Delaware State News

DOVER — They were right up front, just to the left side of the stage if you were facing the podium.

Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. looked their way, smiled and pointed while declaring how proud he was to represent them.

And the 23 members of Delaware’s Democratic delegation responded in kind, standing, cheering and waving red vertical signs reading "Biden."

For the delegates, their experience at the four-day convention certainly has seen an upgrade since presidential candidate Illinois Sen. Barack Obama chose Sen. Biden as his running mate last week — and not just with their seats being moved to the front of the Pepsi Center.

"People are coming up to us and asking questions about Delaware, saying they’ve got to get to our beaches or museums," Gov. Ruth Ann Minner said in a phone interview from Denver Thursday afternoon. "They’ve done some research on Delaware.

"Joe put Delaware on the map … Our whole delegation is excited to have gotten this special attention because of this."

Gov. Minner spent part of Tuesday traveling with Sen. Biden to several functions, then sat with the senator, his wife, Jill, and Sen. Obama’s wife, Michelle, while New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton gave her speech that night.

During the telecast Tuesday night, Gov. Minner was shown several times sitting next to the Bidens.

While in Denver, the Delaware delegates have become unofficial biographers for Sen. Biden, Gov. Minner said.

"I think everyone in the delegation feels that way," she said. "A lot of people have asked about his hardships — his first wife (Neilia, who died in a car crash in 1972 along with their daughter) and his aneurysm (suffered in 1988).

"People also are asking if Joe Biden is as authentic as he appears, and I tell them he absolutely is."

Felton resident Joseph Dillon, who also is one of the delegates in Denver, said he has been stopped several times when people realize he’s from Delaware to ask questions about the state’s senior senator.

They also are shocked to learn that Mr. Dillon has had lunch with Sen. Biden in the past.

"A lot of people are from big states where they haven’t met their senators or representatives before," he said.

"People from other places don’t understand that Delaware is only 30 miles wide and 90 miles long, and Joe Biden could be your next-door neighbor."

And then, of course, there was Wednesday night’s speech by Sen. Biden.

"It was like an atomic bomb went off," Mr. Dillon said. "People were excited, singing, cheering … Everybody knows this is a historic moment, a momentous occasion."

Gov. Minner said the delegates talked among themselves before the speech about the key points they hoped Sen. Biden would hit, and he did during his 22-minute speech.

But for the governor, one of the most endearing moments of the night came when the senator’s family joined him and Sen. Obama on stage at the conclusion of the speech.

"Watching him walk across the stage with his grandson, God, that was precious," Gov. Minner said. "He had half of us if not crying, (then) with tears in our eyes."

The Democratic National Convention wasn’t all about cheering and serving as a tourism agent.

Unifying the party was an important theme throughout the week, with several who supported Sen. Clinton’s presidential campaign remaining bitter about her failed bid.

Gov. Minner, who has a superdelegate vote, latched onto Sen. Clinton after Sen. Biden dropped out of the presidential race. But she switched to Sen. Obama after he became the presumptive nominee earlier this summer.

The governor believes that those who remain unsure about Sen. Obama or have said they would vote for Republican candidate Sen. John McCain will ultimately climb on board.

"Her supporters are disappointed, but after that outstanding speech by Hillary (Tuesday), I think they’ll come around," Gov. Minner said. "After all, unity for the Democratic Party is what really counts."