But I have come to understand that nobody can really take away all the pain no matter how close. There are times when each of us must bear the burden… - Joe Biden

"Acknowledging that a woman's right to be safe from a gender-based attack was a "civil right," I believed, was critically important in changing the American consciousness. When a right reaches the status and categorization of a "civil right," it means the nation has arrived at a consensus that is nonnegotiable. Violence against women would no longer be written off ... Once our criminal justice system — at the local, state and federal levels — recognized these as serious and inexcusable crimes, women could stop blaming themselves."

To make real the full promise of America, we have to protect that fundamental right: the right to vote — the sacred right to vote. You know, it’s democracy’s threshold of liberty. With it, anything is possible. Without it, nothing is. Today, the right to vote and the rule of law are under unrelenting assault from Republican governors, attorneys general, secretaries of state, state legislators. And they’re following my predecessor — the last President — into a deep, deep black hole and abyss.

People everywhere expect their government to help give them just a little bit of breathing room, provide opportunities for work that pays a decent wage, educate children so they can rise as high as their talents can take them, make communities more secure so families feel safe in their homes and individuals know their rights will be respected. That means directing investment to help governments deliver on those responsibilities, including modernize — modernizing multilateral development banks to better address the challenges of today and of the future.