Millions Flock to D.C. for Historic VP Swearing-In

(2009-01-19) — Joe Biden, 66, is old enough to remember when Delaware residents were treated as second-class citizens, now millions of Americans have flooded into Washington D.C. to watch the historic swearing-in of the nation’s first Delawarian vice president.

“It’s a watershed moment,” said the former U.S. Senator, “I’m very conscious that the eyes of the nation — of the world really — will be upon me tomorrow as I place my hand on the Bible and do something that even a generation ago seemed impossible for a native son of Delaware.”

Mr. Biden said he still recalls the sting of scorn endured by his father, when men from other states questioned whether Delaware was actually part of the union, or merely an off-shore corporate tax haven.

“My Dad would just politely mention that Delaware is connected by a land bridge to the continental U.S.,” said Mr. Biden, “He wasn’t trying to pick a fight, but he never gave in to the prejudice without an effort to maintain the dignity of his people…If only he had lived to see this moment.”

Some cynics have noted that Mr. Biden was actually born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and lived in the Keystone State for his first 11 years, but he argues that makes him at least 83 percent Delawarian, which is “a super majority.”

“I wrestled in my college years with questions of my identity,” Mr. Biden said, “but ultimately I came to terms with it and embraced my Delawareness. Sure, I still cringe when I hear some ignorant statist cracking a Caesar Rodney joke, but for the most part I have risen above the bitterness.”

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