If you have lost somebody to this virus or someone in your life is sick, or if you are one of the millions suffering economic hardship, please know you are in our prayers. Lees know that you are not alone, because now is the time for all of us to help where we can and be there for each other as neighbors, as coworkers, and as fellow citizens. Over the past weeks we have seen plenty of examples of the kind of courage, kindness and selflessness that we will need to get through one of the most difficult times in our history. Michelle and i have been amazed at the incredible bravery of our medical professionals who are putting their lives on the line to save others. The Public Servants and Health Officials battling this disease. The workers taking risks every day to keep our economy running. And everyone who is making their own sacrifice at home with their families, all for the greater good. If there is one thing we have learned as a country from moments of great crisis is that the spirit of looking out for one another cant be restricted to our homes or our workplaces or our neighborhoods or our houses of worship. It also has to be reflected in our national government. The kind of leadership guided by knowledge and experience. Honesty and humility, empathy, and grace. That kind of leadership does not just belonged in our state capitals and mayors offices. It belongs in the white house. That is why im so proud to endorse joe biden for president of the united states. Choosing joe to be my Vice President was one of the best decisions i ever made and he became a close friend. I believe joe has the qualities we need in a president right now. He is someone whose own life is thought of how to persevere, how to bounce back when you have been knocked down. When joe talks with parents who have lost their jobs, we are the son of a man who once knew the pain of having to tell his children he had lost his. When joe talks about opportunity for our kids, we hear the young father who took the train home each night so he could talk his children in the bed. We hear the influence of jill, the lifelong teacher. When joe talks to families who have lost a hero, we hear another parent of an american veteran. A kindred spirit. Somebody whose faith has endured the hardest loss there is. That is joe. Through all his trials he has never once forgotten the values for the moral fiber that his parents passed on to him. And made him who he is. That is what steels his faith in god, and america, and in all of us. That steel made him an incredible partner when i needed one the most. Joe was there was we rebuild from the Great Recession and rescued the American Auto industry. He was the one asking what every policy would do for the middle class, and everyone striving to get into the middle class. That is why i asked him to have limit the recovery act that saved millions of jobs and got people back on their feet. Because joe gets stuff done. He helped me manage h1n1 and prevent the ebola epidemic becoming the type of pandemic we are seeing now. He helped restore americas standing in leadership in the world on the other threats of our time like Nuclear Proliferation and climate change. Joe has the character and experience to guide us through one of our darkest times and heal us through a long recovery. And i know he will surround himself with good people. Experts, scientists, military officials who actually know how to run the government and care about doing a good job running the government, and know how to work with our allies, and who will always put the american peoples interest about their own. Joe will be a better candidate for having run the gauntlet of primaries and caucuses alongside one of the most impressive democratic fields ever. Each of our candidates were talented and decent. With a track record of accomplishment, smart ideas, and serious visions for the future. That certainly is true of the candidate who made it further than any other, bernie sanders. Bernie is an american original, a man who devoted his life to giving voice to working peoples hopes, dreams, and frustrations. He and i have not always agreed on everything, but we have always shared a conviction that we have to make america a fairer, more just, more equitable society. We both know nothing is more powerful than millions of voices calling for change, and the ideas he has championed, the energy and enthusiasm he has inspired, especially in young people, will be critical in moving america in the direction of progress and hope. Because for the second time in 12 years, we will have the incredible task of rebuilding our economy. And to meet the moment the Democratic Party will have to be bold. You know, i cannot be prouder of the incredible progress we made together during my presidency. But if i were running today, i would not run the same race or have the same platform as i did in 2008. The world is different. There is too much Unfinished Business for us to look backwards. We have to look to the future. Bernie understands that, and joe understands that. It is one of the reasons that joe already has what is the most progressive platform of any Major Party Nominee in history. Because even before the pandemic turned the world upside down, he was already clear we needed real structural change. The vast inequalities graded by the new economy are easier to see now, but they existed long before the pandemic hit. Health professionals, teachers, delivery drivers, grocery clerks, cleaners, the people who truly make our economy run, they have always been essential. For years to many of the people who do the essential work of this country have been underpaid, financially stressed, and given too little support. That applies to the next generation of americans. Young people graduating into unprecedented unemployment. They will need economic policies that give them faith in the future, and give them relief from crushing student loan debt. We need to do more than just tinker around the edges with tax credits are underfunded programs. We have to go further to give everybody a great education, a lasting career, and a stable retirement. We have to protect the gains we made with the Affordable Care act, but its also time to go further. We should make plans affordable for everyone, provide everyone with a public option, expand medicare, and finish the job so health care isnt just a right but a reality for everyone. We have to return the u. S. To the Paris Agreement and need the world and reducing pollution causing climate change. Science tells us we have to go much further and its time for us to accelerate progress on bold new green initiatives that make our economy they clean energy innovator. Save us money and secure our childrens future. Of course, democrats may not always agree on every detail of the best way to bring about each and every one of these changes, but we do agree that they are needed. And that only happens if we win this election. Because one thing everybody has learned by now is that the republican occupying the white house and running the u. S. Senate are not interested in progress. They are interested in power. They have shown themselves willing to kick millions off their Health Insurance and eliminate preexisting condition protections for millions more, even in the middle of this Public Health crisis. Even as they are willing to spend 1 trillion on tax cuts for the wealthy. They have given polluters Unlimited Power to poison our air and water and denied the science of climate change, just as they denied the science of pandemics. Repeatedly they have disregarded american principles of rule of law and Voting Rights and transparency. Basic norms that previous administrations observed regardless of party. Principles that are the bedrock of our democracy. So our countrys future hangs on this election. It will not be easy. The other side has a massive warchest. The other side has a Propaganda Network with little regard for the truth. On the other hand, pandemics have a way of cutting through a lot of noise and remind us of what is real and what is important. This crisis has reminded us that government matters. It has reminded us Good Government matters. That facts and science matter. That the rule of law matters. That having leaders who are informed and honest and seek to bring people together rather than drive them apart, those kind of leaders matter. In other words, elections matter. Right now we need americans a of goodwill to unite in a great awakening against a politic that you often has been characterized by corruption, carelessness, selfdealing, disinformation, ignorance, and just plain meanness. And to change that we need americans of all political stripes to get involved in our politics and our public life like never before. For those of us who believe in building a more just, more generous, more democratic america where everybody has a a fair shot at opportunity, for those of us who believe in a government that cares about the many and not just the few, for those of us who love this country and are willing to do our part to make sure it lives up to its highest ideals, now is the time to fight for what we believe. So join us. Join joe. Go to joebiden. Com. Make a plan for how you will get involved. Keep taking care of yourself and your families and each other. Keep believing in the possibilities of a better world, and i will see you on the campaign trail as soon as i can. Thanks. Joe biden released the following statement after receiving the endorsement of former president barack obama. It reads, history will regard Barack Obamas years in office as one of the Great American presidencies. There is no better partner of the battle in the soul of this nation, and no one i would rather have standing by my side. Jill and i are thankful to barack and michelle lyrically impersonally, their friendship and the connection between our families has been a great gift. Cspan has aroundtheclock coverage of the federal response to the coronavirus pandemic, and it is available on demand at ronavirus. co track the spread throughout the u. S. And the world with interactive maps, watch