U.S. Vice President Joe Biden was at the University of Washington Tacoma Friday to speak to a crowd of approximately 1,200 supporters and campaign for U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, who is running against Republican challenger Dino Rossi. Biden, who was also joined by Sen. Maria Cantwell and Gov. Chris Gregoire, spoke of the challenges facing Americans and the Democratic Party during the current recession. “These guys, the Republicans, put us in such a God-awful hole that we are just climbing out of it right now,” Biden said. He went on to paraphrase the words of Samuel Clemens: “The reports of the death of the Democratic Party are exaggerated.”