SCDems News
S.C. Democrats praise Biden
September 2, 2008
South Carolina Democrats welcomed U.S. Sen. Joe Biden to the presidential ticket, hailing Biden's experience as a perfect complement to Barack Obama.
"I think Joe Biden is an excellent pick," Jaime Harrison, an aide to U.S. House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, said as he prepared to travel as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention this week in Denver.
"He brings a tremendous amount of foreign policy experience (to the ticket). He is extremely charismatic and engaging. But most importantly, he is tough."
In 1972, at age 29, Biden was shepherded into the U.S. Senate by South Carolina's then-junior Democratic Sen. Fritz Hollings, who headed the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee at the time. Biden became Hollings’ Senate deskmate for the next three decades.
Thirty-one years later, in 2003, Biden was asked by the family of South Carolina's venerable Republican senator, the late Strom Thurmond, to deliver Thurmond's eulogy.
"He and Fritz are great friends," said Trip King, who served as state campaign director for Biden's 2008 presidential race.
Though Biden dropped out after the Iowa caucuses, before the race came South, King said he has a host of friends here.
"People just like the guy," King said. "He's a known quantity, a consensus builder, and he could help (Obama) in the South. In fact, I think he can help in every quadrant of the electorate, across the spectrum."
Another convention delegate, Joyce Knott of Rock Hill, agreed.
"My first choice was Sen. (Hillary) Clinton (of New York), and my second choice was Sen. Biden. I have a lot of respect for him and believe he is the best choice."
About to board a plane for Denver on Saturday, former national Democratic Party chairman Don Fowler, formerly a Clinton supporter, said Biden brings the right mix of personality, credentials, experience, and maturity of years to the ticket.
"It's an excellent selection," said Fowler, who has known Biden for 35 to 40 years. "It complements Sen. Obama better than anybody else (on the so-called short list)."
Biden clearly has the credentials to be president, Fowler added.
State Sen. Gerald Malloy, D-Darlington, was one of Biden's earliest S.C. supporters in the 2008 presidential campaign.
"When the election process started, I knew it was a critical time, not only for South Carolina, but for the world," Malloy said. "And when you put it together, Sen. Biden's breadth of service, his lifetime experience, we felt he was the best person to serve as president of the United States."
Republicans quickly jumped on Biden's status as a long-serving senator in contrast to Obama's theme of change.
"Joe Biden only underscores Obama's weaknesses," said S.C. Republican Party chairman Katon Dawson.
State Rep. James Smith, a Columbia Democrat, said that while he was on combat duty in Afghanistan from early 2007 until May 2008, Biden phoned his unit about six times to ask how they were and how their training of the Afghan National Police was progressing.
"For someone at that level to be interested in us, genuinely interested — that's the character of the kind of guy he is," Smith said.
The State
