Born and raised in Pittsburgh, I understand the emotions that a mention of the black and gold can stir up.

So I wasn't surprised when Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Joseph Biden was brought to tears after being introduced by Steelers owner Dan Rooney at a rally in Greensburg last week.

But Biden's emotions ran much deeper than a love of the Pittsburgh Steelers and its amazing defense.

After Rooney's introduction, Biden went off script to tell a story he said was prompted by Rooney's presence. His story had the entire audience wiping tears.

On Dec. 18, 1972, Biden's wife, daughter and two sons were out Christmas shopping when they were in a car accident.

Biden's college sweetheart, Neilia, and daughter, Naomi, were killed. Biden spent Christmas in the hospital with his young sons.

As he spoke, Biden lost words for a moment, turned his back to the crowd, and the audience encouraged him with applause. Wiping his eyes, Biden finished his story that he left the hospital once and when he returned, both boys were in bed smiling for the first time, a football on each boy's lap.

"I said, 'Guys, where'd you get the balls?' "

They said, 'Daddy, Rocky Bleier brought it for me.' "

Bleier, a legendary running back for the Steelers, and the rest of the team had signed a ball for each boy, who were fans of the black and gold.

The story of Rooney's act of "incredible decency," as Biden called it, brought out a personal side of Biden that is not always captured in the sound bytes that flash across CNN all day every day.

Biden had just been elected as a Delaware senator weeks earlier. With encouragement from other politicians, Biden chose to not resign, and was sworn in at his sons' hospital bedsides 18 days after the accident.

As someone who has followed the campaign, I was surprised to hear Biden's story about his family. After some research, I found a few articles written about his biography, including ones that said that he remarried and has another daughter now.

Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin has dominated the news since Sen. John McCain announced her as his running mate. Polls have shown that Pennsylvania voters know very little about Biden, who was born in Scranton.

I hope no voter is swayed to change his or her vote because a candidate went through a personal tragedy. Biden's story is emotional and heart wrenching, but not the main reason to elect him as vice president of the United States.

However, his story shapes how he is today, as a man and as a politician. Do his personal trials affect his views on issues or how he votes?

The story also highlights my own ignorance as a voter. Do I know enough about the candidates to make an educated decision on who I want to run my country for the next four years?

The upcoming rounds of presidential and vice presidental debates in the next few weeks are one way to inform voters on the candidates and their stances on the economy, foreign policy and the war in Iraq. But it has become more and more difficult to see through the hoopla and PR stunts to see the real people standing behind the podiums.

When a candidate shows a personal side, such as Biden's Greensburg speech, we should pay attention. These rare moments give us an idea of who this man is. Should he be the next vice president? That deserves more thought and research. But putting a story to a candidate's name and issues improves our democratic process.

Jessica Turnbull is a senior majoring in journalism and is The Daily Collegian's Friday columnist. Her e-mail address is jlt5044@psu.edu.