Biden lashes out at corporate greed in Colo. stop

Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden said Wednesday that Barack Obama will attack corporate greed and go after executives who reward themselves at the expense of employees.

Biden took direct aim at executives who draw big salaries while leading failed companies where employees are losing pensions. "Their pensions go first," he told a roaring crowd.

He was introduced by Patricia Stiles, a self-described lifelong Republican who said she is voting Democratic this year because her husband lost his job and his pension when United Airlines reorganized under bankruptcy protection.

Biden asked the crowd to keep Obama in their prayers as he leaves the campaign Thursday and Friday to visit his ailing grandmother in Hawaii. He said she is not expected to live.

"It's an emotional journey, but he's a remarkable man," Biden said.

Biden spoke to about 1,000 people at the Sierra High School gymnasium in heavily Republican Colorado Springs, home to a number of conservative evangelical organizations. Fire marshals turned away dozens of others after the gym filled.

In a city that's home to Fort Carson, Peterson and Schreiver Air Force bases and the Air Force Academy, Biden said military families have paid a heavy price for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

He said it was wrong for GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin to question the patriotism of voters in states that support Obama. He apparently was referring a statement by Palin in North Carolina that she likes campaigning in "pro-American" regions of the country.

Noting that every state has residents who have died in battle, Biden said it's time to unite the country and restore dignity and respect, but it has to start with political unity.

"This is not a red or blue nation, this is a purple heart nation," he said.

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