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Vice President Joe Biden speaks during a rally at the Culinary Academy in Las Vegas on Thursday, Oct. 18, 2012.
By Tovin Lapan (contact) 
Published Thursday, Oct. 18, 2012 | 11:52 a.m.
Updated Thursday, Oct. 18, 2012 | 2:56 p.m.
Sun coverage
Joe Biden completed a two-day campaign swing through Nevada on Thursday morning with a rally in Las Vegas, where he urged supporters to vote early and lashed out at Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney for his positions on women’s issues and the economy.
More than 600 people attended the event at the Culinary Arts Academy, with most filling a small room where Biden spoke and more than 100 watching a video feed in an overflow room.
Biden fired up the Clark County Democratic Party base, telling his audience of union workers and other supporters, “We win Nevada, we win the election.”
After being introduced by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Biden opened by reminding the crowd that early voting starts Saturday in Nevada, “so don’t wait until Election Day to vote!”
Driving the early vote turnout is a key part of the Democrats’ ground game. Four years ago, nearly 60 percent of voters turned out during the two-week early voting period prior to the election.
Elizabeth Wilson, 73, was decked out in a Barack Obama hat and a T-shirt covered in campaign buttons and stickers. Wilson said in the final weeks before the election, she’d like to see the Obama campaign emphasize women’s issues.
“I think the Republicans want to do away with a lot of women’s rights. They are on the wrong side of women’s issues,” Wilson said.
Perhaps the most talked about comment from Tuesday’s second presidential debate was a response Romney gave to a question on equal pay for women.
Romney said after he was elected governor of Massachusetts, he searched for qualified female applicants for Cabinet positions.
“I went to a number of women’s groups and said, ‘Can you help us find folks,’ and they brought us whole binders full of women,” Romney said.
Biden made sure to skewer that remark early in his 33-minute speech.
“On Tuesday, when Gov. Romney was asked a direct question at the debate on equal pay for women, he started out talking about binders,” Biden said to laughter. “Binders full of qualified women’s names. The idea that he had to ask somebody to put together a binder is unusual. By the way, he never did answer the question.”
Biden also painted Romney as someone who changes views depending on the circumstances and audience.
“When asked would (Romney and vice presidential nominee Rep. Paul Ryan) guarantee to leave (Afghanistan) in 2014, they said, ‘Maybe; it depends.’ Like everything with them, it depends,” Biden said. “It depends on the day. It depends on where they are. It depends on who they are talking to.
"Gov. Romney has changed his position on so many things, you just don’t know.”
After the debate, the Romney campaign immediately reacted to a comment Biden made about Ryan.
“I don’t understand how they believe and they do believe Ryan has written a book called ‘The Young Guns’ with two other members of the House, no these are Republican leaders in the House. You had, unfortunately, the bullets are aimed at you,” Biden said at a point when there was laughter and an audience member made an inaudible comment to the vice president.
Ryan’s press secretary, Brendan Buck, said, “Today’s over-the-top rhetoric by Vice President Biden is disappointing but not all that surprising. In the absence of a vision or plan to move the country forward, the vice president is left only with ugly political attacks beneath the dignity of the office he occupies. Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan will bring serious leadership to Washington that will focus on an agenda of job creation and economic growth that benefits all Americans.”
On immigration, Biden said Romney, Ryan and the Republican Party is not only out of touch with the Hispanic community but with the majority of the American public.
The vice president criticized Romney’s economic policies as returning to the same strategy that caused the Great Recession.
“(Republicans) act like one day the great recession fell out of the sky and landed on our desk,” Biden said. “How do you solve the problem, if you don’t acknowledge what caused it?”
Maureen Tedesco, 82, lived in Las Vegas for 43 years but now lives in California. In town visiting family, Tedesco decided to attend the Biden event because, as a senior citizen, she said, she believes the two presidential candidates offer a clear choice.
“I feel like Romney and the Republicans are going after senior citizens,” Tedesco said. “Health care is a major issue for me as a senior citizen, and they are going to weaken Medicare.”
Tedesco was buoyed by Obama’s second debate performance, saying he did much better Tuesday than in his first debate.
Biden, meanwhile, jumped on comments made by Romney that 47 percent of the public is unwilling to take personal responsibility and quoted Romney as saying that “it’s not my job to worry about those people.”
“Well folks, you should worry about them. When they talk about that 47 percent, they are talking about my mom and dad who worked every day their whole life. My mom and dad are part of that 82 percent of that 47 percent. Over 82 percent of them pay their payroll taxes. They pay their income taxes. They pay the effective rate higher than Romney pays on his federal taxes.”
The Romney campaign, on the other hand, has criticized the Obama campaign for failing to offer specifics about a second term and the slow growth of the economy.
“Vice President Biden showed voters that the Obama campaign can only offer misleading attacks instead of discernible vision or plan for a second term,” Romney campaign spokesman Mason Harrison said in a statement after Biden’s speech. “In fact, President Obama seems to have given up, declaring at the recent debate that ‘there are some jobs that are not going to come back.’ The choice in this election is clear. Mitt Romney has bold plans for the country that will lower taxes for the middle class, create 12 million jobs, increase take-home pay, and cut spending to put us back on a path to a balanced budget.”
The audience at the Culinary Academy of Las Vegas — run by 4th Congressional District candidate Steven Horsford — was filled with Culinary Union members clad in red shirts that read, “2012 Labor Vote.”
Prior to Biden taking the stage, the crowd filled the room with chants of “forty-seven percent,” “four more years” and “si se puede” (yes, we can).
Biden has visited Nevada four times this year and eight times since he became vice president. He was in Reno for a campaign event Wednesday.
After Joe Biden debate with Paul Ryan, Hollywood came running and ask Joe if he would like to play the Joker in their new Bateman movie that will be out next year, now that is just plain wild.
Sorry Mr. Biden it's Romney Ryan for me. Our Contry can't take four more Year's of what we have now
"audience of union workers"
what a surprise...the REAL surprise will come if obama is reelected, but it won't be a good surprise.
It's all about that three letter word "JOBS", right Joe?
Thanks go to Joe and his interpreter for not having a union rally on Fremont St. We're trying to redevelop the area to create jobs.
Prior to Biden's appearance, they were snapping to a smooth-swing version of "Got To Get You Into My Life."
Get who into your life, the government? I want the government OUT of my life.
@No
That's the demonrats dream, total control and everyone dependent on government for everything....has been since the '60's and LBJ's massive "great society" socialist programs.
Comment removed by moderator. Name Calling
When is someone going to ask Obama and Biden what their plans are for a second term! I don't think they have any except tax and spend! But they sure are good at bad mouthing Romney/Ryan for their plan.
Go Romney/Ryan!!!
Biden talking about the economy is like Ted Bundy talking about the high crime rate! Just saying
Biden is despicable. He knows he's lying and doesn't care. He and his campaign practices the usual - Ends Justifies the Means - liberal modus operandi. ANY actual fact check would show that on a personal basis Romney has done more for women than Joe ever thought of. And on a public service basis the same is true, individual efforts are far in Romney's favor.
Unfortunately for the left the facts don't matter, only what THEY say and repeat often enough to placate their base and play to the willfully ignorant who vote on style instead of substance who make up too large a portion of the liberal electorate.
While the VP panders to special interest groups/minorities and supports legislation that is designed to buy votes more than really accomplish anything, the Governor has a Un-refutable record of actually doing something, he just doesn't hold a press conference touting it every time and doesn't spend every waking moment executing false attacks against those who don't support him.
Integrity vs hypocrisy and accountability vs the blame game. When Nixon was under investigation for Watergate a comedian named David Fry did a comedy album on Watergate where he and others performed a play type collage of skits and very good impersonations of political and Hollywood characters. A very good satire in which a line was uttered I have never forgotten. In one scene where Nixon was being questioned under oath he was asked if he was responsible for Watergate and his actions.
He responded that he was responsible but not to blame. When asked the difference Nixon replied that people who are to blame lose their jobs but people who are responsible do not. That seems to sum up the Obama/Biden ticket. While Obama on occasion when forced by clear Un-refutable facts that he is responsible claims responsibility as some last resort heroic act while blaming others and in effect avoiding any real responsibility. The sure sign of a weak and cowardly man with no leadership and low standards. Surely Elmer Fudd would make a better president and Mitt Romney far exceeds the standards and personal responsibility of both.
Ladies,
Just have a moment, but please take a look at this site:
http://www.barackobama.com/womens-issues...
http://www.barackobama.com/truth-team/en...
Mr. Biden,
It is OBAMA/BIDEN for me and the entire D ticket. I am voting on Saturday!
Thank you for coming to Las Vegas. Thank you and President Obama for fighting so hard for the American People. Thank you for caring about the needs, concerns, and lives of the American People. Thank you for being you. I sincerely appreciate everything that you and President Obama have done and have tried to do.
4 more years!!!!!
Mitty, Mitty, quite contrary
How does your cabinet grow?
With big white three-ring binders
Full of women all in a row.
We can't win, the Misses is coming back to run up
our tax bill, does it ever end?? Mrs ob stay home!
YES, JOE BIDEN IS THE MAN!!!
Joe Biden is awesome!
Joe Biden is one of the best Vice Presidents we
have ever had.
Hey Joe, please ignore the brain-dead, heartless
republicans in this town.
They're too stupid to know any better.
And you did a great job of kicking Paul Ryan's
butt.
It's just about over.
FOUR MORE YEARS FOR OBAMA/BIDEN!!!
DEMOCRATS FOREVER!!!
"Speaking to supporters in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Thursday, Vice President Joe Biden wanted to know how many knew someone who served in Iran, Charlie Spiering wrote at the Washington Examiner.
"How many of you know someone who served in Iraq or Iran?" Biden asked.
According to Spiering, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) raised his hand along with others in the crowd.
Biden wasn't finished, however.
"How many of you know someone who has been injured or lost in Iraq or Iran?" the Vice President asked."
How odd that this little exchanged didn't make it into a puff piece on Biden's visit. IRAN??? Don't you mean Afghanistan, Joe?? And don't you know the difference, Senator Reid?
And these people run the country? No wonder we're in a world of hurt.
Roy.....
What party lied us into Iraq and destroyed our
entire economy???
The same morons that you back.
How smart is that?
PRESIDENT OBAMA and V.P. JOE BIDEN are fixing the
HUGE MESS that the incompetent republican party
created.
Nobody but nobody could be stupid enough to put
the SAME GREEDY REPUBLICAN CLOWNS BACK IN.
NOT GOING TO HAPPEN.
@ Teamster - Please something constructive
Biden, the intellect genius of the Democrats....
"How many of you know someone who has been injured or lost in Iraq or Iran?"
"Folks, I can tell you I've known eight presidents, three of them intimately."
"My mother believed and my father believed that if I wanted to be president of the United States, I could be, I could be Vice President!"
"I promise you, the president has a big stick. I promise you."
"His mom lived in Long Island for ten years or so. God rest her soul. And- although, she's- wait- your mom's still- your mom's still alive. Your dad passed. God bless her soul." --Joe Biden, on the mother of Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen, who is very much alive
"You know, I'm embarrassed. Do you know the Web site number? I should have it in front of me and I don't. I'm actually embarrassed." --Joe Biden, speaking to an aide standing out of view during an interview on CBS' "Early Show," in the midst of encouraging viewers to visit a government-run Web site that tracks stimulus spending
"If we do everything right, if we do it with absolute certainty, there's still a 30% chance we're going to get it wrong."
"Jill and I had the great honor of standing on that stage, looking across at one of the great justices, Justice Stewart." --Joe Biden, mistakenly referring to Justice John Paul Stevens
"Look, John's last-minute economic plan does nothing to tackle the number-one job facing the middle class, and it happens to be, as Barack says, a three-letter word: jobs. J-O-B-S, jobs."
"When the stock market crashed, Franklin D. Roosevelt got on the television and didn't just talk about the, you know, the princes of greed. He said, 'Look, here's what happened." --Joe Biden, apparently unaware that FDR wasn't president when the stock market crashed in 1929 and that only experimental TV sets were in use at that time
"Stand up, Chuck, let 'em see ya." ---Joe Biden, to Missouri state Sen. Chuck Graham, who is in a wheelchair
A man I'm proud to call my friend. A man who will be the next President of the United States -- Barack America!" --Joe Biden, at his first campaign rally with Barack Obama
"I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy. I mean, that's a storybook, man." --Joe Biden, referring to Barack Obama
Biden once claimed that he graduated in the top half of his law class. He graduated 76th out of 85 students.
He got caught cheating in college.
He got caught twice using material from other persons in speeches without giving credit (once an entire speech).
Let's now pray that Obama stays healthly.
We don't need Biden to be President.
NewVegas.....
And why do you back the DEstructive republican
party?
Let's hear your details.
romney/ryan sure won't give any.
So Biden asked if anyone knew someone who fought in either Iran or Iraq.....And Harry Reid raised his hand.....No really, that actually happened.
Lucky for our country, we Democrats outnumber
crazy republicans and will always outnumber them.
The republican party already self-destructed.
DEMOCRATS FOREVER!!!
Whether you like Romney or not this is REALLY funny!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl...
Biden hit the nail on the head when he said Romney's answers to questions change depending on who he's talking to and the circumstances. Romney is similar to the other two disasters the Republican Party blessed this country with, G.W.Bush and Darth Cheney, a couple of real bums.
Romney is going to win Nevada. No question about it. At the end of the day it is the economy and how poorly the administration has dealt with the issues of unemployment. Too many people unemployed because of an administration that refuses to permit oil drilling and energy projects in the USA. Union or non union there are too many people out of work with no relief in sight. Obama is anti business and always will be.
Most women are not stupid, they won't be voting for anyone in the neanderthal party (GOP)!
Biden is an insult to women, intelligent women anyhow. To act as if women (and men) cannot take responsibility for contraception and must rely on "Planned Parenthood" for anything is ridiculous. Free health clinics cover that. Many to most of us have private health care and know what OUR priorities are.
Biden is a bafoon.
Curious, did he admit that Obama's White House pays women 18% less than men in same postion and that on of Obama's debate coaches (a women) quit and stated that she worked in a hostile work enviroment???