On Campaign Trail, Palin, Biden Attack Rivals

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MELISSA BLOCK, host:

From NPR News, this is All Things Considered. I'm Melissa Block. Yesterday, we played extended sections from the presidential candidate's stump speeches. And today, we'll do the same for their running mates. Sarah Palin spoke in Troy, Ohio today and reminded the crowd of the man who's become a focal point of the Republican's campaign.

Governor SARAH PALIN (Republican, Alaska; 2008 Republican Vice Presidential Nominee): And, you know, I've really got to hand it to Joe the Plumber up the road in Toledo. Yeah, Joe the Plumber.

(Soundbite of crowd cheering)

Gov. PALIN: Your neighbor, Joe, somehow, he's succeeded somewhere - none of the rest of us could do this. We didn't accomplish this. He did. He got our opponent to finally state his intentions in plain language. Senator Obama now says he wants to spread the wealth, which means, of course, government taking your money, dolling it out however the politician sees fit.

(Soundbite of crowd booing)

Gov. PALIN: Barack Obama stated finally, plainly - he, calling it spreading the wealth. Joe Biden calls higher taxes patriotic. But Joe the Plumber - Joe the Plumber, speaking for other Americans out there, is so worried about our economic future. He said to him, it sounded like socialism.

(Soundbite of crowd cheering)

Gov. PALIN: And now is not the time to experiment with socialism.

BLOCK: As for Joe Biden, he was in Winston-Salem, North Carolina this afternoon, also talking about the economy and John McCain.

Senator JOE BIDEN (Democrat, Delaware, 2008 Democratic Vice Presidential Nominee): Look folks, we refuse to accept John's assertion that this is, as he recently said, simple fundamental economics. It is not simple fundamental economics. It is Bush-McCain economics that has got us into this very deep hole. Now look, I know - I know we're not running against George Bush, but I tell you what, we are running against the very economic policies that John McCain is promising to continue. John McCain and Sarah Palin, I love it. I love particularly Sarah Palin when she says it.

(Soundbite of laughter)

Sen. BIDEN: I love it when they're on the stage together, and they look at each other, and they say we're mavericks. We're mavericks.

(Soundbite of laughter)

Sen. BIDEN: Well, I got a good friend from my hometown where I was born, Scranton, Pennsylvania. I was raised in Wilmington, Delaware but from Scranton, Pennsylvania. His name is Bob Casey. He's the United States senator from Pennsylvania. And Bobby - I'm going to paraphrase. Bobby had a great line. He said, you can't call yourself a maverick if all you've been the last eight years is a sidekick.

(Soundbite of crowd cheering)

BLOCK: Joe Biden in Winston-Salem today. And before that, we heard from Sarah Palin in Troy, Ohio.

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