American politician (1942- )
Together we shall write an American story of hope, not fear. Of unity, not division. Of light, not darkness. A story of decency and dignity, love and healing, greatness and goodness.
JOE BIDEN
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Inaugural Address, January 20, 2021
The system wasn't working, and I thought it was time to err on the side of a new model. What might work, I thought, was a system that promoted personal accountability, consistency, and certainty. Congress could say people who committed the same federal crime, under the same circumstances, were going to jail for the same amount of time. We could give judges a narrower set of sentencing guidelines to work with, and felons would be required to pay the same price. We'd be judging the crime, not the person.
JOE BIDEN
Promises to Keep
The answer is not to turn inward, to retreat into competing factions, distrusting those who don't look like you or worship the way you do or don't get their news from the same source as you do. We must end this uncivil war that pits red against blue, rural versus urban, conservative versus liberal. We can do this if we open our souls instead of hardening our hearts.
JOE BIDEN
Inaugural Address, January 20, 2021
Ordinary people given an opportunity are capable of accomplishing extraordinary things.
JOE BIDEN
speech to AFL-CIO union members, April 7, 2020
My father had an expression he repeated a thousand times growing up: Every man and woman is entitled to be treated with dignity. Everyone. That's what your new revolution was about: dignity.
JOE BIDEN
remarks to the Ukrainian Rada, December 9, 2015
Don't tell me what you value, show me your budget, and I'll tell you what you value.
JOE BIDEN
attributed, Social Policy for Effective Practice
A little thing we've begun to do is replace all the traditional light bulbs in our house with fluorescent light bulbs. I introduced a bill to promote compact fluorescent light bulbs. If every family in America changed just one bulb, we could reduce carbon dioxide emissions by about 7 million tons per year. There are a lot of little things we can do to make a gigantic change.
JOE BIDEN
interview, Grist
You can learn an awful lot about a man campaigning with him, debating him and seeing how he reacts under pressure. You learn about the strength of his mind, but even more importantly, you learn about the quality of his heart.
JOE BIDEN
acceptance speech, Aug. 27, 2008
The fact that our economy is three and a half times as large as the next largest economy and larger than the next four combined does not make us immune from what's happening around the world.
JOE BIDEN
remarks at Entrepreneurship Summit, Dec. 3, 2011
Deep in the heart of every American, I think there burns a flame. It's an inheritance from every generation of Americans that has come before us. That's why we have overcome every crisis we have ever faced before. It's what makes this nation so special, why we stand apart. That flame is not going to be extinguished in this moment. If our leadership does its part, the American people will do more than their part.
JOE BIDEN
speech on Coronavirus, March 23, 2020
Well, there are a number of lessons to this war. One of the lessons of the war is that when you go into a country that is under a dictatorship, no matter what the underlying makeup of the country is, that it takes an awful long time to be able to help re-establish a circumstance where there's a possibility of a democratic country emerging. And so that's one of the lessons I think everyone has learned.
JOE BIDEN
interview, NPR, Dec. 13, 2011
Our military might and economic resources are necessary but not sufficient to lead us into this new century. It is our ideas and ideals that will allow us to exert the kind of leadership that persuades others to follow and to deal effectively with these forces of change.
JOE BIDEN
speech, Apr. 15, 2008
Look, no one should have to choose between earning a living and protecting their own health. As well the health of those around them they love so much. This virus has made all too clear the absolute necessity of making sure everyone, everyone, can access affordable, high quality healthcare. That's what our government should be doing right now. Not fighting in the courts to strip away the healthcare protections from folks who need it more than ever. Testing, rapid results, treatment, and ultimately access to a vaccine for COVID-19 should be available to everyone, and I mean everyone, free of cost.
JOE BIDEN
virtual town hall meeting, May 4, 2020
There is never a time when a president can act to stop a tragedy from occurring without being held politically accountable one way or the other. If he does it and fails, he's wrong. If he does it and succeeds, he was never right because it didn't happen. If we go in and stop an act of genocide, we can't prove what we stopped.
JOE BIDEN
Promises to Keep
My message to everyone who's been knocked down, counted out, left behind, this is your campaign. We need you. We want you and there's a place for you in our campaign.
JOE BIDEN
speech at Houston rally, March 2, 2020
For too long in this society, we have celebrated unrestrained individualism over common community. For too long as a nation, we have been lulled by the anthem of self-interest. For a decade, led by Ronald Reagan, self-aggrandizement has been the full-throated cry of this society: 'I've got mine, so why don't you get yours' and 'What's in it for me?'
JOE BIDEN
speech in Wilmington, Delaware, June 10, 1987
America's experience -- and that of many other nations ... teaches that fostering entrepreneurship is not just about crafting the right economic policy or developing the best educational curriculum. It's about creating a free political climate in which ideas and innovation can flourish. Simply put, governments that protect liberties, embrace transparency allow for vibrant civil societies, give women equal opportunity, they are the ones that pave the way for thriving cultures.
JOE BIDEN
remarks at Entrepreneurship Summit, Dec. 3, 2011
We're seeing during this crisis just why it is so important for American workers to belong to unions, so that they have someone to fight for them and with them.
JOE BIDEN
virtual town hall meeting, April 15, 2020
Al Qaeda must be destroyed. Its ability to acquire weapons of mass destruction must be stopped. But to compare terrorism with an all encompassing ideology like Communism and Fascism is evidence of profound confusion. Terrorism is a means, not an end, and very different groups and countries are using it toward very different goals. President Bush and Senator McCain lump together, as a single threat, extremist groups and states as at odds with each other as they are with us: Sunnis and Shiites, Persian and Arabs, Iraq and Iran, Al Qaeda and Shiite militia. If they can't identify the enemy or describe the war we're fighting, it's difficult to see how we will win.
JOE BIDEN
speech, Jul. 15, 2008
We still have such a long way to go but today, most Americans now get the challenge we're facing. They believe in science. The issue is important to them and they want their leaders to act on climate, particularly young people, as you said, inspired by the activism of Greta and so many young Americans as well, who are leading on climate.
JOE BIDEN
virtual town hall meeting, April 22, 2020