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The remarkable humanity of Joe Biden
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2015/06/01/the-remarkable-humanity-of-joe-biden/?postshare=721433175042734The remarkable humanity of Joe Biden
By Chris Cillizza June 1 at 12:10 PM
https://img.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=
Joe Biden hugs his son Beau, who introduced him at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colo., on Aug. 27, 2008. Beau Biden died May 30 after battling brain cancer. (Mike Segar/Reuters)
snip//
Joe Biden got into politics in a different age. He simply would never have succeeded in the "he said what?!" politics of today — as evidenced by his flop of a 2008 presidential bid, a candidacy defined by his referring to then-Sen. Barack Obama as "clean" and "articulate" on the first day he was formally a candidate.
Biden never had the rough parts of his personality polished away. The rough parts were, in many ways, who he was. And yes, that fact got him into plenty of trouble over the years and almost certainly ensured that he would never reach his ultimate goal of being president. And yet, the fact that Biden's personality never got scrubbed of its distinctiveness is also his greatest asset: He is as close to a real person as you will ever find in an office like the one he holds. (If you have not read Jeanne Marie Laskas's Biden profile in the July 2013 GQ, you should really do it.)
It's that wear-it-on-your-sleeve humanness that, I think, has made the death of Beau Biden affecting for so many. (As the father of two young boys, it's hit me hard.) Because Joe Biden isn't some distant political figure; he's Uncle Joe, the guy who, whether you like it or not, would probably ruffle your hair and ask you how your grandma is doing if you ever met him. You feel like you know him — and that's because he feels like someone you DO know. How many politicians can you say that about?
None of the above excuses some of Biden's behavior or makes him an ideal candidate to be president. But for all the negative coverage his all-too-humanness gets, it's worth remembering the positive side of that unique set of personality traits, too.
Biden's humanity — forged in grief — allows him to connect with people because he allows them to see the dark parts of him — never more so than in his commencement speech at Yale University a few weeks back. Here's Biden from that speech:
The most successful and happiest people I’ve known understand that a good life at its core is about being personal. It’s about being engaged. It’s about being there for a friend or a colleague when they're injured or in an accident, remembering the birthdays, congratulating them on their marriage, celebrating the birth of their child. It’s about being available to them when they're going through personal loss. It’s about loving someone more than yourself, as one of your speakers have already mentioned. It all seems to get down to being personal.
That's Joe Biden. Remarkably personal. And remarkably human.
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Joe and his dear Mom.
I think I have something in my eye 
And he's a complete 180 after 8 years of the worst VP in US history. A toast to Joe. 
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He's not fake, he does what he says, and says what he means. He also truly cares about people and is deeply devoted to his family. He's one of the few non-millionaires in congress because he didn't leverage his power into money for himself like almost all the others do. He's a role model and an inspiration. My heart breaks at this recent tragedy.
