The Time When VP Joe Biden Tried to be a Trucker

So our buddies over at Buzzfeed learned of a column that Joe Biden wrote for The Milwaukee Journal back in 1973 where he recounted his experience in a semi truck. The (then) Senator wanted to learn more about what concerned American truck drivers and what Washington could possibly do to combat the fuel crunch of the mid 70s.

If anything, the article appears to reinforce the old adage – the more things change, the more they stay the same. At the time, truck drivers had been calling and petitioning Biden and his committees about how diesel fuel was getting out of reach for the common trucker, and that their voices just weren’t being heard on important issues of the day.

As he noted in the column at one point, “While speaking with truck drivers and truck stop owners during my six hundred mile journey, the discussions sounded the same. Dominating the discussions was a feeling […] that the federal government isn’t listening. It doesn’t matter who’s in the White House, a Republican or a Democrat. The truckers just feel left out.”

Sounds familiar, Joe. The question most truck drivers have on their minds today is, “What are you doing about it?”

Here’s a picture of the original article published in the Milwaukee Journal. What do you think, truck drivers?

click on the image to view it full size.