Imagine having a fundamentally decent president who meets a kid with the same disability he has, and instead of mimicking and ridiculing him, talks to him and encourages him.
That was Brayden Harrington's story, and he thought it was so important, he had to tell the whole nation last night. Imagine the courage that took -- because, like Joe Biden, Brayden has a severe stutter.
Thirteen-year-old Brayden Harrington spoke on the final night of the Democratic National Convention about how the party's presidential nominee, Joe Biden, has made him feel more confident about his stutter.
"He told me that we were members of the same club: We stutter. It was really amazing to hear that someone like me became vice president," Brayden said Thursday night in the video recorded for the convention. Via CNN:
Biden, who has said he still occasionally catches himself stuttering, showed Brayden a copy of the campaign speech he had just delivered in New Hampshire with markings showing where he could take breaks between words.
"He showed me how he marks his addresses to make them easier to say out loud. So I did the same thing today," Brayden said, flipping around the piece of paper he was reading to show the markings on his speech.
"I'm just a regular kid, and in a short amount of time, Joe Biden made me feel more confident about something that's bothered me my whole life. Joe Biden cared. Imagine what he could do for all of us. Kids like me are counting on you to elect someone we can all look up to. Someone who cares. Someone who will make our country and the world feel better. We're counting on you to elect Joe Biden," Brayden said.
The reactions were so touching. Steve Schmidt revealed his own speech impediment:
Remember, there have always been people who remind us why we love America. But when you watch story after story about vicious crackpot politicians and violent nutjobs who attack people for wearing masks, well, sometimes you forget.
Thanks, Brayden, for reminding us.
UPDATE: (Karoli) Here's the clip from February when Biden first met Brayden. This is the guy I want to inspire the kids, not the jerk in the White House now.
