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11 September 2011

Biden: Labor Day & 9/11 speeches eerily similar

Please pick which of the following Joe Biden quotes were from his Labor Day speech (to a union audience) and his 9/11 speech.


1. "[T]this is a different kind of fight.... A fight for the right to exist. It’s more like the fights of my grandfather’s era."
2. "They didn’t know the horror that awaited them, but they confronted unimaginable fear and terror with a courage that has been summoned only by the truest and the rarest of American heroes."
3. "We’ve lost some battles along the way, too. But we’ve won when we’ve stayed together."
4. "They join an incredibly elite list of women and men, and a long history filled with ordinary Americans doing extraordinary things -- men and women of undaunted courage, uncommon resolve, and a stubborn perseverance in the face of unfathomable challenge."
5. "We’ve won, when we’ve amassed our collective will and strength to defeat those who try to stymie American progress."
6. "It’s about the rights too many people take for granted today.... Today is about remembering that none of those rights would exist if folks like you hadn’t stood up and fought for them."
7. "There is not a single moment of hardship that cannot be transformed into one of national strength."
8. "They not only want you—but they want your children and your parents—to pay the price for their folly"
9. "They knew it was the opening shot in a new war. "
10. "Like you guys, the president and I know [this day] is not about a day—it’s about a life."
11. "And so, they acted.  They acted as citizen patriots have acted since the beginning of our country.  They stood up and they stood their ground.  They thought, like Captain Parker said at Lexington, and I quote him, “If they mean to have a war, let it begin here.”"
12. " [We are] under the most direct assault in generation.... The other side has declared war on [our] house."
13. "We think of them.  We think of our nation.  We think of our history and we think of the future.  And we think of it, because of them, with a confidence knowing that ordinary citizens will continue to stare down fear, overwhelm evil, and bring forth hope from what seems to be none.  And although it will continue to amaze us and inspire us when it happens, it should not surprise us.  For that heroism is who we are.  And that courage lies deepest and beats loudest in the heart of this nation."
14. " The seeds of doubt, planted by those who wish to harm us, will instead grow into flowering meadows like this one where we stand in today, for they cannot defeat the American spirit.  We know this with certainty."
15. "What we’re fighting for is what my great-grandfather’s generation fought for, my grandfather’s generation, and my father’s fought for. "
16. "Folks, you and I both know that a lot of Americans are still hurting and hurting badly."
17. "The tide is turning, because Americans... are beginning to understand just what these guys are about."
18. "[Y]ou're the lifeblood that will sustain [the American] dream."
19. "[T]hose other guys see the world differently than we do. They have different priorities. They have a different vision.  But it’s not only the vision that’s different—they just have a different value set than you and me and President Obama"
20. "It’s about dignity. It’s about respect. And, above all, it’s about basic fairness. That’s what America stands for all around the world—fairness."
21. "The collective spirit of your mother, your father, your brother, your husband, your wife, your sister, your best friend -- that spirit lives on not only in you, but in your country.... And it definitely lives on in a new generation of warriors."
22. "It’s a fight literally for our right to exist. Don’t misunderstand what this is.... You are the only folks keeping the barbarians from the gates."
23.  "The seeds of doubt, planted by those who wish to harm us.... [T]hey cannot defeat the American spirit.  We know this with certainty."
24. " My mother used to say... “Courage lies in every heart, and one day it will be summoned.”"
25. "And we will win this fight the same way: together. Because, this, ladies and gentlemen–this is the fight of our life."