During a fundraising event in New York, the Democratic presidential candidate recounted being a member of the Senate in the 1970s with southern Democrats who opposed civil rights and desegregation. He specifically named Mississippi Sen. James Eastland and Georgia Sen. Herman Talmadge, who Biden called "one of the meanest guys I ever knew."
"I was in a caucus with James O. Eastland. He never called me 'boy,' he always called me 'son,' " Biden told donors.
"Well guess what? At least there was some civility. We got things done," Biden said. "We didn't agree on much of anything. We got things done. We got it finished."
"But today, you look at the other side and you're the enemy. Not the opposition, the enemy. We don't talk to each other anymore," he said.