Biden asks UD students to help in Pennsylvania

[Ron Burgundy]

NEWARK, Del. – Democratic vice presidential candidate Joseph Biden urged students at his alma mater on Friday to take a road trip — to work for the Democratic ticket in hotly contested Pennsylvania.

"It's an honor to be back on campus," Biden told more than 1,500 people crowded on the green outside Memorial Hall at the University of Delaware. Biden, who graduated in 1965, added that he was grateful so many people turned out for the rally rather than travel to Philadelphia for a parade honoring the World Series champion Phillies.

But Biden did encourage students and others in the crowd to head north for another reason — to help Barack Obama win Pennsylvania, whose 21 electoral votes could be pivotal in Tuesday's election.

"We need not just your vote, we need you to bring others along, to make phone calls, to knock on doors," Biden told the crowd. He said buses will be taking volunteers from Delaware to Pennsylvania daily through election day.

"You can sign up right after this rally, and we need you to do so," he told the crowd. "... With your help, we can begin to imagine a better future."

Biden, who was introduced by his wife, Jill, said Tuesday's election is "the single most important election in any of our lifetimes," and that in troubled times, a president must be able to appeal to Americans' hopes, not their fears.

"I am certain Barack Obama will appeal and unite this country because he will appeal to America's better angels," Biden said, adding that Republican presidential candidate John McCain "continues to think that the way you win is to divide."

"I believe John McCain is stubbornly clinging to the failed policies of the past," he said, adding that history will judge the Bush administration harshly not just for its mistakes, but for opportunities it squandered, including failing to nurture a strong economy or unite the world against the threat of global terrorism.

"The Bush legacy, the one that John McCain wants to continue, is an America where we are divided from each other, a nation divided from the world," Biden said.

Under Obama, however, America can "once again become the beacon of light for the entire world," Biden said.

From Delaware, Biden was to travel to Ohio, another pivotal state in this year's presidential election.

source: AP - http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081031/ap_on_el_pr/biden [link]