Really? Because the first-quarter’s GDP growth was a microscopic 1.8%.

RICHMOMD, Va. (AP) — Vice President Joe Biden continued a busy political pace Saturday, appearing with Virginia’s Democratic gubernatorial candidate at the swing state’s premier party fundraiser and ridiculing this fall’s conservative Republican statewide ticket as extreme captives of tea party ideology.

Biden brought about 1,000 Democrats to their feet repeatedly at the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner barely four months ahead of the nation’s only competitive governor’s race. His appearances at state fundraisers haved evoked speculation that he is laying his footing for a 2016 presidential bid.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we stand for equal rights and women’s rights,” Biden said. “With virtually zero support from the Republicans, the president and I have moved the country from the worst recession since the Great Depression to 38 months of private-sector growth.”