Biden sat down with john kasich to talk about bipartisanship and government. It was hosted by the biden center and the university of Community Andr of communication. This runs an hour and a half Vice President biden thank you. John, welcome to my campus. John, because of the faculty here, they have been kind enough to give me a platform to work with the center for political communication and be part of series, the National Agenda series. We are working, the bidens, because the board have been generous in along me to bring some major, serious stuff people from washington who work with me and who know you and you know them and to Work Together to purece some genuinely objectives. One is to reduce serious academic material that sheds light on the issues of the day. Bring to the campus expose them to some of the best minds and leaders in the country in all fields, but mainly in this field this case, politics. Dr. Hoffman, thank you for letting us join your operation and thank you for being willing to moderate. And nancy, who ive known since she was a child she reminded me she started interviewing me when my daughter was four years old. She said she was peeking out from behind the desk at the time. Nancy has done a great job here. I just wanted you to know, you know, it is not that hard for john and i to get along. We never had trouble. We come from the same background. We have slightly different perspectives on the role of government, the johns father mailman. Kman a john came from a workingclass neighborhood, like i did in scranton. We grew up with people and believing in people who were ordinary people like us. Are parents told our parents told us there wasnt a damn thing we could do couldnt do. We both believe strongly in the capacity of the American People. Joan and i have worked together on issues together on the same side and we have occasionally disagreed. Dwill turn it over to you octor. Mattershe things that is that personal relationships matter. You hear me talk about that. Getting to know someone. Getting to know what they think. Getting to know their background. Getting to know their family. Getting to know how they act in what they care about really cares about, even when you fundamentally disagree. And we dont fundamentally do. Gree, but even when you because this system is built in a way where you have to be able to reach compromise. You have to be able to get to go to make this place work. I want to tell you, john, when i asked who they wanted, who they wanted me to reach out to, it you. Its not like it was a big contest or a lot of people there going to bring to campus. The first person they wanted was you. Thanks again for being here. Doc, it is all yours. Nancy thank you so much. Is reallyre serves an important purpose, which is to celebrate civil dialogue. Discord,we see greater more racism, violence than we have seen in many years. This program serves as a great resource and providing discussions on how do we get across these divides and how do we communicate more effectively. Lower then here is to seat and provide good models for communication. I will skip my introductory remarks. Today, we are featuring to leading voices in bridging partisan divides. Recent studies show that the republicans and democrats, since they have been measuring this, have never been further away from each other in their ideological approach than in 2017. It is time to talk partisan divides. Come aftersich leaving congress in 2000, running for president , he worked as managing director at lehman brothers. He was previously a commentator on fox news and a fellow at his alma mater. As a productive and myself, we reserve the right to say the ohio university. So lets give a round of applause to governor kasich. [applause] know dollar zone Vice President joe biden was one of the first young people elected to the United States senate. He served delaware for 36 years. Please join me in welcoming joe baca to campus. [applause] [laughter] lindsay can i interrupt . [laughter] here we go. There is what i want you to address. You have both written recently about the state of our nations soul and the need for a shared moral compass. Our country has been at these crossroads before. What does that soul or shared moral compass look like in 2017 . How do we get there . Since the Vice President has homeschooling methods from i will toss this to you first. Vice pres. Biden this will sound strange, but leadership matters. When you signed charlottesville, seeing these people coming out from under rocks, out of fields, carrying torches and nazi flags, the same rhetoric that occurred in kristallnacht in germany in the 1930s, to see this again was beyond comprehension. The failure for americas voice, the president of the United States, to condemn it and not talk about it in relative terms, emboldens people to think that they can do this kind of thing. You see it in every walk of life. You see it in every circumstance where bad things happen. Thats number one. Number two, it does not represent the america. It is not americas soul. We know that is not america. The 300 million americans who take overwhelming objection from both Political Parties to what they saw their. One of the things saw there. One of the things we have to remember is that this israel crisis in america and the world. A change is taking place economically. We are in the midst of a digital revolution. Ordinary people see their future theeing in horizon horizon, in the rearview mirror. They wonder what jobs they will have. John and i were talking at lunch. The highest rate of suicide, the highest rate of divorce, the highestrated opiate abuse, the only country where Life Expectancy is diminishing, where the white male is between 30 and 40 years old. Demagogues do two things. Juan, they appeal to fears and they appeal to a fear in order to get the grand azimuth of aggrandizement of power. Last night, i have the great privilege in philadelphia to award a great friend, john mccain. Have holleredd i at each other and gone at each other. Is one of thee things we talked about is you all have to know the constitution better. , you know, wemean say we hold these truths are selfevident that all men are created equal and endowed by our creator. We set up a political system that guaranteed you can assert that and guarantee it. Its called the madisonian notion of counter majoritarian instincts built into our constitution. That are certain things our constitution does not pertain. We are not a democracy. We are a republican. There are certain things that are so consequential the basic human rights that it doesnt matter that is 99 of people want to get to want to do away with it. Its built into the constitution. The reason why we have been the light for the world not just because what we said, but we build the institutions that guarantee it . The guarantees in the constitution are ones that people are walking away from now. What you see now are these demagogues talking about how its just about whatever the majority thinks. They are riling up people, finding the other. Every time theres a problem, why doesnt a guy in coal country have a job in ohio . Well, an immigrant. What does an immigrant have to do with coal country in Southeastern Ohio . It has nothing to do with it. Why dont people have jobs in delaware . Your catering to blacks. You are giving special preference. And it goes on and on. Pick. Eed a target to we need to start to reinvigorate and remind people what is the unique element of this country. We are uniquely of product of institutions. You cannot define an america based on ethnicity, race, religion, culture, background. That i can in saying hear to the notion that there are certain inalienable rights that cannot be overruled by anyone the government, the majority it cannot be there. What have you seen . The result is surely in my view. You have seen a direct attack for your half on the legitimate courts from some quarters in our government now. The second then you have seen as a direct attack on the free press. What are the two things that protect to protect and prevent the abuse of power . The course and the press. So you guys have to get engaged the courts and the press. So you guys have to get engaged. We build institutional structures to guarantee that all men and women are treated equally. Its the structures. Lindsay thank you. Gov. Kasich i never thought i would see the advantages of getting older. Dont get me wrong. Last night, after dinner, one of my daughters and i and my wife, we were listening to linkin park, so dont think im an old fogey. [laughter] im changing as im aging. Joe, i think part of it is, as a governor, i see people that hurt. I see people that need help. I see the whole johns issue. There is certain of a way to weight thatn you falls of you when you have that level of responsibility. Joe talks about the constitution. Its really important. But i think there are two things that we are somehow forgetting. Greatare two commandments. I know enough society today, the moment i mention the word god, well have thought levels about oh, my goodness, what is he going to do now . I dont care who you are sleeping with. It Means Nothing to me. That is not what god is all about. God is about love, connectedness , togetherness, forgiveness, grace, patience. Two great commanders and we have look, if your humanist, im cool with that. You dont have to believe what i believe. The First Amendment is to love god. That is about humility. I know i dont have as much of it as i need, but what is humility . Well, i need to listen to somebody. Great theologians say im not as worthy as you are. I sure i fall short of you. Its really important. The second one and that we have increasingly been forgetting is love your neighbor as you want your neighbor to love you. When i think about the gnashing of teeth, the elements of hatred, viciousness, of division, what happened to that commandment . Have we forgotten it . Have we written it off . I think that, if you love your neighbor as you want your neighbor to love you, and deep and if you practice humility, you have an obligation to live your life differently. It is popular today to talk about the failure of government. Anything likeeen we see in washington, the dysfunction and the willingness to just care about my own election. Maybe thats another higher moral purpose. Because we are all heading out of this world at some point. In my goal is to have at least 80 of what they say about me be true when im dead. We see the failures in government, the inability to put the good of our society above the good of my reelection. Easy for me to say. I think joe and i practice that are longtime. Theow when you push president to some difficult positions, it wasnt easy. I think we both did pretty good on that. But then we look at the rest of our culture. I look at equifax. I look at wells fargo. By the way, they are not doing state business in my state. Ive banned them. [applause] i look at these companies and i say is it about profit without value . Because some of the great theologians have said Free Enterprise was not not underlain by a set of values is bankrupt. One of the great catholic theologians said that. I happen to agree with that. Hollywood, not saying another word, ok . Foley from the standpoint of, if you think thats the only place where these things exist, what are people thinking . If we look at sports where they will now appeal ezekiel elliott. They wanted to play football on sunday. Are you kidding me . The guy should play . We look at the matters of faith. Evangelicalsese deciding the politics should be interspersed with religion. Theres no place, unless you are talking morality, like Martin Luther king did. Ourwhen i look across culture, i begin to wonder have we lost have we all lost our way . I was out in utah at a town hall. There was a young woman standing behind me. As said no it has ever been made like you before. No one will ever be made like you again. Do you understand the purpose you have . And she began to cry. My wife said you probably scared her, john. [laughter] i dont mean this just politically. You all matter very much. Country doesour not rest in president s, governors, senators. The power of our country rests in you and us as people, and how we behave in class, how we behave out of class, how the Business Executives behave, how the theologians behave, how the sports figures behave was there anything more uplifting than to see jt water raise all of those thats all that money for the flood victims in houston . We look at houston and florida puerto rico and say there are heroes emerging. We dont have to be saints, but we need better heroes every day to somebody else. Us. He power is in so dont be yelling and screaming or blaming them. Youre doing the same thing. The patient. Embrace people. Tell them you care about them. Give them a hug. You will feel 10 times better. That is the strength of our country. Its you. Joe is right about that. Its you. Not somebody else. Lindsay thank you. [applause] lets stick with the governor for a moment and travel back in time to 2016 and the campaign for president. Gov. Kasich do we really have to . [laughter] come on. Thats not fair. [laughter] lindsay only one question. Gov. Kasich thats fine. Lindsay since i studied the intersection between technology and politics, theres a facebook or a twitter or a new medium i was fascinated by the president ial debates in the primary. Emoji ascould click on to what you are feeling. People were angry. And they got more angry as the debate went on. I think these debates are historically one of the best models for civil dialogue. Gov. Kasich which debates were you watching . [laughter] i wish i had been invited to those. Let me tell you something about the debates. First of all, the debates were the craziest thing you said, figure out what you can say to get on the morning news. Im going to rebut the iran deal. A 90 659 people out of the country. I am going to kick 15 Million People out of the country. That is what got the press. Do you think anybody was for you . Way. Dnt work that the debates didnt work because it was all about whats the biggest thing you can do. Yet wasnt about a discussion like we are going to have here today. You know why . Because most people would watch. You might get 7 million are 8 million. But you got 25 million. And when it comes to the networks, money matters. Somebody made a billion matters a billion dollars doing all the stuff. And now they are going crazy because of the result. [laughter] thing. The first the second thing i want to tell you is this is really interesting. No good deed goes unpunished. So i didnt go to the convention in ohio. People are still furious with me about it. Donald trumpse of are people in my party still angry at me about it. I just got together with John Hickenlooper to put together a bipartisan proposal on health care. You know what everybody says . Something in it for him. Wet think that the day have become so cynical that comment joe and i are sitting on this stage and we get along, somebody figures out there some ulterior motive behind it all. Do you know that people actually do nice things and good things because its the right thing to do . And its so hard for people to understand it. [applause] [laughter] lindsay thank you so much. Im wondering if either of you play the what would i do game if you are president in this period right now today. [laughter] let me go backn for a second. [laughter] and i will answer that question directly. John and i have a bad habit of answering the questions we are asked. Sometimes it gets us in trouble. The press theres some response ability, you guys, school of medications. I dont think you are Teaching School of communications. I dont think you are teaching the right things over time. Im not being facetious. Think about it now. If in fact there was an actual debate that didnt include donald trump groping a womans crotch im not a facetious look, there was a steady done a study done. Of all the words spoken in the debates and the campaign, only 4 was covered that involve issues. You hear me now . 4 . 4 . The press is going through an overwhelming really the brightest people i have known in my career i count among the press people. Academically, intellectually. Gov. Kasich yup. Vice pres. Biden if a newspaper is going to survive, they dont know how they are going to do it. It has changed incredibly. Very little editorial filter about anything that goes out. Thirdly, you find, if in fact you are going to respond to something that is substantively important, but you can elevate it by taking an extreme position, you know it will be carried the next day on the news. And thats why we are going to get to it somewhere along the line. Thats why the new technology is both incredibly liberating and also dangerous. Because there is no editorial filter on anything at all out there now. So with regard to the question of whether or not do i sit and do i think to myself what i would do, one of the great advantages and there is no power in the vice presidency. It is all reflective. Students have heard me say before. As Benjamin Franklin said, we should refer to the Vice President as his superfluous excellency. [laughter] there is no power. You break entire come, unless you have a relationship with the president that israel, and i was act that is real, and i was lucky to have that. I got to be the last guy in the room in every major decision. He made that commitment to me and he kept it. Because i could make my case as to what i felt we should do. Youre able to judge whether or not the judge it the advice you gave and the position you took, whether it turned out to be correct or not correct. So you have a sense, a scorecard. He knows the things he did that succeeded and the things that didnt succeed. He didnt have to guess about it. He has done it. Found, of the things i it doesnt mean the recommendation you had that was different wouldnt work. It increases your confidence in your judgment for guys like john and i have been around for a long time. What i was able to do for eight years is not second guess, but absolutely be directly clear to the president when i thought he was right, when i thought he was wrong, what i thought he should do. The fact that i am no longer Vice President doesnt mean that i no longer have those thoughts. I do. Im not trying to be funny. The point is that there has been a tradition and it has been sorely tested by this president , a tradition that the outgoing pre