By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
Chloe Webb spent about 45 minutes with U.S. Sen. Joseph Biden’s sister Tuesday afternoon — along with about 50 of her Rider University classmates, who turned out to listen to Valerie Biden Owens pitch the Democratic Party’s presidential ticket.
”I am here to support Barack Obama and the Democratic campaign ticket,” Ms. Webb said as she and her friends patiently waited for Ms. Owens to arrive for a rally at the Bart Luedeke Student Center.
”I want to see what we can do as citizens,” said Ms. Webb, who is a junior at Rider University. “I just turned 18 and I can finally vote now, and I am going to vote for Barack Obama.”
What Ms. Webb and her classmates received was some insight into Sen. Biden from a sister’s point of view, and some reasons why they should vote for Sen. Barack Obama and the veteran Delaware senator.
”I have been a surrogate for Joe,” Ms. Owens said. “When I travel around, I ask people to look at my brother and Sen. Obama. This race is not about Joe Biden, Barack Obama, John McCain or Sarah Palin. It’s about your hopes, your fears, your future.”
Ms. Owens said it is important to choose a presidential ticket whose members are committed leaders, adding that the election is “much bigger” than electing her older brother. Those leaders will take on the “awesome” responsibility of being the leaders of the free world, she said.
”To me, it all begins with character,” Ms. Owens said. She said that she and her three brothers were raised in an Irish Catholic household, where men and women were expected to be strong, self-reliant, compassionate and empathetic.
Ms. Owens said that her mother taught the children that one was defined by one’s sense of honor. Giving up was unforgivable, she said. They learned that they could achieve whatever they wanted to, she added.
The Biden children also were taught that abusing one’s power was unacceptable — a lesson brought home when their father quit his job as a car salesman after a disturbing incident at a Christmas party, she said. The dealer cleared out the showroom for the party and during the course of the evening, he tossed silver coins on the floor and watched the employees scramble to pick them up, she said.
The times were tough, Ms. Owens said, adding that she recalled her parents sitting at the kitchen table discussing how they would manage to send the children to college. If one of the manufacturing plants closed, how would people have enough money to buy a car from her father, she said.
Turning back to the topic of politics, Ms. Owens said politics is defined as the art of bringing people together and being able to live together in society. Politics in the Biden family is a noble profession, she said.
”I think the reason Barack Obama chose Joe Biden (to be his running mate) is because Joe is a man of his word and he knows how to reach across the (political) aisle,” Ms. Owens said.
Stumping for the Democratic ticket, Ms. Owens said Sen. Obama and Sen. Biden would work to cut taxes for 95 percent of all Americans who bring home a paycheck. While everyone promises tax cuts, Ms. Owens said, she knows her brother will carry it out because he is in the middle class.
The two Democrats will fight for equal pay for women and to uphold a woman’s right to abortion, she said. They will also end the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, and bring the United States back to a place of respect in the world, she said.
”I’m no expert on tax policy, Wall Street or alternative energy, but what I do know is that my big brother will keep his promises,” Ms. Owens said.

