On Saturday, October 6, when most students were at the game or sleeping in until 1 p.m., Sen. Joe Biden was speaking about his platform in Heritage Commons on October 6. And don’t assume political talk is boring, because when Biden grabs the microphone, it is anything but.
A great storyteller, Biden said “My dad used to say, “Don’t tell me what you value, show me your budget and I’ll tell me what you value.” Biden says he can’t focus on healthcare, education, or civil rights because “the war in Iraq is sucking money out of the air. Imagine what I could do as president with $120 billion a year.”
For two hours, Biden outlined his ideas on ending the war and peace in the middle east, education, healthcare and global warming. The senator’s time at PSU continued in an after party of press and questions from concerned voters.
Biden began with a pressing question in the minds of parents minds and most students at PSU – college tuition. Senator Biden remembers his dad standing in front of him like he had just been beaten up saying, “Joe, I’m so sorry… I tried to get you the money to go to Delaware.” According to Biden, last year 400,000 American students couldn’t go to college due to financial hardship. With kids schooled at Georgetown, Pennsilvania, Syracuse and Yale, he assured parents he knows what it’s like to sell his house to help his children pay for an expensive education. As a result, he is listed as the second poorest in the Senate. Biden proposes cutting interest rates on loans to help families pay for college, expanding maximum Pell grants from $4,310 to $6,300 and providing $9,300 in assistance to low income students.
At an education college like PSU, Biden’s plan resonates ideas about improving teacher pay by providing bonuses for teaching in high needs schools with increases for a commitment of 5 years. He calls for National Board Certification salary supplements and assisting teachers with student loan repayment. Biden advocates 16 years of public education, calling for a quadrupling of head start, costing 4.6 billion a year, equal to what is costs for two weeks of the war in Iraq.
PSU Art professor Terry Downs asked about implementing Biden’s plan for creating a federation in Iraq. Biden noted the success in policy shift in Bosnia due to a non-binding resolution and spoke of similar potential in Iraq with 75 senate colleagues advocating a federated system in Iraq. State representative Carol Estes asked a question that he called “insightful” about creating a political solution of sharing oil revenues in Iraq. Biden likens oil revenues to the Good Humor ice cream truck, a diplomacy of the commonality of self interest.
When asked about Israel and Palestine, the audience knew it would be another of Biden’s long trademark answers. Proud of a long term committment in the region, he spoke of meeting with Golda Meir and her then assistant Yitzhak Rabin in the 1970’s, Yasser Arafat in the 1990’s. He is convinced Sharon and Ohlmert wanted to negotiate with Bashir of Syria. If elected, his plan is to meet with three major Israeli parties in secret, lift prohibition of negotiating with Syrians, make a deal on the Golan Heights and convince governments to stop funding Hammas and Hezbollah. With the right president, he feels a peaceful two-state solution is achievable.
On global warming, Senator Biden is for a cap on carbon admissions, increasing auto mileage to the higher European standard, leading by example by changing White House fleets to 40 mpg standards but not taking nuclear off the table, leaving a caveat about solutions for waste. On healthcare, Biden is clear, his nearly fatal brain aneurism has colored his thinking in a positive way. Biden would immediately insure every child in America, create policies so catastrophic illnesses wouldn’t cancel insurance for the group. He advocates a $75 billion savings for conversion to medical records, direct government negotiation within drug companies, putting us on a road to universal healthcare.
Quite simply, Joe Biden feels, “we’ve lost our way.” The small but enthusiastic crowd seemed to agree. He quoted U2’s Bono, a friend and fellow campaigner for debt relief for Africa, “America’s an idea,” and Biden believes, “we’ve mortgaged our idea.”