For Biden, the Day Before Is an Emotional One

DENVER, Aug. 26 -- On the eve of his address to the Democratic National Convention, Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. lavished praise on Sen. Barack Obama and thanked a group of key supporters who have stood by him during his campaigns for the presidency and his 35 years in the Senate.

The senator from Delaware, who will accept the party's nomination for vice president, was greeted warmly at the events he attended during the day when he was not working on his speech.

"This is a great honor -- this is a great honor being nominated, and I'm proud of it -- but it pales in comparison to the honor of representing you," Biden said, wiping away a tear, as he spoke to Delaware's convention delegation at a small breakfast Tuesday.

Noting the contingent of more than two dozen journalists who are now tracking his every move, he added: "I wish we could have done this in private. I don't know whether I would have made it through a lot of tough times in my life without you guys."

"The Delaware Democratic Party has been my family," Biden said, drawing applause and tears from a crowd of more than two dozen that included much of his family, including his son Joseph R. "Beau" Biden III, the state's attorney general.

Biden admitted that his new role was an adjustment. "I'm excited to be on the team," he said. "I've never been on a team -- I've been a one-man band."

He spent much of his 12-minute talk Tuesday morning lavishing praise on Michelle and Barack Obama.

"She gave a window to the American people of who she is and who he is," Biden said of Michelle Obama's Monday-night speech. "It was absolutely incredible." Of the man the convention delegates will nominate for president Thursday, Biden said: "He has that sixth sense -- this guy's got it. This guy's got it. He's going to make you proud, and I am honored to be part of helping make sure the first African American . . . gets to be president of the United States."

Hours later, Biden appeared at a forum, hosted by Michelle Obama, on economic issues important to women. "I'm honored to be here, ladies and gentlemen, mostly ladies. Thank God for small favors," he said. And the 65-year-old senator, who has served in that chamber since 1973, acknowledged that he may have been picked for his experience but said he wanted to stress that he is not too old for the job.

"There are only four senators who have served longer than me, but there are still 44 senators older than me," Biden told the several hundred women in attendance. "I don't give a damn if you don't remember anything else."