So am I. Kinda like it used to be.

Definitely!

Thank you to everybody on this thread!

Sure as hell better than the LAST one!

LIGHTYEARS beyond better than the last one. Joe Biden will go to Heaven when he dies. Sure can't say that about his predecessor.

Deep appreciation and respect.

As was stated upthread by Walk Away - he always winds up doing the right thing for his country.

Agreed on this as well.

He's PAID for it. He's paid more than the normal load of dues. He's paid in tears and loneliness and heartbreak. You really just can't help but love the guy. And I look at Jill Biden and I'm so glad he found her and has a strong and brilliant woman like her at his side. I'm glad they found each other. I want him surrounded by love and respect throughout the rest of his remarkable life.

On the other hand, if he got into the mud pit, he'd just emerge damaged, dirtied up, bloodied, and beset with attacks and attackers. And that would be the last thing people remember about him - the fighting, the acrimony, the mud-slinging, and the shitty things the GOP would say about him that would stick in people's minds. This way, he gets to step away in 2017 as a respected elder statesman with head held high and his persona unassailed, his legacy untarnished. He deserves at least that much.

You were the one who originally stated the premise as "Madame."

But I have no interest in starting an argument with you.

YES!!!

So he goes out in 15 months - from the second-most-powerful job in America and the second-most-powerful position on earth - with a legacy that will prove to be second to none. He won't be down in the mud, getting messed up, bruised and bloodied, with that being the way we all remember him.

Thank you, Joe. Thank you for your service, Mr. Vice President. And thank you for your lifelong dedication to all the good things.

It's the distaff version of "Mr. President" or "Mr. Secretary."

You're correct - nobody says "Sir President." But the term that IS used is "Mr. President." Therefore - as applies to a woman, it would properly be "Madame President."

And mine.

Glad to hear this, Agschmid! I know you put a lot of thought and study and observation into this. Thank you. And welcome to Team Hillary!

It IS a story of hope. And of taking the long view.

We Americans are all dreamers. Even the Pope recently said so! Thanks for posting this, Cha. It's so inspiring, reassuring, encouraging. Ointment for the soul.