Joe Biden was late. More than an hour late to his Iowa City campaign stop, in fact, but as he took the stage at Big Grove Brewery Wednesday, few in the audience seemed to care. As he began unspooling his campaign message to "restore the soul of America," the gathered crowd listened carefully.

"There used to be a basic bargain in America: if you contributed to the success of the enterprise you are engaged with, you got to share in the reward. That was the deal," Biden said. "But that deal has been broken. The only people rewarded when things go well are the management and the stockholders as if they are the only people who have a stake in the outcome of success. ... But tell me about the people who process our food. Tell me about the people that transport it. Tell me about the people who sell our automobiles. Tell me about the people on one of those assembly lines. Tell me they don't create jobs. They are job creators."

Biden argued that if Democrats are going to beat President Donald Trump in 2020 they must unify their message around revaluing labor.

"You job is about a lot more than a paycheck," Biden said. "It's about dignity. It's about respect. It's about your place in the community. It's about who you are. Being able to look your child in the eye and say, 'Honey, it is going to be okay,' and mean it."

Biden's thesis connects labor with education: if people in the United States are to be the workers of choice, they need post-high school training in the form of community colleges, trade schools and universities.

Labor, unsurprisingly, connected with unions.

"Unions built the middle class," Biden argued referencing 20th century labor movements for better working conditions and higher pay.

In addition, he said he supported a public option for health insurance, additional federal funding for medical research and greater investment in renewable energy.

Deana Davis, a 50-year-old resident of Cedar Rapids, said she comes from "a union family." She said she liked Biden's appeals to the value of the working class. She said she remembered Biden from the Barack Obama White House and that Biden's experience as vice president endears her to him.

"I think of Biden as a following in Obama's footsteps," Davis said. "Finishing the job."

Dan Hogan, a retired family doctor living in Iowa City, said Obama's Affordable Care Act was a good step in the right direction. He remembered from his own practice new patients coming in the door, finally able to get treatment for chronic illnesses like diabetes "all because of the ACA."

"I think everybody should be covered," Hogan said. "There should at least be a (public) option."

Both Davis and Hogan said they are undecided on a candidate. Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar and California Sen. Kamala Harris seemed like they could also be good choices, the pair said. But among the talk of Biden, Klobuchar and Harris, the name that kept popping up was Trump.

"We need someone with a moral compass running this country," Davis said. "Just a typical, moral person."

"Mr. Trump is not someone I think is qualified to be president," Hogan said.

Wendy and Doug Vincent similarly felt that the ability to beat Trump in the general election is one of the most important qualifications they are looking for in the eventual Democratic nominee.

"We need a president that is a leader for all of America," Doug Vincent said. "But that person has to be able to beat Trump."

It wasn't all negative partisanship, however. The Vincents said they genuinely like Biden.

"I think he could bring respect back to the country," Wendy Vincent said. "He's a hard worker. He's middle class. He has Iowa values."

"I can relate to him much more than the person we have now," Doug Vincent said.

Diane Lahr, a 65-year-old Iowa City resident, said there was some room to grow on Biden's environmental platform.

"He mentioned renewable energy, but I'm hoping he will really address it in the future," Lahr said. "I liked that he is in Iowa talking about the working class."

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Zachary Oren Smith writes about government, growth and development for the Press-Citizen. Reach him at zsmith@press-citizen.com or 319-339-7354, and follow him on Twitter @zacharyos.