not enough of these exemptions to get rid of without getting middle-class people, points out that if you are married, middle class with a child, your taxes are going to go up $2,000 a year in order to accommodate this.

And no wonder they're trying to walk away from it. The Governor now says no, no, no, no, no. You've heard him. It's almost unbelievable what they can say. No, I really mean it. He said no, no, no, no, we don't have a $5 trillion tax cut. It's all paid for. Here's what we do: We just close loopholes for the wealthy. Well, first of all, there's only $54 billion worth of loopholes for people making more than a million bucks. If you leave out the one loophole they -- only one that they're sure they don't want to deal with, which I'll get back to in a second. When asked -- when I had my debate with Ryan, I said, name me one loophole you'll close. He couldn't name one. Even on Fox -- the Fox station, he was asked --

AUDIENCE: Booo!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: No, no, no, no, no. He was asked by Mr. Wallace, will your $5 trillion tax cut -- he said, how do you pay for it? He said, the math -- I don't have time, the math is too complicated. (Laughter.) I'm serious. I mean, they put themselves as serious candidates and say, no, no, the math is too complicated. (Laughter.)

Look, there's only loophole they say they will not change, and that's the one that they won't cut that allows Romney to pay 14 percent on a $20 million-a-year income. Now, by the way, some of you saw "60 Minutes," where he was asked on "60 Minutes" -- he said, Governor, you're only paying 14 percent on $20 million in income. Someone making $50,000 paying more than you, as a percent of their income, do you think that's fair? He said yes, I think it's fair. No wonder they want to keep the loophole.

Look, as the President said after his second debate -- he said, Romney's plans are awfully sketchy. Now, it's not my role, but occasionally I've just got to -- (laughter) -- I've got to correct the President. (Laughter.) I don't like correcting the President in public, but the President is wrong. They're not sketchy, they're Etch-a-sketchy plans. (Laughter.) They're out there shaking that Etch A Sketch thing, man. (Applause.) They're trying so hard to redirect this thing.

The only place they're sticking to their guns, the only place they're being honest is saying they want to extend the Bush tax cut for the top percent. Guess what? Just to put this in perspective: It costs a trillion dollars over 10 years -- unpaid for -- and of that money, $500 billion of a tax cut that's supposed to expire January 1st, $500 billion goes to 120,000 families. That's the God's truth -- $500 billion. The average income of those 120,000 families is $8 million a year. They're good, decent people. I come from a wealthy little state. I learned a long time ago wealthy people are just as patriotic as poor folks. But the last thing they need is another half-a-trillion-dollar tax cut. (Applause.)

Now, look, the other pillar of this new Republican Party beyond these massive tax cuts, or as Bill Clinton said -- I was with him up in Youngstown, Ohio, and we spoke together -- he called it Bush on steroids. (Laughter.)

In addition to this massive tax cut, the other big pillar upon which this new party -- whatever they call it, the tea party, Republican Party was built, is the Ryan budget. Now, the Ryan budget, which has already passed the House of Representatives -- stopped by the Senate -- so don't let these guys tell you that you don't know what it is. They've already passed it. It's already sitting out there. You already know what it is.

And Romney said, were he President, he would sign the budget were it a budget. Okay. Now, The New York Times referred to the Ryan budget as, "the most extreme budget plan passed by the" House of Representatives -- excuse me, "by the Congress in modern times." And even a guy who I actually get along with, even a guy named Newt Gingrich referred to it as -- (laughter) -- oh, I don't agree with him on anything, but I get on with him -- referred to it as "right-wing social engineering."

So let's take a look at that budget. My dad used to say when they'd say, let me tell you what I value, Joe. My dad would go, Charlie, don't tell me what you value; show me your budget, I'll tell you what you value. They all of a sudden -- they -- you know they value seniors. You know they value the middle class. It was kind of fascinating, at their convention they discovered there was a middle class. Isn't it amazing? It was like, whoa, there's a middle class out there. (Laughter.)

Well, guess what? Let's take a look at it. Let's take a look at Medicare. These guys are absolutely shameless. They talk about Medicare. They say that -- to distract attention, they say it's we; the President and I are cutting it. They've made the bizarre argument that we cut it, and nothing could be further from the truth.

Ladies and gentlemen, any one of you on Medicare right now know you get wellness visits you don't have to pay co-pay anymore; know that if you approach the doughnut hole, you'll get $600 in help; know that if you have to have a standard test -- a mammogram or a colonoscopy or -- then you get -- you don't have to co-pay for that now. Well, what you may not know is the action we took actually extends the life of the Medicare trust fund by eight years to 2024. (Applause.) If they succeed -- if on January 1st -- or January 21st they're President and Vice President, and they change that law, then, in fact, all that goes away and the Medicare trust fund is insolvent by 2016.

So when people say, who do you believe? Well, do you believe these guys who have always been uncertain about Medicare, or a guy like me who spent my whole career protecting Medicare? Ladies and gentlemen, you don't have to believe me or them even. Just look at what the American Medical Association -- why did they -- they endorsed our plan. The American Hospital Association -- AARP endorsed our plan and says they're wrong. (Applause.)

But these guys -- again, they are shameless. They think if they spend enough money -- remember, we're not bound by fact-checkers I think was their phrase. (Laughter.) They -- honest to God, I think they believe they spend enough money on television saying things that are flatly untrue and they know it, it doesn't matter because the facts will never catch up with them. Well, let me tell you, that's not the worst of it. There's a reason why The New York Times called this budget the most extreme because what they don't tell you about their position on Medicare is they virtually get rid of Medicare.

Now, I know that sounds extreme, but let me be precise. Their new Medicare plan says that anyone 55, once they become old enough to be eligible for Medicare, everybody is off of Medicare. No one is entitled to a guaranteed benefit. What you will get is a voucher, a coupon -- a coupon that you can buy back into Medicare if you want, or you can buy a private policy if you want.

But the problem is -- no, here's the problem, there's not enough money in the plan according to the experts to buy back in for the same benefits or get coverage that will give you the same benefits. Every study shows -- the most recent one says --if you're 55 years old and would qualify for this plan when you're 60, you'll pay $60,000 more over the life of Medicare for the same benefits. If you're in your 40s, you'll pay $125,000 more.

Look, folks, these are the facts. There is no -- so there's so much more that the Ryan and Romney budget does to cripple the middle class, particularly in education. They cut almost $5 billion a year from education. They eliminate help from middle-class families to keep and get their kids to college. They cut Pell grants. They cut these programs that keep kids in school. They call them work-study programs. They get rid of this stuff.

And, folks, for them education is an afterthought. For us -- look, Barack and Jill and Michelle and I actually had the conversation about two years ago. We were sitting, talking -- about to do an event -- not one of us would be in the position we're in were it not for loans and scholarships -- not one of us. (Applause.) Not one of us. Not one.

The middle class is built on the foundation of a good education. But why -- you have to ask why do they do this? They're not bad guys. Why do they do this? Well, this is all in the service of making sure they have enough money to provide the $2 trillion plus in additional tax cuts for people making a million or more because here's what they really believe. They really do believe that if the very, very wealthy do very well, as if they're not now -- (laughter) -- everything -- no, they really believe it will all trickle down.

AUDIENCE: Booo!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Look, folks, we have seen this movie before. Massive tax cuts for the wealthy, letting Wall Street write its own rules, letting banks write their own rules, we know how it ends. It ended in 9 million people losing their jobs, $16 trillion in equity in your homes evaporated and your 401(k)s, and no one knows that better than the people of the great state of Florida. It ends in the Great Recession of 2008. Ladies and gentlemen, the American people will not go back. (Applause.)

And instead -- instead of these guys -- instead of these guys --

AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Instead of these guys signing a pledge -- they all signed a pledge to a guy named Grover Norquist, literally --

AUDIENCE: Booo!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: -- promising that they would not raise taxes on the very wealthy. Instead of signing a pledge to Grover Norquist, they should sign a pledge to the American people, to the middle class that we will level the playing field. We'll get people back in the game. We'll give you a fair shot again. That's the pledge we've made, and that's what we're going to continue to do. We have a different way -- a different way forward. (Applause.)

Ladies and gentlemen, we're going to focus our second term, as we have on this, creating more jobs, creating middle-class security, because we believe America succeeds when the middle class succeeds. That's the only way the working poor have a way up, and the wealthy do very, very well, as they should, when the middle class is doing fine.

Ladies and gentlemen, it's all about giving the middle class a fighting chance. (Applause.) We believe the foundation upon which that middle class is built -- the foundation is education. That's why we're going to continue to provide access to higher education. That's why we're going to train 100,000 new math and science teachers over the next decade. (Applause.)

That's why we're going to double -- double exports, creating millions of new manufacturing jobs. We're going to change the tax code to reward companies that come home, not those who go abroad. (Applause.) We're going to train 2 million Americans for the job skills that already exist in this country but the job skills are not there -- and tie them up over the next three years with community colleges so there's a pathway from that community college into a good-paying, high-tech manufacturing job -- (applause) -- working with businesses to make sure students finish school and go right to a job.

We're going to cut imports, oil imports in half by 2020 with American-made energy -- oil, clean coal, natural gas, as well as renewables -- wind, solar, biofuels. (Applause.) And we're going to continue to push for conservation.

Over the objection of Romney and Ryan, we passed a law requiring manufacturers to double mileage in cars and light trucks by 2025. That will save $1.7 trillion at the pump and 12 billion barrels of oil. It matters. (Applause.)

And we're going to allow -- we're going to continue to push to allow the 14 million Americans who have never missed a mortgage payment, who are paying between 6.5 and 7.5 percent on their loans right now, to be able to pay 3.5 to 4 percent, saving them -- saving them over $3,000 a year.

The neighborhood I come from, that's real money. And there are 1,300,000 Floridians who have never missed a mortgage payment and deserve a chance to refinance. (Applause.)

And we're going to make permanent the tax cut for 98 percent of the people in the middle class. And we're going to end -- we're going to end the war in Afghanistan, as we have in Iraq. (Applause.) That alone will save hundreds of billions of dollars -- bring that money home and begin to rebuild America. (Applause.) Rebuild American roads. Rebuild American ports, American railroads, American energy -- creating thousands of decent-paying jobs.

There's an expression in my family: It's not just what you say when folks are looking and watching that matters, it's what you say when people aren't looking that really is the measure of a man's character. And when Romney didn't think anybody was looking, he said exactly what he believed. He actually believes 47 percent of us, 47 percent of the American people -- this is insulting. He said 47 percent of the American people were "not willing to take responsibility for their own lives." Who does he think he is? Where does he live?

Not where I come from. Not in Scranton or Claymont, Delaware, or Mayfield -- that 47 percent is made up of seniors who worked their whole lives, paid for their Social Security, and now are not paying any tax, and should not pay any tax. (Applause.) It's made of tens of millions of families who pay their payroll taxes, their state taxes, their sales taxes, their property -- they pay at a higher effective rate than Romney pays his taxes. (Applause.)

They're made up of the 68,000 warriors who at this moment are in Afghanistan, risking their lives for this country who are paying no tax on their salary -- nor should they pay any tax. (Applause.)

Look, folks, America is so much better -- America is so much stronger, the American people are so much more responsibility than these guys give them credit for. I have never seen two candidates in my life seeking the highest offices in the land, who are more negative about the prospects of America, who are more negative about the future, and who are so unwilling to acknowledge the strength and grit of the American people.

Governor Romney constantly talks about America in decline. America is not in decline. We're better positioned than any nation in the world to lead the 21st century. America is not in decline -- 5.3 million new jobs, instead of losing 800,000 jobs a month; 167,000 new jobs -- not enough, but not in decline.

America is not -- unemployment rate drops to the lowest level since we took office. And what do they say? America is in decline. Exports are up 41 percent, creating 500,000 new manufacturing jobs since 2010, and they say America is in decline. Housing starts at their highest level any time since 2008. (Applause.) What's their answer? America is in decline.

Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States has rescued the automobile industry, saving 1 million jobs, creating 200,000 new jobs, good-paying jobs you can raise a family on. (Applause.) GM is back. Chrysler is the fastest growing automaker in the world. And what's happened? What's Ryan's and Romney's response? Desperation. Desperation.

In the last hours of this campaign -- I just came from Ohio -- in the last hours of this campaign, if you can believe it, they are running the most scurrilous ad in Ohio -- I mean this sincerely. I want you to listen. One of the most flagrantly dishonest ads I can ever remember in my political career. In the ad they're running in Ohio they assert that President Obama forced Chrysler into bankruptcy -- I'm paraphrasing, but these are the words -- forced Chrysler into bankruptcy so the -- I don't know what they have against Italians -- so "the Italians could take over Chrysler and ship Jeep manufacturing to China." That's what the ad says. That's what the ad says.

It's an outrageous lie -- a lie that's so deceptive and so patently untrue that the Chrysler Corporation, including the chairman of the board of Chrysler, they actually spoke up. They don't want to get involved with presidential politics. But they spoke up. They called it -- I want to quote -- "a leap that will be difficult even for professional circus acrobats." (Laughter and applause.) That's their quote. I wouldn't call these guys acrobats. I'd call them contortionists. (Laughter.)

Ladies and gentlemen, the truth is, just recently, within the last couple of months, in Toledo, Ohio, not only has the Jeep plant been open and churning out jeeps; they announced they're adding 1,100 new jobs to that factory. (Applause.)

Ladies and gentlemen, GM's response to the false assertions that these guys are coming up with in the last waning moments of this campaign -- I love this quote -- they said, "they must be in a parallel universe." (Laughter.) That's a quote from GM. GM went on to say -- they called it campaign -- "campaign politics at its cynical worst." Have you ever heard an American corporation do that? All my time I've never heard an American corporation, in the waning hours of a campaign, engage with that kind of description of what a presidential candidate is doing. That's the best description -- "at its cynical worst" -- that I've heard of the Ryan and Romney ticket -- the Romney-Ryan ticket in this campaign.

And why are they doing this? Seriously, you'd think, well, the fact are so obvious. Why would they -- and they're running these ads in places like Toledo. Now, why would they do that? No, no, but -- I think this is pretty important to understand. I really mean this. Maybe it's just me. Maybe it's because it makes me so -- so -- (laughter).

AUDIENCE MEMBER: Tell it like it is.

THE VICE PRESIDENT: I'm being a good Biden today. (Laughter.)

Look, why would they do this? Why would they do this in the face of the overwhelming facts contradicting them? Well, I'll tell you why I think they're doing it. They're trying to scare the living devil out of a group of people who have been hurt so badly over the last -- the previous four years before we came to office; the last year before we were sworn in they lost 400,000 auto jobs. My state of Delaware was decimated, losing both its Chrysler and its General Motors plant.

Those folks in Ohio, in Lorain and Toledo, they were on the balls of their heels. They lost -- some of them lost their homes after they lost -- they lost everything. And now they're back on their feet, just tentatively. They're back on their feet now. They got their jobs back. But they still feel the sting from what happened four years ago.

Because they're running those ads in the very communities that were devastated by those policies, communities that have the most at stake in the automobile industry, these are autoworkers waking up -- waking up in their communities, just a couple of days ago, to see this ad. And guess what? They were calling -- thousands of them were calling their UAW reps -- is it true? Is it true? Is Jeep really going to leave? Is the announcement they made not true? Are they going to shut down our plant? What a cynical, cynical thing to do.

My dad used to have an expression, my dad had to leave Scranton, Pennsylvania, which we loved to move to Wilmington, which we learned to love because there wasn't enough work in the '50s for him. And after he got that job when we moved down -- we came down a year after Dad had set things up, my sister and I remember, as my brothers do, the constant expression he'd use. He always say -- when anybody lost a job -- he said, Joey, remember, a job is about a lot more than your paycheck. It's about your dignity. It's about your respect in the community.

AUDIENCE: Yes, yes.

THE VICE PRESIDENT: To go out and try to scare these people for electoral reasons at the end, to say something that's so untrue, look, Jeep is doing fine. Jeep is going to do even better. They're going to grow. And like I said, Jeep isn't cutting jobs, they're adding jobs. The political -- PolitiFact -- these guys -- the fact-checkers they don't look at, they called the ad wholly inaccurate. The Cleveland Plain Dealer in an editorial said, it's a masterpiece in misdirection. (Laughter.) They said, "Mitt Romney is desperate to convince Ohio voters that he's a candidate -- that the candidate must be committed to the U.S. auto industry, not -- not matter how much confusion he must sow to do it."

Folks, I've not seen anything like this in the end. Folks, the President's job is not to sow confusion. It's to plant the seeds of confidence. You probably heard me say it before and I'll say it again, presidential elections are overwhelmingly about character. They're overwhelmingly about the character of the -- character, character, character. (Applause.) It's the most impressive trait and necessary trait a President must possess to lead a nation, and the incredible people that we are.

And my guy, your guy, Barack Obama has character. He's got a backbone like a ramrod. (Applause.) He has the character of his convictions. He does not engage in deception. He does not mislead. He says what he means, and he stands by what he says. (Applause.)

There's one thing -- and that's one thing his opponent has not done, he has not stood by anything he has said, so ask yourself in this election, who do you trust? Who do you trust to be straight with you, to level with you? Who do you trust to stand up for the middle class? Who do you trust to stand up for America?

Ladies and gentlemen, America is in ascendancy, and we are not -- and these guys are bellowing. We are not in decline. They are in denial. (Applause.)

Folks, folks, let me conclude by saying the history of the journey of this country can be summarized in one word: Forward! (Applause.) We have always moved forward. There is no quit in America.

And I've got news for these guys. It's never, ever, ever been a good bet to bet against the American people. (Applause.)

So God bless you all. With your help, we can win Florida. And we win Florida, this race is over.

God bless you all and may God protect our troops. Thank you. (Applause.)


END 12:35 P.M. EDT