When Democratic vice presidential candidate Senator Joe Biden stopped in Athens yesterday for a political rally, he received a warmer reception than the first time he came to Ohio University.
Biden told about 2,000 people he was detained by police in the '60s for accidentally entering an all-female dorm when he visited OU as a halfback on the University of Delaware football team.
It was only a temporary detention
and I was let go Biden said.
In his speech at the Athens County Fairgrounds , Biden highlighted the role of Ohio's middle class in the Nov. 4 election with fellow Democrats Sen. Sherrod Brown, Ohio Treasurer Richard Cordray and Gov. Ted Strickland, who said Appalachian Ohioans deserve good representation in the White House.
We believe that if Obama and Biden are embraced by Southern and Southeastern Ohio this election will be over
Strickland said. There will be no doubt who the winner will be.-
he said. -
neither (Sen. John McCain or Palin) had the words 'middle class' part their lips
he said.
Athens County Republican Chairman Pete Couladis said that the Democrats are playing class warfare games.
They're pandering
he said. They keep saying
'well I say middle class more than you did
so I care more about it.'
Biden said it isn't that McCain doesn't care about these problems, just that McCain doesn't understand them like Obama does.
Immediately after inauguration, an Obama administration would start working to restore America's image around the world and rebuild the middle class, Biden said.
Melody Sands, an Athens resident, said that she is voting for Obama and Biden because they are concerned about bringing jobs to areas like Athens and making education more affordable.
Kids from southeastern Ohio are the ones going to war because few of them can afford an education
she said. They think that they can go into the army and that they'll get taken care of.
While soldiers can receive a free education, Biden said that he and Obama would expand national service to include serving in schools and hospitals and offering other community services so more people can afford an education.
You serve your country
