LoudounExtra.com
Biden Targets Female Voters in Sterling
Loudoun Appearance Reinforces State as Intense Battleground
By Christopher Twarowski
Originally published at 3:22 p.m., September 19, 2008
Updated at 1:25 a.m., September 20, 2008
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Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. drew several hundred partisan supporters to a Sterling park yesterday for an event targeting female voters in a region that has emerged as a battleground.
Biden (Del.) said he and presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) would, if elected, press for equal pay for women and health-care reform. He also touched on the Wall Street meltdown, offering a two-pronged response to the financial crisis.
"Short-term need: to staunch the bleeding," Biden told the crowd at Claude Moore Park. For the long term, he said, "We have to have a major, major, major overhaul of how the financial system works."
Biden's appearance in Loudoun County showed anew the intensity of the contest for Virginia's 13 electoral votes. Last week, Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) and his vice presidential running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, drew a massive crowd in Fairfax.
Video: Biden Rallies Women in Sterling
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Yesterday, Biden was flanked by several women from his family as he repeatedly sought to tie the Republican ticket to the incumbent president.
"The Bush administration has dug us into a very deep hole," Biden said. "When the economy goes south, who are the first people that get hurt the most? It's women! We're going to change that!"
Biden said his own support of legislation to prevent domestic violence stood in contrast with McCain's record.
"John McCain didn't believe there was need for the Violence Against Women Act," Biden said, drawing boos from the crowd. "He voted against it. He said it was ineffective and ill-conceived. Ladies and gentleman, tell that to the 1.5 million women who found it necessary."
Biden also criticized McCain's support of a Bush administration effort to privatize Social Security. "Imagine if all the money that he wanted to put in the market were in the market today," Biden said. "Tens of thousands of elderly women would be in a worse situation than they are in today."
Photo Gallery
Biden Stops in Sterling
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Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Biden uses the camera of Iris Solodar of Dulles to take their photo together after yesterday's rally in Sterling. (Linda Davidson)
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Joe Biden speaking during yesterday's "Change We Need" rally in Sterling. The rally was directed specifically at issues facing women voters, and featured appearances by several area lawmakers and Biden's wife, Jill. (Linda Davidson)
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A young boy in the crowd tries to see what all the fuss is about as supporters flock with hands and cameras extended to see Joe Biden at the conclusion of his "Change We Need" rally in Sterling on Friday afternoon. (Linda Davidson)
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Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Biden with his wife, Jill, and granddaughter Finnegan Biden, 10, on stage for a rally at Claude Moore Park. (Linda Davidson)
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Joe Biden hands out hugs and poses for pictures with supporters after Friday's "Change We Need" rally in Sterling. (Linda Davidson)
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Young people clamour to shake Joe Biden's hand after his speech Friday afternoon in Claude Moore Park in Sterling. Biden and his wife, Jill, were in Loudoun holding a "Change We Need" rally, directed specifically at women voters. (Linda Davidson)
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Democratic Vice Presidential candidate Joe Biden shakes hands with the crowd after a rally at Claude Moore Park in Sterling Friday afternoon. (Val Cavalheri)
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Judy M. Feder, democratic candidate for Virginia's 10th Congressional District, and Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.) appeared with Biden.
Mikulski targeted Palin, alluding to the Alaska governor's much-discussed joke at the Republican National Convention about pit bulls, hockey moms and lipstick.
"Democratic women, we wear lipstick too!" Mikulski told the crowd. "We need somebody that gets it. We don't need another George Bush in earrings going into the next No. 2 slot."
Paula Goldman, 43, a lawyer, brought her 8-year-old daughter, Naomi Feist, to the rally.
"My biggest concern is our stance in the world," Goldman said, "and I think this campaign represents an opportunity for us to undo some of the tremendous damage that's been done by the Bush regime."
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