…and I still consider him worthy of being a Southern Appalachian Democrat.

Actually,  being a Southern Appalachian Democrat isn’t dependent on being a member of a specific religion. It’s about values . A set of values Joe Biden showed tonight.

In Joe’s words,

“Work is about more than a paycheck, it’s about dignity. It’s about whether or not you can look your child in the eye and say, we’re gonna be alright.”

Throughout the Padgett campaign, we heard people on the campaign trail, day in and day out tell us, “We are gonna make it, but we need some help, we need some relief.” That falls right in line with a couple of lines Biden said tonight.

“With a dad who fell on hard economic times, but who always told me: “Champ, when you get knocked down, get up. Get up.”

“Millions of Americans have been knocked down. And this is the time as Americans, together, we get back up. Our people are too good, our debt to our parents and grandparents too great, our obligation to our children is too sacred.”

“These are extraordinary times. This is an extraordinary election. The American people are ready. I’m ready. Barack Obama is ready. This is his time. This is our time. This is America’s time.”

The people of America are a strong proud people. We will make it. But, yes, we need some help. The middle class needs help. They need someone in Washington fighting for them. Joe Biden has been doing that for years. Together Joe and Barack will fight for the middle class.

“And I am here for everyone I grew up with in Scranton and Wilmington. I am here for the cops and firefighters, the teachers and assembly line workers—the folks whose lives are the very measure of whether the American dream endures.”

He talks about the struggles that many middle class American families go through.

These are common stories among middle-class people who worked hard and played by the rules on the promise that their tomorrows would be better than their yesterdays.

That promise is the bedrock of America. It defines who we are as a people. And now it’s in jeopardy. I know it. You know it. But John McCain doesn’t get it.”

The last eight years have been hard for most Americans. This country does need a change. Tonight in Denver, Joe Biden, telling a story about his mother when he was growing up said best what needs to happen in the next few months.

When I got knocked down by guys bigger than me, she sent me back out and demanded that I bloody their nose so I could walk down that street the next day.”

We as an American people have had our noses bloodied over the last 8 years under the Bush/Cheney administration. Now it’s time to hit the streets and in November, hit the voting booth and like any good Southern Appalachian Democrat would do, bloody their noses by sending the Republicans packing.