Choo Choo Joe
EmailABC’s Z. Byron Wolf and Matt Jaffe report: It bears mentioning that Democratic VP candidate and Delaware Senator Joe Biden rode the train down to DC here from debate prep in Delaware for tonight’s vote on the economic rescue bill.
A welcome change from the campaign trail for Biden, surely, resting back into the daily routine he has kept for more than 30 years – the Acela high speed train since its inception.
Riding the train was a way for Biden to stay grounded in Delaware and near his boys after his first wife died , shortly after his first election to the Senate . In a lot of ways you could say he is Amtrak’s best customer.
Tonight’s first vote, as we were all waiting for the rescue bill to come up, was for a sweeping railroad bill that would give billions to upgrade Amtrak. Joe Biden was riding Amtrak down to DC to help out Amtrak.
And the train did its work. According to the Amtrak website, the 6:29 Acela left 3 minutes late, but arrived at Union Station 7 minutes early (who said American trains don’t run on time?) That should have been plenty of time for the Senator to walk from Union Station up to the Capitol building in time to vote by 8:04 .
So… why did Biden miss the vote?
Should he have taken the 5:56 as originally planned?
We are on the case. Not that it really matters – the Federal Railroad Safety Improvement Act passed easily.
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He voted wake up who ever said he didn’t.But I bet you one thing this bail out isn’t going to work unless the mistakes that caused this are corrected and the fat cats are being penalized. or even fired and made to make restitution.
Posted by: Rose Szymanski | October 1, 2008, 6:01 pm 6:01 pm
The safety for trains was good. Now how much is it going to cost the railroads or tax payers?
The other bill passed tonight will not be good for America.Ride safely Senator Biden.
Posted by: William | October 1, 2008, 6:07 pm 6:07 pm
Why did Biden meet with Prter Goss, Bob Graham, and Pakistani Gen. Mahmood Ahmed on behalf of Saheed Sheikh and wire 100,000 to Mohammed Atta on the day of 911. Come on Joe, the victims families have a right to know. Why did you tell a spokesman for those familes when confronted with this evidence to: “Get a life.” Pretty cold, Joe. Pretty cold. You’ve got some explaing to do, if not to the American people, then at least to those family members. Have you no decency sir!
Posted by: hmn | October 1, 2008, 6:09 pm 6:09 pm
Why bother, Joe? Didn’t you receive the text message from Gwen Ifill? It’s a win-win situation : you have all the questions to be asked by Gwen and she will have a good a shot on a book deal.
Posted by: mtr2311 | October 1, 2008, 6:13 pm 6:13 pm
Ooooooh I see. McCain/Palin insinuate bias in something so obvious, but we get a nice lil fluff piece about Joey on a choo choo. Was his name Thomas, and did Joey get to sit in the engineers seat? Gawd!
ABC should stand for…ALWAYS BACKING COMRADES!!!!
This is so unbelievably stupid, and galling, and what’s really sad is…you get all the nitwits to believe this crap.
rex84 is waiting.
Posted by: Jeanie | October 1, 2008, 6:18 pm 6:18 pm
Wow! The rightwing nutjobs are certainly here tonight! And on such a benign subject!
Obama/Biden 08
Posted by: jackt51 | October 1, 2008, 6:30 pm 6:30 pm
Who is singing “He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother” in the shower? Not Sarah Palin.
Posted by: mtr2311 | October 1, 2008, 6:34 pm 6:34 pm
In the train he read the transcript of Palin’s Supreme Court answers to Couric.
He started feeling very bad, just as every sane American who read or listened to the BS chatter of the GOP VP candidate.
It’s an insult to Biden that he has to debate with a chicken.
Posted by: trent | October 1, 2008, 6:36 pm 6:36 pm
Amen,so much for slick Joe!!!!!!
Posted by: Joey | October 1, 2008, 6:36 pm 6:36 pm
Both Joe Biden and Sarah Palin will not be able to name all the 57 states. Guess who can?
Posted by: mtr2311 | October 1, 2008, 6:41 pm 6:41 pm
Vote ‘No’ to the bailout-Resuce Plan. The New Plan, puts Humpty Dumpty back onthe Wall Street. Wall Street is the seperation, between The 5% and the 95%. The New Revisions, only make Wall Street in control again. We wil once again loose our ‘Independence’. Why would anyone support, the New Bill, will only bring forth a Credit Line of ‘Mass Destruction.’Please vote ‘No’ to ‘Wall Street’. No More Division.
Let Americans own their own homes. By Saving Wall Street, They can still own Your Houses, and later, evven raise the intrest rate, to earn themselves more money.
Vote Independant.
WallStreet will Buy McCains ‘WIN’
Remember Clintons Suprise?
Take it to the Bank, That these stall tactics, is a Nixon-Clinton-Bush-McCain set-up.
Follow the trail Back to the Beginning.
Watch CNN and MSNBC
Call Your Congress and Say NO, to the same Bush McCain division Plan.
Vote Independent. Not Wall Street Support.
Looking At McCains Past Record, He has only voted, when his elect 5%, would make more of a Gain.
McCain was held away form voting No, on the Past Bill, because his 5% would not gain anything. This is a set-up. Put this view in your History Books. McCcain is Buying Wall Streets ‘Fixed’ Votes.
Vote No to McCains Afgan War ‘Draft’. View McCain’s past voting record. Voted against money for Younger Education, But supports his Funding of 5% Teenagers of Drafting Age.
Vote No to Mc Wall Street.
Watch CNN and MSNBC for the Truth.
No more Bi-Partisanships. This leaves out ‘Independence’. This takes th American Independence away.
Vote No to McCain.
PAC=Power and Control
Power-over the people
Control of Wall Street
vote No to Wallstreets resuce
Call the House AND SAY NO
WHERE IS RICK DAVIS?
Anyone else notice ‘Clintons Turtle on a Fence Post’, speech? Same as McCains.
McCains Oil Tycoons Win Again.
They are already buying up GM. Why?Because they still have the money and BlackGold.
Watch CNN and MSNBC for more Truth.
Vote NO to WallStreet Rescue.
Vote Independant
Posted by: historyremembered | October 1, 2008, 6:42 pm 6:42 pm
I’m not sure what the appeal of Sen. Biden and his- riding on “trains” is?
I have ridden on trains, (NJ transit to NY City) and I cannot say that I was able to “keep in touch with my fellow citizens.” Actually, after the train ride, I wanted to get as far away from my “fellow” train riders as I could!
Maybe McCain could appeal to “canal” riders by taking American ferry boats?
Sarah Palin could appeal to boaters by taking a kayak to DC?
Joe Biden and “trains” reminds me a lot of John Kerry and wind-surfing.
A distraction from the gaffes.
Good editorial, by the way. Trains are becoming more valuable with the high price of fuel and should be made safer.
Posted by: The Angry Republic | October 1, 2008, 6:46 pm 6:46 pm
Taking the train gives him plenty of time to review the soaring Obama/Biden poll numbers.
Posted by: mymyself | October 1, 2008, 6:53 pm 6:53 pm
slow night? yawn
Posted by: Miki | October 1, 2008, 7:01 pm 7:01 pm
Does Joe Who knows the 13 states that signed the declaration of independence? no wonder he makes a gaffe
Posted by: Stephen from Indiana | October 1, 2008, 7:03 pm 7:03 pm
Yahoo news said the only Senator who didn’t vote was Kennedy, he is in the hospital. Where’s Joe? I thought he voted. I guess this wasn’t an important vote.
Posted by: Waggdogg | October 1, 2008, 7:06 pm 7:06 pm
My husband works for the rairoad.CSX. Calling him choochoo Joe.Is that supposed to be funny? For all the men and women that put their necks on the line I’d say your comment is a little condescending. Epecially since my husband just spent the last 6 hours getting wet and cold.I admire Joe for taking the train. Especially when he dosen’t have to.
Posted by: Bea | October 1, 2008, 7:07 pm 7:07 pm
Joe Biden didn’t vote for the bailout in the end, according to the article. And Obama says that we need a sense of urgency. He also say that we all should vote.
Posted by: young_voter | October 1, 2008, 7:34 pm 7:34 pm
Awww, that’s cute. Run out of McCain/Palin bash stories already?
Posted by: Mack | October 1, 2008, 7:48 pm 7:48 pm
Joe will make a great VP.
Posted by: matt | October 1, 2008, 8:12 pm 8:12 pm
Sheeeesh, can’t you Right Wingnuts read or is it just the analysis of the words which gives you difficulty?
Re-read the article and try to understand each sentence. Note that there were more than the one vote this evening, the first vote being on the Railroad Safety Bill and which Biden missed. He was present and voted for the Economic Rescue Package, as odious as we all think it is.
I would still like to see most of the money go to agencies on HUD’s list of approved councelors.
http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/hcc/hcs.cfm
These are the people who attempt to help you keep your home if your bank won’t help. A few billion would sure go along way toward helping many afford their newly increased ARM loan. While the mortgagees’ folly is not usually the taxpayers’ problem; I’d much rather help them than the fat cats on Wall Street. It would also take alot of toxicity out of the bundled mortgages allowing housing the rapidly find its bottom and begin the return from this “Long Day’s Jouney into Night”.
Posted by: Bad Buoy | October 1, 2008, 8:18 pm 8:18 pm
because he was reading the test for tomorrows debate sent to him by his buddy the moderator. coo-coo rides the chu chu?
Posted by: colorado | October 1, 2008, 8:22 pm 8:22 pm
Biden did not miss the vote on the financial bailout deal. He voted yea. As noted in the article, the vote he missed was the one on the Federal Railroad Safety Improvement Act, which passed anyway.
Posted by: Skeptic | October 1, 2008, 8:30 pm 8:30 pm
Has anyone seen what other stuff made it into that bill? You can hide a lot of stuff in 451 pages. It’s truely amazing at what made it in that has absolutely nothing to do with a financial bailout.
Go to the library of congress, read it for yourself (those of you who can actually read).
Posted by: janice | October 1, 2008, 8:54 pm 8:54 pm
question to Bad Buoy don’t you think that if the bank won’t qualify a person for a home loan maybe they should try to raise their credit score the way the rest of us do. oh and it probably would not hurt to have a job also.
i really have very little sympathy for people who got in over their heads.
am i wrong here? as a single mom i worked minimum wage jobs and saved for a down payment and then resolved by making payment arrangements to my creditors to raise my credit score. my daughter did the same thing and she is only 27 y.o. the american dream for home ownership is attainable.
Posted by: colorado | October 1, 2008, 8:55 pm 8:55 pm
You need to change the post. Makes it sound like Biden missed the vote on the bailout bill even though his train arrived 7 minutes early.
Not everyone will click on the link you provided.
Posted by: cincyr | October 1, 2008, 9:28 pm 9:28 pm
Incredible. These clowns in Washington use the financial crisis to push a bill through that, while does address the crisis, also pushes through a lot of added weight. There is language in the bill that has absolutely nothing to do with the financial mess, like altering AMT taxes, provisions for the film and TV industry, exemptions for wooden arrows designed for children, mental health and addiction, rural school security and ‘self-determination’, abandoned mine reclamation, heartland and hurricane Ike relief, wool research, enhanced deductions for book donations, farm equipment depreciation, disclosure on terrorist activities, tax preparation issues, federal land and ‘special projects’ on that land..
The first clue should have been when Dubba said it was ‘imperative’ to push through.
Posted by: Concerned American | October 1, 2008, 9:50 pm 9:50 pm
Obama the magic negro is going to prison soon.
Posted by: Rezko | October 1, 2008, 10:09 pm 10:09 pm
Joe Biden is so conventional and has nothing new about him. He must be in the la la la land. Guess, he needs Aricept to remind him that he needs to vote tonight. He is such an idiot!!
Posted by: yodaxl7 | October 1, 2008, 11:15 pm 11:15 pm
Save John McCain! Save John McCain! Got $12 million to spare? You can take this 14,000 sq. ft. estate of his hands.
http://alinktonowhere.com/2008/10/01/hard-times-mccain-selling-one-of-his-homes/
See, even McCain has to tighten his belt in this time of uncertainty. He feels our pain. But he might need to suspend his campaign, like he has done or threatened to do just about every time he has run for office, to do the closing.
Posted by: GetOffMyLawns! | October 1, 2008, 11:27 pm 11:27 pm
MAYBE OLD JOE IS JUST PLAIN TOO CHEAP TO RIDE HIS CAR, AND IT IS A VERY SAFE WAY TO GET TO WORK- NO BULLETS TO DODGE LIKE IN IRAQ. PLUS, THAT GIVES HIM THE TIME FOR A CHAT WITH GWEN IFIL BEFORE THE DEBATE. LIFE IS GOOD!
Posted by: Linda, USA | October 2, 2008, 12:20 am 12:20 am
Linda thats a nasty thing to say when you know Biden’s first wife died in a car accident. But maybe you’re just an ass.
Posted by: JoeShmoe | October 2, 2008, 1:02 am 1:02 am
What is it with all of the posts tonight? Can’t you see the news? All of the senators but Ted Kennedy voted on the bill. While you are trashing Biden, you are makeing a
Palin gaffe by not having your facts straight either.
Posted by: Sue | October 2, 2008, 1:47 am 1:47 am
Hey Sue why do you believe the media? Don’t you know they are 1000% in the tank for Obama. Look at the roll call
on the vote it says (Biden) Not Voting! Think somebody should call him on this? No nobody will because the media is in the tank for the Dems!
Posted by: chuck | October 2, 2008, 2:48 am 2:48 am
LOL! Oh, man, anyone watching Fox & Friends this morning where they were talking about the “rescue” bill?
I suspected when it went from 100 pages to over 400 something had to be added to “sweeten the deal” -
SOOOOOOOOOOOOooooo, I don’t see how EITHER candidate can BRAG about this one – in fact, it should HURT BOTH candidates since there are TAX BREAKS, YES TAX breaks for the litigants in the ’89 Exxon Valdez situation.
Also, earmarks for wooden arrows for kids – HUH? And this is emergency? These are only a few – another is tax breaks for Hollywood movie producers?????????? HUHHHHHHHHHHHHHH???? Over $100 billion in “earmarks” -
Palin has a tricky situation tonite; while she could take a golden opportunity to trash biden for his vote, her own running mate voted for it too. LOL!
Gawd, vote ALL of these people out -
PALIN 2008, 2012, 2016!
WHY DO
BOTH candidates sunk this one.
Posted by: obamayomama | October 2, 2008, 3:10 am 3:10 am
“Biden wanted to help Amtrak out”…awwwwwwww, isn’t that sweet. So now campaign money for travel expense (your contributions or maybe more appropriately, illegal contributions from overseas terrorists…) to pay for the fare is somehow a benevolence to Amtrak? And you guys fall for this fluff?
If Palin were riding amtrak and using campaign funds to do so, or get reimbursed for “governmental travel expense” as part of Biden’s are, you guys would be using your media to rag all over her.
LOL – it never ceases to amaze me.
Posted by: obamayomama | October 2, 2008, 3:17 am 3:17 am
http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/expend_detail.php?cid=N00001669&excode=A10&cycle=2008&page=8
Note: NONE of this money comes out of Biden’s personal pocket. What a guy! Stand up JOE! You’re helping AMTRAK.
Posted by: obamayomama | October 2, 2008, 3:33 am 3:33 am
This is a news story?!? A handful of days before the election. Financial problems in this country. Real issues to discuss, and a you waste time on a “fluff” piece that no one west of the “eastern corridor” cares about. Here’s a tip, no one in the heartland or far west gives a rip about choo choo train rides. A better take would be how much the heavily subsidized Amtrak ride actually cost tax payers.
Posted by: Jack | October 2, 2008, 3:33 am 3:33 am
Joe Biden will make a great VP even if he can’t see Russia from Delaware…
Posted by: pt | October 2, 2008, 4:33 am 4:33 am
So Ifill thinks she is being rejected because of racism? Then she doesn’t understand that concept enough to even be a tele journalist!
Every profession has an ethics rule against conflict of interest. The news media has bent that rule for many years. This election it has been an epidemic of onesided editorializing. This time it goes beyond the pale. For her to have written a book about this election cycle and called it the Obama Era is grounds for taking her off PBS, much less this debate.
This racism mantra has to be squelched NOW
Posted by: HP Boston | October 2, 2008, 4:48 am 4:48 am
Why is FEC Keeping Lid on OBAMA SCANDAL?
It looks as if Senator Obama may have received MORE THAN $200 MILLION in illegal donations including millions overseas campaign donations. Four times during the last three months an FEC Auditor has asked his bosses to start an investigation into Senator Obama’s illegal campaign donations such as this one
Similarly, a donor identified as “Pro, Doodad,” from “Nando, NY,” gave $19,500 in 786 separate donations, most of them for $25. For most of these donations, Mr. Doodad Pro listed his employer as “Loving” and his profession as “You,” etc.
Posted by: HP Boston | October 2, 2008, 4:51 am 4:51 am
Plugs Biden was shot at 3 times while he was in the green zone in Iraq. So he says. Either his lying or they missed him.
Posted by: Obamatron drone #12323 | October 2, 2008, 6:20 am 6:20 am
I love Amtrack – I would hate to see America without trains. We are so far behind the rest of the world in public transportation it is ridiculous – and that is the real cost to taxpayers. Instead of supporting public transportation, we support corporate subsidies to Big Oil.
Posted by: mara | October 2, 2008, 7:44 am 7:44 am
Good lord, does this site have censors? The posts here are unbelievable. Biden wires money to Atta on 9/11? And ABC allows this tripe to appear on its site? Do you really expect to be taken seriously as a newsite?
I can tell you my least favorite Supreme Court decision – the Brennan decision – which allowed pure venom and lies to be printed without fault or consequences.
Posted by: mara | October 2, 2008, 7:47 am 7:47 am
Love seeing all the close minded “me me me” conservatives freaking out and circling the drain in the face of a Democratic LANDSLIDE! Hahaha. Thank you George W Bush!
Posted by: Dean | October 2, 2008, 12:15 pm 12:15 pm