Lakeland Ledger interview with Jill Biden...she tells of their first date. Nice.

[madfloridian]

The Ledger has a video of Jill Biden's appearance in Lakeland Saturday. They have a nice article about her as well.

The pleasant write-ups reminded me of the negative way her husband Joe Biden was treated in Orlando by that ditzy reporter, Barbara West.

They also had a sit-down interview in which they treated her courteously, as candidates should be treated. Here is the link to the interview.

I love the story about their first date.

Interview with Jill Biden

Q: Tell me about how you met Joe.

A: I met Joe because I was at the University of Delaware and his brother was there, as well. One night his brother and sister were all going out and Joe didn't have a date. So Frank said, "I know this girl and she's not interested in politics, but maybe you should call her." And Joe did. He called me out of the blue and asked me to go out on a date. But it was Saturday and I already had a date, so I turned him down. He said, "Well, I'm only in town for one night. Do you think you could reconsider?" I said, "Call me back in one hour," and I cancelled my date.

Q: Really? Why did you do that?

A: Curiosity. I thought, "Well, I'm not gonna be interested in him. He's a little older, he has two children, I'm not political." But I thought, "Well, I'll just go out and see what he's like." So we went out, we hit it off, and I'll tell you, at the door, he shook my hand good night. I walked upstairs, I called my mom - it was 1 o'clock in the morning - and I said, "Mom, I finally met a gentleman." He won me over. And as you can see, he wins over voters (laughs). He's very persuasive.

The article about her calls her "Tiny" Jill Biden.


CINDY SKOP | The Ledger
After speaking to a room full of supporteres Jill Biden greets shakes a few hands before leaving The Lakeland Center Saturday October 25, 2008 in Lakeland, Florida. Biden was making a trip though Central Florida stumping for her husband and presidential vice president candidate Sen. Joe Biden and presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama.

'Tiny' Jill Biden Visits Lakeland; Urges Voters

The petite wife of Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's running mate, took 15 minutes at the small event to encourage people to vote (early, if possible). She also reminded voters of her and her husband's, and "Barack and Michelle's," humble beginnings - a key element, she said in an interview later on, to relating to and inspiring voters.

"Barack and Joe, Michelle and I - we are all children of parents who worked hard to get by," she said. Joe Biden and Barack Obama understand the importance of the American Dream, she said, because they are living it.

Biden's Lakeland stop was one of three in Florida on Saturday. She was introduced as "Dr. Jill Biden," a title qualified by her doctorate degree in education, and she spoke about her 27 years as a teacher, currently at Delaware Technical and Community College. In the midst of the campaign, she has continued to teach at the college four days a week, she said, grading papers on plane rides and peppering her speeches with anecdotes about many of her disadvantaged students. She encouraged about 200 audience members Saturday to vote early at the Lakeland branch courthouse, and in the dwindling days of the campaign, to keep the momentum going and volunteer.

After the speech, supporters gave Biden an uproarious standing ovation and swarmed to the front of the room to shake her hand.

"She's so tiny," many exclaimed, as if in disbelief.

Here's the direct link to the video which is at the site.

Jill Biden video.

[madmax]

1. She's top notch.

Joey's a lucky guy ;)

[madfloridian]

21. She's got class and dignity

:hi:

[napi21]

2. There are so many people who don't understand the importance

of somebody being born into a frugal beginning. I probably wouldn't understand it as much if my son didn't relate his feelings every now and again. I was born in 1943, so I never knew luxury or frivilous things, but I was always happy, and you don't miss things you don't know exist. When I got married and had our two boys, I worked every day except for the two years following the birth of our second son, and I thought it was irresponsible of me not to stay home to raise our own kids. We went through many times when the steel mills in Pgh. laid people off, and my husband would take any job he could find just to get by until the mills called people back. We always had what we needed, but no luxuries. Going to Winky's (a fast food joint) for dinner once every 4-5 months was a BIG DEAL!

Today, both our sons are doing fine. Not wealthy by any means, but those early years taught them that you don't need everything that strikes your fancy, and you certainly don't need it NOW! I'm secretly proud of myself when he tells me of the arguments he gets into with the guys he works with, telling them they're crazy for spending every penny on going out to dinner, buying a new car they can't afford, and financing a big screen plazma TV...just because they HAD to have one!

I'm positive if I hadn't had the experiences I had, I couldn't have transferred the frugal values to my kids, and they to their kids. I can't see how the Shrubs and McNuts of the world could possibly know what it's like to have to save for something, or buy rammen noodles, rice & dry beans for a few weeks because that's all you could afford.

[renate]

5. my husband and I were both raised by frugal parents

I am so grateful. Our kids aren't, of course, since we're raising them the same way. :)

We almost never eat out--what a huge waste of money. Our cars are both 10 years old. Both of these factors save us a HUGE amount of money and although the kids complain, I hope that being brought up this way makes it easier for them to save money, or at least to stay out of debt, as young adults on starter salaries.

Their friends have so much expensive technology; we save those purchases for birthdays and Christmas, and the rest they have to save up for themselves. When we finally started buying their clothes at Old Navy, it was a pretty exciting development in their lives; things like clothes matter a lot when kids get to a certain age, so I was willing to stop buying most of their clothes from Goodwill. I know they have a lot less, materially, than their friends do, and I really do feel for them; it must be frustrating. But it will certainly serve them well in the future.

[napi21]

7. They will be much better adults because of you. No kid likes it

at the time, when "everybody else" has the latest and greatest of everything, but although I didn't conciously teach my kids anything special. It was just our life at the time. But I'm glad that they unconciously absorbed what life is really like, and NOW they will tell you they're glad too. You'll have a chance to feel that same thing some day, and you'll be just a proud of your kids some day.

I have to say, I'm worried NOW about all the kids who were raised getting everything they wanted. The way the economy is looking now, they're going to have a very difficult time adjusting.

[patricia92243]

3. I wonder if she will be able to continue teaching if her hubby is the VP - security and all that???

[madfloridian]

20. I doubt she would be able to continue teaching.

Sounds like she would if she could, though.

[Cha]

4. I just like looking at Jill Biden..she

has sweetness written all over her face. What an endearing first date story, mad..thanks!

[madfloridian]

6. She really does have that look, zidzi.

It was a nice interview and GOTV rally.

[Cha]

9. Kick for Jill Biden..I just

saw her husband in the cutest video explaining what a VP does to a 5th grade "reporter" in Florida.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x224595

[madfloridian]

13. Thanks, I will go and watch that video.

:hi:

[jillan]

8. What a great lady.

Other than teaching, she has done alot for breast cancer awareness.

[progressoid]

10. She IS tiny

They need to get her something to stand on - she get's hidden behind those podiums.




(for those about to get bend out of shape about some size thing with me, save it. My wife is tiny too)

[jillan]

11. She's gonna be on C-Span in about 20 minutes.

[madfloridian]

12. I just saw your post and missed her on C-Span.

Thanks, though.

[madfloridian]

14. Great write-up of her in the WP.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/22/AR2008102203657.html

"Jill Biden still teaches Monday through Thursday back in Delaware in the frantic last days of the presidential campaign.

Her students may know who she is, or they may not. She tends to think not. They are busy people, community college students, many of them holding down jobs and raising kids while they put themselves through school. And if they've Googled her and figured out who she is, they've mostly been too polite to say. When asked if she is Joe Biden's wife, Jill always has told her students she is his "relative," and let the question drop there. She is their English instructor, and that's the most important thing.

Of course, the Secret Service has made it slightly more difficult to remain undercover. The officer dresses down, but still.

The other day "one of the students in my 10 o'clock composition class said to me, 'Hey, Dr. B, can I ask you something personal?' And I said, 'Yeah, long as it's not my age.' "

Jill Biden, 57, is leaning forward in a hotel room chair here, her glasses dangling from one hand. She exaggerates her Philadelphia suburbs accent, which is already pretty strong. "He said: 'You know every morning I come in here, there's a guy with an earpiece in his ear. What's that all about?' I said, 'I don't know,' " Biden says, widening her eyes and raising her arms in an expression of true (fake) wonder."

Okay, how could they NOT know who she is.?

[No Elephants]

15. Awww. That is Joe all over. An old school, family values gentleman. And persuasive.

[Jennicut]

17. LOL...he had to ask her 5 times before she agreed to marry him.

He is nothing if persistent!

[madfloridian]

19. You are right. Snip from the WP article.

"They began dating. It was the boys who first suggested to Joe that "we think we should marry Jill." Joe asked her five or six times. She was nine years younger, she'd been married briefly before and she was not big into the idea of being a political wife. She worried she wasn't ready to be a mom to the boys. When she at last agreed, it was a wedding for the four of them. They were married in 1977."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/22/AR2008102203657_4.html?sub=AR

That is just sweet.

[The Backlash Cometh]

16. I'm so glad that the Obama campaign swooped in to protect her

from that wicked witch of the West.

[madfloridian]

18. Me. too.

They put a stop to that reporter's interviews very quickly.

[madfloridian]

22. Kick for "tiny" Jill Biden.

:)

[elleng]

23. Lovely!

'upporters gave Biden an uproarious standing ovation and swarmed to the front of the room to shake her hand.'