Thread by @mikememoli

.@ChrisCoons, speaking at Delaware Dems Dinner: Joe Biden "has shaped history. ... a great change maker. ... along with Barack Obama led the greatest administration in our lifetimes."

Coons, to a very crowded ballroom in Dover. "We know Joe. Literally every single one of us." #literally

(Coons holds the seat Biden held for 36 years, two weeks. He's up for reelection in 2020)

A Dem volunteer, accepting award tonight for service to the state party, says she worked on all Biden's campaigns "and I told him two weeks ago I have one more in me."

. @JohnCarneyDE: "I’m not a betting man but I’d be willing to bet that everyone in this room has a favorite Joe Biden story."

Biden has talked about how much he benefited from campaigning in and representing a small state.

Gov. Carney: "If you ask me he doesn’t just look like he’s back. He looks like he’s ready for a fight." At a time when our country is so divided, "here comes our Joe Biden."

Gov. Carney, at this home state campaign warm up: "For more than 40 years, whenever we needed him, Joe was there. And Joe, we are here for you. ... I am not here to break any news tonight. But in my humble opinion ... we have never needed Joe Biden more than right now."

And now for the second time in less than a week, Biden takes the stage to chants of "Run, Joe, Run!"

Biden begins remarks on an emotional note, thanking audience for "the way you honored [Beau] with your support. And the pride in which he took at being such an integral part of this state."

If not for cancer, we might be talking about Beau Biden 2020 right now.

Biden praises @lisabrochester as a "superstar." Says recent wave of Dems elected to House are "some of the most talented women and men – mostly women – that I have ever seen."

Biden talking about the "Delaware Way" -- "we don’t demonize our opponents. We don’t belittle them. … We don’t treat our opposition as the enemy. We might even say a nice word" about a Republican when they deserve it

Biden leaning in to the very issue that could either sink him in the primary or carry him to the White House: a sense of longing for the relationships that used to exist between Ds and Rs that allowed for compromise

Biden: "For this democracy to work … you have to arrive at consensus. Period. Without consensus nothing can get done for people. And that means you need to listen to the other guy, the other woman . And respect one another no matter how badly you disagree."

Biden talking about "Return Day" in Delaware - when winners and losers of state elections ride together in a carriage on a parade through a small Delaware town that ends with literally burying a hatchet.

Biden ALMOST declares himself a candidate. "I have the most progressive record of anybody running --- who would run ..."

Biden: "Our politics has become so mean, so petty, so vicious that we can’t governor ourselves. In many cases even talk to one another. And we can’t go on this way, folks."

Biden: "Our democracy is under threat. The danger posed by this administration … is real. It’s existential. And many of our Republican and independent friends know it as well as we do."

Biden has been tough on Trump over Charlottesville, embrace of autocrats and attacks on U.S. institutions in the past -- but brings new fighting language to it tonight.

Biden riffs on America's values then pivots - "This president sneers at those values, literally. He thinks that makes us weak, makes us suckers. Well he’s dead wrong."

I've heard Joe Biden so much that when he changes his Xi Jinping story ever so slightly I'm correcting him in the back of the room. "It's possibilities, not promise!"

Biden: "Trump has turned his back on the very people he promised to help. … So many folks in places like Delaware, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin … "

Biden, launching riff on Trump tax overhaul: "We need a new corporate ethic in America. Which I won’t take the time to go into but you’ll hear a hell of a lot more from me."

Biden dusts off his "don't tell me what you value, show me your budget and I'll tell you what you value" as he attacks Trump admin for proposing slashing EPA, education, energy, HHS, Social Security and Medicare

Biden: "We’re literally in a battle for the soul of America. There’s an overwhelming need to restore the backbone of America – the working class, the middle class. But as tough as things are now, I’m optimistic. And it’s not about me and whether I run or not."

Biden riffing about how many states he campaigned in. "As pointed out by one of my African American colleagues I'm the only white boy they let campaign in Alabama."

Biden: "Everybody knows who he is. We’ve got to be clear who we are. We’ve got to make sure they understand that we Democrats, we choose hope over fear. We choose unity over division. And we choose truth over lies."

Biden test drove this message in Iowa last October.