COMICSANDS
percolately
georgetakei
secondnexus
george's picks
There's been no shortage of outpourings of love for President-Elect Joe Biden over the past week, as many in the country adjust to the prospect of a change in leadership for the country.
This week, the President-Elect's supporters got a whole new reason to love him: a resurfaced letter from Biden to his Obama-era staff that has everyone feeling all the feels.
The letter, which was written in 2014, appeared on Twitter over the weekend.
By coincidence: exactly 6 years ago today, as Vice President of the USA, Joe Biden sent this note to his staff. I… https://t.co/UWXK8K3597— dan barker (@dan barker) 1604773586.0
In the letter, Biden urged his staff to put their families ahead of work. The letter begins:
"I would like to take a moment and make something clear. I do not expect nor do I want any of you to miss or sacrifice important family obligations for work."
Biden then made a fairly exhaustive list of what he considers "important family obligations," from birthdays and weddings to religious occasions and family illnesses, before going on to make sure there was no doubt how serious he was about his staff's families taking priority.
"This is very important to me. In fact, I will go so far as to say that if I find out that you are working with me while missing important family responsibilities, it will disappoint me greatly. This has been an unwritten rule since my days in the Senate."
He then closed the letter by thanking his staff for their hard work.
As the tweet in which the letter was shared pointed out, the importance Biden placed on family is perhaps unsurprising given his own family history: Biden has suffered the loss of two of his children and his first wife.
In 2015, Biden's son Beau passed away of cancer at just 46 years old. And in 1972, Biden's first wife, Neilia, and their infant daughter, Naomi, both died in a car crash a week before Christmas.
Son Beau suffered a broken leg and Hunter a fractured skull in the accident. Biden has spoken frequently of both events as devastating turning points in his life.
On Twitter, people were deeply moved by the kindness of Biden's letter.
@danbarker @theyearofelan If only more owners, bosses, and managers understood this sentiment.— gourmetJoyce (@gourmetJoyce) 1604790479.0
Fellow faculty, here's what we should tell our students and RAs https://t.co/gGZZWtopCo— Johannes Haushofer (@Johannes Haushofer) 1604835789.0
@danbarker @LettersOfNote Joe Biden never works on the anniversary of the death of his first wife and baby daughter… https://t.co/xrA2FsVr1I— Victoria Redfern (@Victoria Redfern) 1604828758.0
What dignity and humanity ❤️ https://t.co/22K1PCZ5We— Pam Shephard (@Pam Shephard) 1604827307.0
@danbarker @bibirathbone The White House will get a much needed dose of humanity and decency, which will go a long… https://t.co/mRJKgq63c2— John Mc Corry (@John Mc Corry) 1604836140.0
everybody's boss should be like this 👍 https://t.co/wWvdP2RvGb— Tricksyliesmith (@Tricksyliesmith) 1604871621.0
@danbarker @LettersOfNote Working "with me", not "for me".— Eamonn Reid (@Eamonn Reid) 1604829809.0
This is my president. https://t.co/YF4sOVUm7Y— Allison L. Bitz 🌈 (@Allison L. Bitz 🌈) 1605075527.0
@danbarker @kinziemat Ohmygoodness! My Joe crush is getting bigger.— AngDroz (@AngDroz) 1604789855.0
It sounds like it's gonna be a whole different White House comes January.