Obama Introduces Biden As His VP Nominee

Today, before a crowd of 35,000 people Senator Barack Obama introduced his choice, Senator Joe Biden, to be the Democratic Nominee for Vice President. Here (below) is a portion of his remarks. Also here is a link to the CSPAN.org video (requires RealPlayer to view).

Nineteen months ago, on a cold February day right here on the steps of the Old State Capitol, I stood before you to announce my candidacy for President of the United States of America.

We started this journey with a simple belief: that the American people were better than their government in Washington – a government that has fallen prey to special interests and policies that have left working people behind. As I’ve traveled to towns and cities, farms and factories, front porches and fairgrounds in almost all fifty states – that belief has been strengthened.  Because at this defining moment in our history – with our nation at war, and our economy in recession – we know that the American people cannot afford four more years of the same failed policies and the same old politics in Washington. We know that the time for change has come.

…Today, I have come back to Springfield to tell you that I’ve found [a] leader – a man with a distinguished record and a fundamental decency – Joe Biden.

…Joe won’t just make a good Vice President – he will make a great one. After decades of steady work across the aisle, I know he’ll be able to help me turn the page on the ugly partisanship in Washington, so we can bring Democrats and Republicans together to pass an agenda that works for the American people. And instead of secret task energy task forces stacked with Big Oil and a Vice President that twists the facts and shuts the American people out, I know that Joe Biden will give us some real straight talk. 

…We know what we’re going to get from the other side. Four more years of the same out-of-touch policies that created an economic disaster at home, and a disastrous foreign policy abroad. Four more years of the same divisive politics that is all about tearing people down instead of lifting this country up. 

We can’t afford more of the same. I am running for President because that’s a future that I don’t accept for my daughters and I don’t accept it for your children. It’s time for the change that the American people need. 

Now, with Joe Biden at my side, I am confident that we can take this country in a new direction; that we are ready to overcome the adversity of the last eight years; that we won’t just win this election in November, we’ll restore that fair shot at your dreams that is at the core of who Joe Biden and I are as people, and what America is as a nation. 

CLICK HERE for the complete text of Senator Obama’s remarks as prepared for delivery.