Biden, Richardson, Dodd and Edwards Deserve More Attention
Biden, Richardson, Dodd and Edwards Deserve More Attention For Their Nevada Debate Performances
by Robert Guttman|
Posted November 16, 2007
There actually were other Democratic presidential candidates on stage last night in the Las Vegas debate than Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.
And, these other so-called second tier candidates often made more sense on the issues and had better responses than the two frontrunners.
When CNN analysts and guests discussed the debate the only names mentioned were Clinton and Obama.
Something is wrong with the debates and the after debate coverage when strong performances by respected senators and governors are dismissed out of hand because they are not frontrunners in the polls at the moment.
This is spring training when we find out what the candidates have to say and how well they might play in the major leagues.
It is very weird to hear people in the audience last night actually boo John Edwards because he criticized Senator Clinton. There should have been more criticisms in the debate on policy issues rather than less.
Every headline and commentary and blog today talks about Hillary holding her own last night and fighting back.
What is missing from analysis of last night's debate are the strong performances by Biden, Dodd, Richardson and Edwards.
The chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Joe Biden looked to me like one of the "winners" of the debate in Las Vegas last night. Biden knows his way around foreign policy issues and he speaks his mind. He is colorful and showed a good sense of humor.
When he talked about speaking to Musharraf in Pakistan on the phone and telling him to take off his army uniform he sounded presidential. He knows the players in the world and wouldn't have to get up to speed if he became president.
Why is he constantly dismissed as only running to be Secretary of State in a Hillary Clinton administration? Why shouldn't people talk about Hillary being his Secretary of State and possibly Obama as his Attorney General?
Biden sounded more certain of himself on questions of foreign policy than Clinton and definitely more than Obama who appeared not ready for prime time in the debate last night.
Governor Bill Richardson seems to gain more confidence with each debate. He was impressive talking about what he has actually accomplished on immigration issues as governor compared to what his colleagues in the United States Senate have not accomplished on this issue.
Richardson actually went on the record saying that there are times that human rights concerns outweigh national security interests in American foreign policy, a controversial view not shared by most of his colleagues on the stage,
The loudest applause of the evening seemed to be when the New Mexico Governor said it was time to get rid of the No Child Left Behind law because it does not work.
Richardson, like Biden, also was more decisive and informative on his views on what he will do in Iraq as president than were Clinton and Obama.
Senator Chris Dodd also seems to have found his game plan in the debates and is much more forceful in his answers. The Connecticut Senator is hardly ever mentioned in any after debate analysis even though he gives thoughtful answers on issues ranging from banking to education to Iraq.
Dodd somehow seems to get lost or overlooked by all the analysts discussing the debates which is as wrong as overlooking Biden and Richardson's strong performances.
Even John Edwards, who is one of the frontrunners in Iowa in the new polls, gets less attention than Clinton and Obama.
Edwards has become the aggressive populist in the Democratic presidential race and more power to him for this new role. He is talking about ways to eliminate poverty and other issues that the frontrunners are not tackling.
Edwards is quite good in attacking mainly Hillary but also Obama on the issues. This is not mudslinging. This is how you catch up with the frontrunners and attempt to overtake them.
And, even Congressman Kucinich who seems to mention NAFTA in every answer he gives, spoke out about the positive role labor unions have played and are playing for the American worker. It is good for someone to bring up this fact as unions seem to be taken for granted by most of the Democratic presidential candidates.
Senator Barack Obama did not have a particularly strong night. He started out strong pointing out inconsistencies in some of the statements made by Clinton but then seemed to fade into a calmness the rest of the debate.
The Illinois Senator did not seem as coherent on his foreign policy views as either Biden or Richardson.
It still baffles me why Senator Hillary Clinton is receiving all this attention and the other candidates are relegated to the coach seats. The former First Lady is leading the polls but why is she getting all of the attention that should be shared among all her colleagues running for the Democratic presidential nomination.
The American voter is getting a disservice with the political analysts and journalists concentrating so exclusively on Hillary and Obama.
Listen more to the other so-called second tier candidates. Biden, Richardson, Dodd and Edwards have a lot of ideas worth listening to but they are being drowned out by the steady drumbeat of Hillary and Obama non-stop coverage.
Certainly other viewers realize that last night's debate in Las Vegas had other performers on stage other than Hillary and Obama.
What do the second tier candidates need to do to actually attract some attention? Their thoughtful views on the issues aren't doing it.
Hopefully, the strong performances by Biden, Richardson, Dodd and Edwards won't stay in Vegas but will inspire some new support for them from likely voters in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada.
Promises to Keep: On Life and Politics
Promises to Keep: On Life and Politics
by Joe Biden
Editorial Reviews
Book Description
"Nearly forty years after I first got involved, I remain captivated by the possibilities of politics and public service. In fact, I believe that my chosen profession is a noble calling. That's why I wanted to be a part of it."
-Joe Biden
As a United States senator from Delaware since 1973, Joe Biden has been an intimate witness to the major events of the past four decades and a relentless actor in trying to shape recent American history. He has seen up close the tragic mistake of the Vietnam War, the Watergate and Iran-contra scandals, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the reunification of Germany, the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, a presidential impeachment, a presidential resignation, and a presidential election decided by the Supreme Court. He's observed Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Clinton, and two Bushes wrestling with the presidency; he's traveled to war zones in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa and seen firsthand the devastation of genocide. He played a vital role by standing up to Ronald Reagan's effort to seat Judge Robert Bork on the Supreme Court, fighting for legislation that protects women against domestic violence, and galvanizing America's response (and the world's) to Slobodan Milosevic's genocidal march in the Balkans. In Promises to Keep, Biden reveals what these experiences taught him about himself, his colleagues, and the institutions of government.
With his customary candor, Biden movingly recounts growing up in a staunchly Catholic multigenerational household in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and Wilmington, Delaware; overcoming a demoralizing stutter; marriage, fatherhood, and the tragic death of his wife Neilia and infant daughter Naomi; remarriage and re-forming a family with his second wife, Jill; success and failure in the Senate and on the campaign trail; two life-threatening aneurysms; his relations with fellow lawmakers on both sides of the aisle; and his leadership of powerful Senate committees.
Through these and other recollections, Biden shows us how the guiding principles he learned early in life-the obligation to work to make people's lives better, to honor family and faith, to get up and do the right thing no matter how hard you've been knocked down, to be honest and straightforward, and, above all, to keep your promises-are the foundations on which he has based his life's work as husband, father, and public servant.
Promises to Keep is the story of a man who faced down personal challenges and tragedy to become one of our most effective leaders. It is also an intimate series of reflections from a public servant who refuses to be cynical about political leadership, and a testament to the promise of the United States.
About the Author
Joe Biden was first elected to the United States Senate in 1972 at the age of twenty-nine and is recognized as one of the nation's most powerful and influential voices on foreign relations, terrorism, drug policy, and crime prevention. Senator Biden grew up in New Castle County, Delaware, and graduated from the University of Delaware and the Syracuse University College of Law. Since 1991, Biden has been an adjunct professor at the Widener University School of Law, where he teaches a seminar on constitutional law. He lives in Wilmington, Delaware.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Chapter 1- Impedimenta
New poll just in from the Biden campaign
This just in from the Biden campaign:
a brand new Rasmussen Reports poll asked voters who they would choose in a general election matchup with Joe Biden as the Democratic nominee and either Rudy Giuliani or Mitt Romney as the Republican nominee. Look at the numbers:
Biden-Giuliani: 40% - 42%
Biden-Romney: 39% - 39%
Here's the kicker: this is essentially the same result the so-called Democratic frontrunners get but they've had months of national press coverage and millions of dollars of TV exposure -- everyone knows them. In this poll, 30% of voters did not yet know enough about Joe to form an opinion.
In other words, Joe already achieves the same results despite having a 30-point name identification gap. But we know that as voters learn more about my brother, his numbers go up.
Essentially, people don't like the Republican candidates. That's what this poll tells me.
Cycloptichorn
Biden's story
I just finished reading Joe Biden's book "Promises to Keep". I didn't expect it to be a page turner and I learned a lot that has never been revealed by the press.
For example, the Republican hit squad that accused Biden of plagerism during his first presidential campaign later apologized to him and admitted that they had not reported his speech accurately and he had given the author credit at the end of his speech as well as on other occasions.
Biden ended his presidential campaign because he was chairman of the Judicary committee holding hearings on the nomination of Judge Bork to the Supreme Court. Biden believed it was more important to keep Bork off the court than to continue his campaign. Biden's committee leadership and his ability to work with Republicans resulted in Bork's nomination be defeated by a large margin of senators.
Another thing I learned about Biden speaking to power was this episode:
"Not long after, I found myself in a room with President Bush and Vice President Cheney, talking about Iraq, when the president all of a sudden said, Why do you keep picking on Rummy? I could tell he wasn't just making small talk; he seemed angry. Mr. President, I said, all due respect, let's get something straight: I didn't call for his resignation. I was asked were I president what would I do. And I said I would fire him.
President Bush asked why I'd do that, and I looked at Cheney. Mr. Vice President, I said, full disclosure: Were you not a constitutional officer, I'd fire you, too. Simple reason, Mr. President: Can you name me one piece of substantial advice given about the war in Iraq that's turned out to be true? That's why, Mr. President.
Cheney just sat there, rocking, not saying a word."
candidates
There are only two Democrats and one Repubican who are qualified to be president without a long period of on the job training given the number of serious problems facing the U.S.
Democrat Senators Hillary Clinton and Joseph Biden and Republican Senator John McCain.
All of the other candidates to not have the scope of experience and knowledge that these three have on foreign, domestic and economic policies and are respected by leaders around the world.
I've always believed that America can only be successfully governed from the political center. We've had enough bad experience from the ideological fringes. Bush is an example of a right wing disaster. We've never had a left wing president. The president must be president of all the people, not just their ideological party wings.
That's why my first choice is Joe Biden. He would be a real uniter of the American people and countries around the world. Clinton would be my second choice. I'm not choosing a candidate matching my personal political ideology. Rather, I'm choosing a candidate who would be best for the entire country, not just a political base.
I admire Obama and Edwards and their characters, but they would require a lot of on the job learning to deal with these problems. Things are so serious we can't afford and don't have the time to teach them how to be an effective president.
I would not vote for John McCain because I believe, for the country's sake, we must rid ourselves of Republican domination. I also do not agree with his Iraq War policies.
BBB
If we've never had a 'left-wing' president, how do you know that one would be a disaster?
Cycloptichorn
Cycloptichorn wrote:If we've never had a 'left-wing' president, how do you know that one would be a disaster?
Cycloptichorn
The extremes of the left and the right wings have demonstrated they cannot successfully govern in the U.S. and in other countries. Why? Because they govern to satisfy their bases instead of what is best for the entire country via the center where most people are.
Where did I learn this lesson? I lived in the cities surrounding Berkeley, California for most of my life. I may agree with the far left more than the right or the middle, but governing must be from the center to be successful and to unite the country.
A president is the president of all of the people, not just those that got them in office. George Bush is the latest example.
BBB
Biden: "OK" With Losing
Biden: "OK" With Losing
Lynda Waddington
Posted November 28, 2007
The following piece is published on Iowa Independent as well as HuffPost's OffTheBus.
The crowd of 100 people gathered at the Waverly Civic Center Tuesday night was hushed and thoughtful as Delaware Sen. Joe Biden answered an audience member's question regarding the difference between this run for the White House and his previous bid.
Biden, a long-time member of the United States Senate, made a previous bid for the White House in the late 1980s, only to drop when he neglected to provide attribution for a portion of a speech by Neil Kinnock, then leader of the British Labour Party, during an Iowa campaign stop. Although Biden, who was considered the 1988 frontrunner, had previously used text from the speech with attribution on many occasions, the one where he did not was caught on video by aides to rival Michael Dukakis, and the incident brought about the end to Biden's campaign. Dukakis would later fire John Sasso, campaign manager and long-time chief of staff, over the incident.
"You mentioned on Tim Russert a couple of weeks ago that maybe the last time you ran -- and I am paraphrasing -- that you were maybe a little to arrogant, maybe a little too confident," said the man who also confessed that he had voted Republican since the mid-1970s. "How has that changed now?"
The man also suggested that Biden consider Arizona Sen. John McCain as his running mate, but Biden quickly dismissed that notion by saying that although McCain is one of his closest friends, and has been for 35 years, the two possess a fundamental divide when it comes to foreign policy.
"What's different between now and then?" Biden asked as he summarized the question for those who couldn't hear. "Look, I want to make it clear to you. I don't think that I'm the guy Diogenes found -- the only honest man. That's not the case I'm making. I'm not making the case that, you know, I'll never tell a lie. What I'm saying is that I promise you I'll tell you what I think. I promise you. I promise you I will tell you what I think is needed -- and I'll make the case for it. This is because some things are worth losing an election over."
Biden went on to discuss the May vote to fund the troops in Iraq. Despite campaign advisers cautioning him that his vote would be construed as being in favor of the war, Biden was the only Democratic presidential contender to give approval to the measure and has stated, on many occasions, that he made the right choice.
"This is the key difference between 22 years ago and today," he said. "Today, I know exactly why I want to be president. I'm not saying I know I'm right about everything, but I know why I want to be president. I know what I will try to do. The difference between then and now is an easy call. That vote was worth losing an election over.
"I respect the fact that you thought that vote was in support of the war and that I shouldn't have done it. But as long as there is one single, solitary soldier in harms way that I know I can protect -- that I know I can materially increase their chance of surviving -- I will do it."
The difference this time around for him, Biden said, "is that it's okay to lose."
"I really mean that," he added. "I want to be your president. But if the Lord Almighty came down and said, 'I guarantee you, Joe, that Barack or Hillary or John or Chris will do a better job than you as president' -- I give you my word that I'd say "thank you, God, I can go home.'"
Biden said he is running because -- "honest to God" -- he feels he is the most qualified. Linda Engel, a former Republican who switched her party affiliation three months ago to caucus for a Democrat, said she agrees.
"I used to listen to [Biden] during the [Robert] Bork confirmation hearings," said Engel. "I like what he says. A lot of it just makes sense and I do think he is the most qualified. The Republican side of me hates to admit it, but I do think he is the most qualified. He has the experience."
Engel, a resident of Waverly, says she has been to campaign events for many candidates on both sides of the political aisle.
"I like a lot of the things the Republicans have to say individually, but the lump of any one candidate doesn't appeal to me," she said. "I decided that I hated the idea of Hillary Clinton being the nominee enough -- I believe 'ABC,' Anybody But Clinton -- that I had to go over to the Democratic side just so I could try and stop that.
"And the reason I don't like Hillary's candidacy is that she professes to be this liberated woman and this epitome of women's liberation and, really, she got where she is by following the 50's motto of picking a guy who had potential, grooming him and making him into what she wanted to be -- so that she could end up in the White House. That's not women's liberation... I have no respect for her as a liberator of women."
During the event, Engel asked Biden for his views on immigration. In particular, she wanted to know if he was in favor of building a wall between the United States and Mexico. Biden told her and the audience that he did not favor or wall -- or a moat -- since neither would solve the problem. He proposed talks with the Mexican government to persuade them to take better care of their own citizenry.
"I think we really need to look at the immigration policy with Mexico," Engel said. "I really am opposed to the wall. And I really think the people we need to create a policy about are not the educated, engineering-type people, but the people who do the stuff that we don't want to do. I mean, I can't think of anyone who wants to go out and pick tomatoes or strawberries. We need those people who are willing to come and do that. So, there needs to be some sort of mechanism to make it work. I'm not pretending to say how that needs to be. By that same token, I'm not saying that they need to be entitled to our health care and our education unless they become citizens."
BumbleBeeBoogie wrote:Cycloptichorn wrote:If we've never had a 'left-wing' president, how do you know that one would be a disaster?
Cycloptichorn
The extremes of the left and the right wings have demonstrated they cannot successfully govern in the U.S. and in other countries. Why? Because they govern to satisfy their bases instead of what is best for the entire country via the center where most people are.
Where did I learn this lesson? I lived in the cities surrounding Berkeley, California for most of my life. I may agree with the far left more than the right or the middle, but governing must be from the center to be successful and to unite the country.
A president is the president of all of the people, not just those that got them in office. George Bush is the latest example.
BBB
This doesn't make any sense at all. If we've never had a left-wing president, how has the "extremes of the left (snip) have demonstrated they cannot successfully govern in the U.S. and in other countries" ??
Many times, the right course of action is not a compromise. Many times, compromises lead to shitty, useless actions as everything of substance is watered down to try and please everyone.
Practically zero of the advances in our society have been based upon compromise. Nearly all of them have been based upon principled stands taken by partisans. Most of these have been Liberal, some Conservative. To say that the country is most successfully governed from the center is not supported by history.
Cycloptichorn
Cycloptichorn
Cycloptichorn, a student of history will confirm that successful leaders govern from the center. Right and left wing leaders create turmoil and conflict, often deadly to the people and the country.
BBB
"Now, Joe Biden: I'm very close to Joe Biden's philosophy about foreign policy. I suppose of all the candidates out there, including McCain, I'm probably closer to Joe Biden. I think Biden would be a very good president."
During these ruminations, Mr. Hagel also complained about the brevity required of the candidates during debates and about the media's concentration on the presumed front-runners.
Deriding the style of the debates as resembling a "poor man's Gong Show", he asserted that the candidates "haven't had the chance, most of them, to articulate the depth of a philosophy about foreign policy.
But when asked whether he saw dangers in the possibility that two families, the Bushes and the Clintons, could hypothetically occupy the White House for a continuous 28 years, Mr. Hagel demurred.
"That's up to the voters, actually," he said. "If the American people decide to elect Hillary Clinton, they elect Hillary Clinton. She's certainly capable."
Returning his attention to foreign affairs, Mr. Hagel gave the administration some credit for organizing this week's Middle East summit in Annapolis, Md. He described the gathering as "helpful" but also wondered, "Are we going to build on this, more than a photo op?"
Speaking briefly to the Observer after the event, Mr. Hagel bemoaned the Bush administration's failure to build on the work undertaken by the Clinton White House in trying to resolve the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.
While he said, "I don't blame all of what has happened in the Middle East on Bush", he added, "I do think it would be a different situation today if we had taken initiatives, and we took no initiative."
During the event, Mr. Hagel also addressed the situation in Iraq:
"The military has done a magnificent job," Mr. Hagel, himself a decorated Vietnam veteran, declared, "but we have not seen that translate into political progress, which is in the end all that counts."
Referring to his colleagues on Capitol Hill, Mr. Hagel also predicted that if there were no clear signs of political reconciliation in Iraq by January or February "then even some of the strongest advocates of the war are going to move in a real different direction."
The lesson of Iraq, Mr. Hagel contended, was "that you can't unilaterally, arbitrarily march into a country, invade a sovereign nation, regardless of the dynamics or the reasonsÂ…without alliances, the strengths of those alliances."
Despite the harshness of Mr. Hagel's criticisms and the seriousness of the subjects being discussed, the mood of the event was not unremittingly grim.
One question from the floor asked Mr. Hagel to consider the possibility of an independent "Hagel-Bloomberg" ticket in next year's election.
"Bloomberg's got the money. I think it would be Bloomberg-Hagel," Mr. Hagel shot back to laughter.
e-mail from Biden campaign
e-mail from Biden campaign
11/29/07
On Tuesday night, I got an email on my blackberry that traffic and contributions on our website were unusually high. Now, the numbers on the website started rising in August and have been growing ever since so I knew something must be up for the online team to be alerting people.
We send hundreds of thousands of emails every day but on Tuesday, we were seeing a large number of contributions from people not on our email list. We watched the amounts grow until the media monitoring team figured it out. Joe's interview on The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, which he taped on Monday, aired Tuesday evening on PBS stations across the country. And people were getting up from watching that interview, walking over to their computers, and making spontaneous contributions to our campaign.
Click here to watch the video
http://www.joebiden.com/contribution/2?id=0021
I finally got to watch the interview and understood. In his quiet, direct way, Joe revealed how his lifetime of experience, both the triumphs and tragedies, had prepared him to be President.
I urge you to watch this video. If you agree that you're finally seeing a candidate with the knowledge to deal with the crises that face the country, and the courage and confidence to tell the American people how to solve them, please follow this link to make a contribution to our campaign today.
Thank you,
Valerie Biden Owens
Biden Gives His Take on Iraq Policy, Pakistan, Campaigning i
Biden Gives His Take on Iraq Policy, Pakistan, Campaigning in Iowa
In the latest in a series of in-depth interviews with 2008 presidential candidates, Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., talks about his views on the road to the White House, including campaigning in Iowa, U.S. involvement in Iraq and Pakistan's political turmoil.
TRANSCRIPIT OF JOE BIDEN INTERVIEW
JIM LEHRER: And finally tonight, another of our conversations with candidates for the Democratic and Republican presidential nominations who are running in the primaries.
Tonight, the candidate is Senator Joe Biden, Democrat of Delaware. Judy Woodruff spoke with him in Mason City, Iowa, yesterday.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Senator Biden, thank you very much for talking with us.
SEN. JOE BIDEN (D), Delaware: I'm flattered you'd have me. Thank you.
JUDY WOODRUFF: We are here in Iowa. You're campaigning all-out. You are saying to the voters of Iowa you are the most qualified person in the race. In the midst of this battle among the Democrats over who's got the most experience, you have a new ad out, a full-page ad in the Des Moines Register saying you are the wisest, most seasoned person to lead the nation. What do you base that on?
SEN. JOE BIDEN: Actually, it's kind of a tongue-in-cheek ad. It starts off as a picture of all my colleagues I'm running with as saying, "Joe's right." And so it's kind of tongue-in-cheek.
But I'm basing it on my experience. The fact of the matter is that, although Senator Clinton talks about having the most experience -- and she has great experience -- while she was working for the Children's Defense Fund, I was writing laws protecting children in the United States Senate. She did good work. I was in the Senate.
While Barack Obama talks about change, I was able to convince the Democratic Party to change their position on the criminal justice system, on crime issues, on the Violence Against Women Act. I've been able to convince President Clinton to use force in Bosnia to end the genocide.
But it's really not about change or experience. I think it's about action. And the ad is sort of a little bit of tongue-in-cheek to get people focused.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Well, you have this impressive resume, as you've just referred to. You've been running for the better part of a year, and yet I've heard you -- read that you complain you're still having to introduce yourself to voters. Why is that?
SEN. JOE BIDEN: Well, close to that. It's not that way anymore in Iowa, and it's not that way nationally. The Rasmussen poll that just came out shows me in a dead heat with Romney and shows me in a dead heat with Giuliani. And so it's starting to sink in.
But I think it's because, in the Democratic side, we have two incredibly talented people, a woman who has great talent, an African-American with great talent, and they've sort of sucked all the oxygen out of the air. You know, they've been very, very much in the news. They've raised tens of millions of dollars.
And so it's not at all surprising that the focus would go to them in the Democratic side, but now the Iowans are starting to focus. They're starting to decide. And I think I've got a clear shot here to do very, very well.
Sen. Joe Biden: I don't know how it affects the voters, but I know how it affected me. It makes me realize that there's nothing that is critical other than life and death and that there is a solution to almost every problem.
Overcoming personal tragedy
JUDY WOODRUFF: I read where your son, Bo, has introduced you to the crowds at least in one place saying you will rebuild the country the way you rebuilt your family. You've had, of course, terrible tragedy in your life. Your first wife died. You lost a daughter. You had to deal with your own health challenges.
How do you make this transition from the personal to the political that your son was referring to?
SEN. JOE BIDEN: Well, I'm really pretty uncomfortable with that. I have no -- talk about that, and I was really sort of -- I was taken aback when my son introduced me that way, not in a bad way, but it just kind of caught me off-guard.
But I do think that how we deal with crises in our lives, serious crises, gives you, the individual -- you either grow stronger or grow weaker from it. You don't -- it doesn't remain the same. And it's given me confidence to believe that I can handle serious crises.
It is true, right after I got elected, my wife and daughter and two sons were broadsided by a tractor-trailer, my wife killed and my daughter killed, and my sons pretty badly injured. And it took a while for me to adjust to that and sort of get our lives back together.
And it is true the doctors gave me about a 30 percent chance of living and took the top of my head off a couple of times because I had cranial aneurysms. But what it does do, when you get through those things, it makes you realize that you can handle crises. It gives you an inner confidence.
And I'm sure that's not unique to me. I mean, there's millions of Americans who have gone through difficult things. So I don't know how it affects the voters, but I know how it affected me. It makes me realize that there's nothing that is critical other than life and death and that there is a solution to almost every problem.
And I've come out of my life experiences more optimistic about the possibilities than I have pessimistic.
JUDY WOODRUFF: You just referred back to 1972, when that terrible accident happened. That was the year you were elected to serve in Washington. You've now spent, what, over half of your life...
SEN. JOE BIDEN: I know. Isn't that amazing?
JUDY WOODRUFF: ... working in Washington, serving in Washington, 35 years. Can somebody who's been part of government for that long really go out and change the world, as I've heard you say you would do?
SEN. JOE BIDEN: Yes, I think I can. But I want you to know now there's only four senators who served longer than me, but 41 are still older than me, Judy. That's the very important thing I want your listeners to know.
But, yes, I think so, because that's been the history of my participation in the Senate. I mean, remember back in the days when the Republicans were beating up Democrats being soft on crime, and Democrats talked about law and order with justice, well, I came along -- it took me 10 years -- but I changed the landscape.
I wrote the Biden crime bill, which put 100,000 cops in the street, but it also put $10 billion into prevention. I brought liberals and conservatives together through a plan that worked.
The war in Bosnia, you covered that. You covered me covering that. It took me two years to convince President Clinton we had to use force in Bosnia. We did it. We saved people's lives without losing any forces.
So I guess what I'm trying to say is that the things that I've been involved in, from the Violence Against Women Act to foreign policy, I have been -- I won't say ahead of the curve, that sounds too self-serving, but I've been an agent of change. I've been the one moving the Democratic Party or moving the president or moving the country.
And I think that's what exactly what I'm doing on Iraq. I'm the only one with a clear plan adopted by a majority of the foreign policy establishment, 75 senators. It took a long time, but I would argue that my participation in government has been not in sync with what the conventional wisdom was, but mostly out of sync and ahead of the majority of what the conventional wisdom was.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Your Iraq plan, you were out with it months ago. Essentially, you would separate Iraq into three ethnic divisions, in effect, Sunni, Shia and Kurd. There would be a weak central government.
The U.S. Senate has endorsed this. It's got a number of fans here in the United States, but not so many fans in Iraq. How do you make it happen?
SEN. JOE BIDEN: Well, the way you make it happen -- and, by the way, initially there weren't many fans in Iraq, because the president called it partition. It's not partition. It calls what their federal constitution calls for.
So I know most of these leaders. I met with Hashimi, the Sunni. I've met with the Shia, the Kurds. I've met with all these leaders. Every one of them now has gone on record as endorsing the plan, except for Sadr, the guy who has the Mahdi Army.
And so the way you make it work, I could tomorrow, were the president prepared to do it -- look, we have -- the military's done a very good job in this surge. No one ever doubted that. But now the opportunity presents itself, what do you do with this better condition?
Now is the time for the president to call in, as I've recommended, the international community, get an international conference on Iraq sponsored by the big five countries. Bring in Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey. Bring them in and get them an agreement on a federal system inside Iraq.
This is the time to do it. We could do it right now. The Iraqis are ready for it. The international community is ready for it. And I believe, with the leadership of the permanent five in the United Nations, we could get this done.
But the president continues to cling, Judy, to this notion that we can have a strong central government, a shared power, that they're going to -- all the Iraqis are going to trust. And it won't happen.
Sen. Joe Biden: You've got to leave in a circumstance where the Sunnis and Shias have worked out a deal that they're not going to kill each other. How do you do that? You do that by going forward with the Biden-Gelb plan, which has gotten so much support.
U.S. Policy in Iraq
JUDY WOODRUFF: But with this recent reduction in violence on the heels of the surge of U.S. troops, is that not a reason to rethink not just U.S. policy, but your plan?
SEN. JOE BIDEN: Oh, no.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Is that such a new factor here that...
SEN. JOE BIDEN: No, what it does, it really -- no one ever doubted that the military would do their job. Now it's time for the president to do his. Now there's a little breathing room, and the president is doing nothing.
The number-two man in the military in Iraq, general, says there's a very short window here, a small window. We see no progress on the part of the Iraqis reconciling their differences.
So, Judy, once this surge is lifted, once we stop, they're going to go back to the civil war again. This is the time the president has to say, "All right, here's the deal. You voted for a constitution that says you are a loosely federated government. Go ahead and implement it. Implement it now. Get the rest of the world to bless it," just like we did in Bosnia, just like we did with the Dayton peace accords, but it requires presidential leadership.
JUDY WOODRUFF: You're on the record calling for U.S. troops, most of them, to be out of Iraq by the summer of 2008. Is that realistic, given the...
SEN. JOE BIDEN: The president is making it less realistic because he isn't acting on the political side. It is realistic if, in fact, we get a political settlement. Why are we there? We're there as a referee in the midst of a civil war. That's why we're there. If we left tomorrow, everybody says, "What would happen?" The Sunnis and Shias would start killing each other again.
So if you're going to be able to leave without leaving chaos behind, you've got to leave in a circumstance where the Sunnis and Shias have worked out a deal that they're not going to kill each other. How do you do that? You do that by going forward with the Biden-Gelb plan, which has gotten so much support, and say, "Hey, take your militia and make them your local army. Have a central government that controls the army and the resources, but doesn't tell you what kind of laws you have to have relative to education in your community."
JUDY WOODRUFF: And you're saying, if you were elected president, you could make this happen?
SEN. JOE BIDEN: I guarantee you we could make it happen.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Let me ask you about another critical place on the map, Pakistan.
SEN. JOE BIDEN: Yes.
JUDY WOODRUFF: President General -- really good news and bad news there right now. General Musharraf, the leader of the country, has set elections for January the 8th. He's let back into the country one of his arch-political rivals.
But he's also, as you know, imposed a state of emergency. He's cracked down on the judiciary, on the press. What should the U.S. posture be right now so that Pakistan turns out in the way that it is in the best interests?
SEN. JOE BIDEN: I've spoken with Musharraf, and I've told him what I think our posture should be, what he should do. He has to hold these elections. He has to lift what is essentially martial law, so the whole world can see that these are fair and free and transparent elections.
And if he does that, he will be able to then work out the constitutional issues with the role of the prime minister versus the president in a negotiation within a freely elected parliament. If he doesn't that, Judy, there's going to be chaos. There's going to be chaos.
And don't count on the military continuing to back him indefinitely. He needs the military, but they do not like this chaos that he is causing by insisting on how he's going.
So we should make it clear to him these must be transparent elections, not under martial law. Sharif is back. They are strong. They don't like one another at all. They're a splinter of the same party. And you have the most popular party, the most popular party is Mrs. Bhutto's party. Who knows how that election will turn out? But they need the election to take place.
Sen. Joe Biden: So, in my view, what you have to do is you have to have much more security on not only the border on the south, but all our borders. We are woefully, woefully unprotected in terms of drugs to immigration to terrorism.
American voters on immigration
JUDY WOODRUFF: A couple of other questions closer to home. Immigration, it's been a more divisive issue for the other party, for the Republicans over the last year, until this recent flap over driver's licenses for illegal immigrants. Refresh us on or remind us on what your position is on that. And how big an issue do you think it is going to be with the American people next year?
SEN. JOE BIDEN: I think it's a pretty big issue, Judy. It's amazing. Out here in Iowa, I've done hundreds of events in Iowa. I always first get asked about Iraq and foreign policy. The next question is always immigration.
And there's three pieces to it. The one piece is that people don't want to persecute the 14 million undocumented aliens that are here, but they want to have some sense that we have some control over our borders and that you're not bringing in loads of people that are driving down wages for Americans and American jobs, so legitimate concerns.
So, in my view, what you have to do is you have to have much more security on not only the border on the south, but all our borders. We are woefully, woefully unprotected in terms of drugs to immigration to terrorism.
And with that said, you have to also find a way for the 14 million people that are here undocumented to be able to work their way through. And what you should require is what we said before. Everyone should have to show up and register. They get a tamper-proof card, have a criminal background check. If they have a criminal record, deport them. If they don't show up to get the record, deport them.
If, in fact, they show up and they have a job and no criminal record, allow them to earn their way through to get in line for citizenship, as long as they learn to speak English. In the meantime, you've got to come down hard on employers who deliberately hire illegal aliens.
My problem with the driver's license and the reason I don't support the granting of driver's licenses, driver's license is the main means of identification, when you get on an airplane or you get access to anything else. And we have no control when that occurs. We have no control.
And so it seems to me that if it were not in a post-9/11 circumstance, it might not be as critical, but in a post-9/11 circumstance, people using driver's licenses to access through security is not a good thing to be able to do without you being an American citizen.
Sen. Joe Biden: The problem we have here is that we owe China a trillion dollars. We're $2 trillion in debt to the world. The value of the dollar is falling. And why are we so much in debt? The war and tax cuts for the wealthy.
Reviving the U.S. economy
JUDY WOODRUFF: The U.S. economy, how would you size up its health? And what would you as president want to do to see it get out of this current subprime mess, which is spreading to the rest of the economy?
SEN. JOE BIDEN: Sure is.
JUDY WOODRUFF: And what would you want to see to keep the U.S. economy...
SEN. JOE BIDEN: The state of the economy is precarious right now. Two reasons: We don't know how deep this subprime hole is, because there's no transparency in the hedge fund business. And we don't know how many of these bad subprime, collateral loans that were offered to get good loans to build, you know, to provide good money, we don't know how much is built on a bad foundation.
We need transparency. You need transparency in the hedge fund side of things, and that has to happen in the future. You have to provide for the ability of people who are losing their homes to be able to negotiate for the ability to maintain those homes at the interest rates they're in at now because, in the interest of the company, they not go bankrupt, in the interest of the mortgage-holder.
But more importantly, Judy, the problem we have here is that we owe China a trillion dollars. We're $2 trillion in debt to the world. The value of the dollar is falling. And why are we so much in debt? The war and tax cuts for the wealthy.
I would let the tax cuts expire for the very wealthy. We get the bunch of all these tax cuts. That would put trillion dollars back into the economy that we could use that for other things to begin to prop up the economy.
I would also change our trade policy. Here we are, take a look at China. We have the ability to curtail the importation of those products China is sending to us as tainted toys, tainted dog food. We can do that under the World Trade Organization rules. We don't do it. We don't even enforce fair trade in this administration and even in the last administration a little bit, because we don't want to offend or hurt major companies with interests in those countries. So I would impose fair trade.
And the third thing I would do is, by ending this war, it would free up $120 billion a year. What is happening? We are hemorrhaging blood and treasure here with war and tax cuts, driving ourselves in debt more than we ever have been. And it's having a dramatic impact upon the stability of the dollar and the stability of the markets here.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Last question. Whatever happens in this election, throughout this process, what has Joe Biden learned about himself, yourself, and about the American voter?
SEN. JOE BIDEN: About myself, it surprised me. I feel more passionate. I wasn't ever going to run for president again. I truly wasn't. I had no intention. I haven't done a political speech in 20 years. I mean, I've done speeches, but, I mean, I haven't gone out to these Jefferson-Jackson Day dinners and campaigned and go around the country.
And what I'm surprised was, when I started, I wondered whether I'd have the passion and the energy to do this. What has surprised me, I feel more passionate about the possibilities for this country than I did when I was 29 years old and elected to the Senate.
The other thing that I've learned, I've learned that the American people are a lot tougher, have a lot more resilience and a lot more gumption and grit than either political party gives them credit for.
They're prepared to take on all of these issues. They are not afraid. But they're tired. They're tired of the timidity of my party. They're tired of the triangulating and not giving the full answers and not leveling with them.
People get it. I made a commitment this time out. I may have said this to you before that, win or lose, I'm going to do it on my own terms. I am not going to lose on anybody else's terms. And so I've learned that it also probably is the best politics.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Senator Joe Biden, on that note, we thank you very much.
SEN. JOE BIDEN: Thank you very much, Judy. I appreciate it.
You say experience.
I agree with Biden, but exactly what experience does Clinton have?
