Joe Biden Election Day Remarks Transcript Scranton, PA

Crowd:
Here we go, Joe.

Joe Biden:
Can you hear me?

Crowd:
Yeah.

Joe Biden:
My name is Joe Biden.

Crowd:
That’s right.

Joe Biden:
I was born in Mercy Hospital in Scranton. By the way, you have no idea how that old expression, when my dad lived up here and we had to move because things kind of fell apart in terms of jobs, but my great grandfather, Edward Francis Blewitt, was the first Irish-Catholics elected to the state senate in the state of Pennsylvania from Scranton in 1907. It’s a long, long history, but it’s good to be home. One of the things, I know everybody says, “Why do you keep calling it home?” Well, I left here when I was going into the fourth grade, but I came home almost all summer, every summer.

Joe Biden:
When I got married to my deceased wife, my wedding party was seven people, five of them are friends from Scranton. I grew up here. So Scranton’s where I learned, like you did, all my basic values. I learned at my grandpa’s table at 2446 North Washington Avenue, that money did not determine your wealth. I learned that if you want anything to do it, then do it when you set your mind to it. I learned that basic responsibility everybody had was just to look out, just to look for the other guy, look out at what’s going on, beware what’s going on.

Joe Biden:
My dad used to have an expression when we left Scranton and moved down to Delaware. He said, “Joey, a job is about a lot more than a paycheck. It’s like your dignity. It’s about respect, it’s about your place in the community. It’s about who you are. It’s about being [inaudible 00:01:49] and how it’s going to be okay.” Well, guess what, an awful lot of people can’t say that now. A lot of people can’t look at their kids now and say it’s going to be okay.

Joe Biden:
I ran for three reasons and I’m going to stop and not keep you out here. Number one, I said when I announced that I wanted to restore the soul of the country, but I wasn’t being melodramatic. All I meant was restore basic decency and honor to the White House. When I saw those folk come out of those fields down in Charlottesville, carrying those torches and you close your eyes and remember what you saw, [inaudible 00:02:34]. They were carrying Nazi flags and talking about how [inaudible 00:02:40]. This country’s soul is so black with prejudice that it just… That’s when I decided I had to run. That’s when my granddaughter and the other three of them came to see me, after that happened, because they knew I was going to say, “Poppy’s got to run. We know it’s going to ugly.” Because their whole life, they’ve either had a father who was the Attorney General of the State of Delaware or a Grandpop who was the senator or Vice President. That’s why we ran.

Joe Biden:
The second reason we ran is we’ve got to restore the backbone of the country. You all know it. The middle class built this country. Wall Street didn’t build it, the middle class built it. And Unions built the middle class. They’re getting clobbered right now. They’re getting clobbered. The third reason I’m running, is what I want to update about today and that is uniting this country.

Crowd:
Yeah.

Joe Biden:
We have to unite the country and we can do it. I think the country’s ready. But I basically came to say thank you and thank you and thank you.

Crowd:
Thank you, thank you. Thank you, Joe.

Joe Biden:
It’s no sacrifice, it’s the greatest honor in my life. It’s the greatest honor in my life. I’m sure the mayor and Bobby feel the same way about serving. It’s a great honor. I want to thank you all and I know you’re out canvasing, knock on three or four thousand doors, we’ll have no problem. No, I’m only kidding with you. Exactly what you’ve done, I really appreciate it.