Biden Pays Tribute To Walter Mondale After Former VP’s Death: ‘A Dear Friend And Mentor’

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President Joe Biden paid tribute to Walter “Fritz” Mondale after the former vice president passed away on Monday night.

This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=1370484
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“Compassion is not weakness, and concern for the unfortunate is not socialism.”
― Hubert H. Humphrey

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Beautiful man. I was at a Mondale-Ferraro rally in October 1984 at Rutgers at The State Theater. Some Reaganite frat boys tried to interrupt Mondale’s speech, chanting ‘4 more years, 4 more years’ and we answered with a thunderous ‘Reagan Sucks’ chant that took over the theater for a solid 3 minutes.

Mondale stood good-naturedly, waiting for the chant to peter out, but it kept on going. He actually broke up laughing, and asked somebody on stage: ‘What are you feeding these kids?’ Made me so proud.

He was such a good man. He knew who he was, and was comfortable in his own skin.

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Geraldine Ferraro, Mondale’s running mate died in 2011 of multiple myeloma. Would have been a great team if they had beat Reagan.

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And, this is what a civil, caring POTUS does and it’s not in a bloody tweet.

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There was a great exchange between Walter Mondale and George McGovern (each of whom was absurdly superior to their opponents), I think in the early Aughts.

Walter Mondale: “Tell me, George. When does it stop hurting?”
George McGovern: “I’ll let you know.”

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From the StarTribune

Mondale also played a pivotal role in the career of a young senator who had lost his wife and daughter in a 1972 car crash that also injured his two sons. Mondale camped out in the hospital room with the recently elected Sen. Joe Biden, urging him to stay in the Senate, saying it could become part of his family

Love that anectdote.

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Thank you for the “absurdly superior” comment. I voted for both, and have always felt proud of doing so. It seems the more superior those candidates, the more they lost by. Inversely proportional.

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That conversation took place in early ’85, a few months after the election in which Reagan won 60% of the popular vote and every single electoral vote outside of Minnesota and DC.

Fritz was a wonderful human being. Joan, too. Both gone now, but not forgotten.

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Perfect. RIP Fritz. You were ALWAYS thinking about us.

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I once ran into Walter Mondale a few years ago here in New York in front of Cipriani’s. He was nattily dressed in a tuxedo with his wife Joan on his way to an event but was polite and decent enough to chat with me on the sidewalk. I even told him that I had voted for him in 84 and he had his charismatic grin and laugh.

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Bless his soul and may he rest in peace.

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I am going to share that. What a great quote.

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Yeah, and he didn’t even call Senator Mondale a “loser” (although I’m sure that Dolt 45 would have called him a “looser,” illiterate moron that he was).

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I’ll let you know too.

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Saw him too, in Philly. Can’t remember if it was the '80 or the '84 cycle, although I’m guessing '80. He spoke really well and got the crowd pretty spun up, because he was like us—motivated by something larger than one’s narrow, personal interests, and he could articulate that.

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Lots of greats from Minnesota, back when they were still nice. HHH, Walter Mondale, Paul Wellstone … and Al Franken, Giant of the Senate.

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