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Tue 26 Dec, 2006 11:03 am
I don't know if Joe Biden can be elected, but he certainly is the most experienced and best qualified candidate to be president. Are we smart enough to elect someone who really might act in the best interests of America instead of just his political party?---BBB
Sen. Biden touts experience in 2008 bid
By BETH FOUHY, Associated Press Writer
Mon Dec 25, 2006
Democratic Sen. Joe Biden wants you to know he is running for president. Definitely. Unequivocally. Absolutely.
"I'm the only guy who will tell you honestly what I'm doing. The others won't tell you, but I will," Biden said, wrapping up a fundraising trip to New York before heading to New Hampshire, his ninth visit in just over a year. He's also campaigned extensively through other early voting states, spending 17 days in Iowa, nine in South Carolina, and four in Nevada.
In a potentially crowded Democratic field dominated by New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Illinois Sen. Barack Obama ?- neither of whom has formally entered the race ?- a Biden candidacy seems a bit of an anachronism.
But the 64-year-old Delaware lawmaker insists there's never been a better time for him to run.
"Frankly, I think I'm more qualified than other candidates, and the issues facing the American public are all in my wheelbarrow," Biden said. "I know I want to be president, I know what I believe and my message is important."
Considered one of his party's most experienced spokesmen on international affairs, Biden will assume the chairmanship of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee next month. He plans immediately to convene a series of hearings on the Iraq War ?- a high visibility platform for him to showcase his expertise. He's also been actively promoting a detailed plan for peace in Iraq that would divide the country along ethnic lines.
With Iraq and global terrorism likely to remain key issues in the 2008 election, advisers say Biden's credibility in foreign affairs is his greatest asset ?- particularly for Democrats concerned about Clinton's electability and Obama's short tenure in public life.
Still, observers say Biden's biggest obstacle is likely to be the lingering "been there, done that" perception of his candidacy.
"The problem for Biden is he's old news," said Dennis Goldford, a professor of political science at Iowa's Drake University. "Some people consider him one of the smartest guys with regard to foreign policy. But what makes you a good, experienced legislator is not necessarily what makes you a good presidential candidate."
Polls suggest Biden's candidacy has barely registered with most voters. An NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll of potential Democratic candidates taken earlier this month found Biden won the support of just four percent of respondents. He trailed not only Clinton and Obama, but also former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards and Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee.
First elected to the Senate in 1972 at age 30, Biden is a career politician in an era where many voters seem to be craving something fresh. And Biden's first presidential bid collapsed 20 years ago amid allegations he plagiarized a campaign speech from then-British Labor Party leader Neil Kinnock.
Like many senators who've given countless floor speeches, Biden can also be a tad long-winded. Grilling then-U.S. Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito last winter, Biden, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, asked just five questions of Alito and spent the rest of his allotted 30 minutes talking.
But longtime strategist Larry Rasky called Biden "a terrific retail campaigner" and argued that his garrulous reputation is largely a Washington complaint.
"In places like South Carolina and Iowa, he comes across as very authentic, illuminating, and respectful," Rasky said. "He's a very smart person, and when he talks, no one thinks he's wasting their time."
Indeed, Kate Vaughn, a New Hampshire attorney who hosted a Young Democrats party that Biden recently attended, said she came away impressed.
"He met lots of people, spoke about Iraq, and really talked about why he's running for president," Vaughn said. "People thought he was very smart and knows as much as anyone does about foreign policy."
Despite his generally liberal record, supporters insist Biden will appeal to so-called red state voters who have not looked kindly in the past on Democratic senators from the northeast.
"The ability, in the south, for a white male to connect with the African-American community is very important, and he has that," said David Mack, a South Carolina legislator and Biden supporter.
And while Mack acknowledged it would be hard for any Democrat to win a general election in staunchly Republican South Carolina, he said Biden had a crossover appeal that could bring other southern states his way.
Biden, who has about $3.5 million in his campaign account, will formalize his intentions in January when he sets up a presidential exploratory committee. But for him, the race has already started.
"I'm proud of my record," Biden said, "but all the things I care about I'm not likely to make an impact on as a sitting senator."
I would certainly vote for Biden over Rodham.
Just curious, McG. Is "Rodham" the new way conservatives plan to refer to Hillary Clinton, or was that just a quick whim?
I've heard tales of her calling herself that in lieu of Clinton if she is elected.
I just wonder if those tales aren't so much tales as campaign tactics. Since Bill Clinton seems to be pretty popular right now, calling Hillary by her maiden name might serve to separate her in a way from her husband.
He was one of the first politicians I know of who subscribed to Peter Galbraith's plan for three semi-autonomous regions in Iraq. Since then Kay Bailey Hutchinsen (R) of Texas has favored the plan. Unfortunately, it's very unpopular elsewhere in Washington and given short shrift by the so called Iraq study group.
Back to Biden. I think Joe Biden ought to give it a go. When I hear him on TV, he comes across very well, and he sounds and looks like a good candidate.
I saw him on TV sometime back when they were discussing the newly confirmed John Bolton at the UN. "As soon as the interim appointment period is over, out he goes," Biden said, punctuating his point with the familiar "thumb over the shoulder" gesture. And of course, that is what happened-this is well before the election. It was a nice touch, and brought a little color to the interview.
As for the plagiarism issue, I think they will try to use that against him, but I don't think it will stick much. The issue is clouded by the fact that at one time back then I think Biden denied the speech was plagiarized. Even so, I don't think the voters will care very much, due to the fact that few Americans even knew who Neil Kinnock was back then, let alone now.
Even more important, I think the electorate is sick of the "you-have-to-hate-this-guy-because-he-did-this-back-then" type of campaign. The voters are looking for a change, and will be wanting some ideas and an impressive messenger for those ideas.
At this early date, the polls are all about name recognition, so I wouldn't worry too much about Biden's poll standing.
I think he ought to give it a go. I liked him in the last race, too, but I liked Dean better.
i have always liked Joe Biden, I would even vote for him over Hillary and I like Hillary.
My 2008 predicition however is that both parties will end up running horse **** candidates and I will stay home for the first time.
I have completely lost faith in the American political system, but the deems have two years to force a change in Washington and get me to change my mind. We'll swee.
Biden Vows to Fight Any Iraq Troop Boost
Biden Vows to Fight Any Iraq Troop Boost
By Anne Flaherty
The Associated Press
Tuesday 26 December 2006
Washington - Sen. Joseph Biden, the incoming chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he will fight President Bush if the administration decides to send more U.S. troops to Iraq.
Biden, who has his eye on the Democratic presidential nomination, also warned that if congressional Republicans do not join him in speaking out against Bush that they - not Democrats - will suffer in the 2008 elections.
"I just think it's the absolute wrong strategy," Biden said Tuesday of an increase in troops.
Bush is scrubbing his options in Iraq, after Republicans lost control of Congress in the Nov. 7 elections and an independent bipartisan panel determined Bush's plan was dangerously off track. The Iraq Study Group, led by former Secretary of State James A. Baker III and former Democratic Rep. Lee Hamilton, concluded that the U.S. could pull combat troops out of Iraq by early next year. The few troops left behind would be tasked with advising Iraqi units.
While administration officials say all options remain on the table pending Bush's final decision to be announced next month, a surge of up to 30,000 troops is widely considered a favored option by Bush.
Biden said he is interested in the study group's findings and wants to hold a series of hearings on Iraq beginning Jan. 9. Biden said he has asked Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to testify and she has agreed; the timing of Rice's testimony, however, is not decided. Rice said she would come to Capitol Hill after Bush announces his new plan in Iraq.
In a conference call with reporters, Biden said the purpose of the hearings would be to generate a bipartisan consensus among lawmakers on Iraq and pressure the president to abandon any talk of surging U.S. forces into Baghdad.
"Even with the surge of troops, in a city of 6 million people you're talking about a ratio that would still be roughly above one to 100," Biden said. "It's bound to draw down support that we need in other parts of Iraq, including Anbar province."
Biden, taking advantage of the quiet holiday week to generate media attention by holding a telephone press conference and appearing on CBS' "The Early Show," said he thinks Republicans will have more to lose in 2008 than Democrats if the violence in Iraq continues and U.S. troops remain committed in such large numbers. There are currently an estimated 140,000 troops in Iraq.
"I think we'll only have to accept responsibility for the war if we remain silent," said Biden, who has spoken candidly of his desire to run for president and has made repeated visits in the past year to early voting states like Iowa and New Hampshire.
Biden said he delivered this message in a recent meeting at the White House, where he told Bush: "Mr. President this is your war."
I'll say this for Biden, though he is a constant blowhard who displays a great infatuation with the sound of his own voice, his taste in the speeches he chooses to plagarize and present, whole hog, as his own is unusually good. He used only the best material of Neil Kinnoc, the former leader of the British labor party - during a previous presidential campaign..
That was pointed out in a post on the previous page, George.
In a lengthy thread, I can understand that people don't go to all the back pages before posting, but in a thread that's on the second page?
Anyway, does anybody seriously think that is going to amount to a hill of beans now?
kelticwizard wrote:That was pointed out in a post on the previous page, George.
In a lengthy thread, I can understand that people don't go to all the back pages before posting, but in a thread that's on the second page?
Anyway, does anybody seriously think that is going to amount to a hill of beans now?
No. Despite having the ability to make concise points and garner support; his new post will likely avail him the opportunity to make a bigger ass of himself than ever before (see the confirmation hearings for a reference point). I fully expect his love of his own voice to alienate and thoroughly bore the majority of the voting public... without any need to empty the skeletons from the closet.
I guess we'll see. If he's going for president, he by now likely has coaches for this sort of thing.
I remember in the first couple of debates when Bush was going for the Republican nomination, Bush had a pronounced sneer on his face. In later debates, that sneer disappeared. Coaching.
The guess here is that the coaches he probably has already hired will curtail Biden's propensity to speak way too long in committee.
White House to Joe Biden: Hold Your Horses
White House to Joe Biden: Hold Your Horses on Rejecting Iraq Troop Surge
By E&P Staff
Published: December 27, 2006
At today's press gaggle in Crawford, Texas, Scott Stanzel, pinch-hitting for White House Press Secretary Tony Snow, described the president's reaction to the death of Gerald R. Ford and his upcoming meetings to discuss his next moves in Iraq.
Stanzel said the government would shut down for a full day next week, as traditional, when a former president dies. Asked about the president's reaction to Sen. Joseph Biden's outright rejection of Bush's rumored plan to escalate the conflict in Iraq by sending 30,000 or more new troops there, Stanzel replied, "Well, I hope that Senator Biden would wait to hear what the President has to say before announcing what he's opposed to. President Bush will talk soon to our troops, to the American people and to the Iraqi people about the new way forward in Iraq that will lead to a democratic and unified country that can sustain, govern, and defend itself.
"So the President has been listening to a lot of different people, whether it's on Capitol Hill, whether it's members of the Iraq Study Group, whether it's talking with the Iraqis directly, and he appreciates the input. But certainly in terms of Senator Biden, we would hope that he, too, would also wait to hear what the President has to say before announcing his opposition."
kelticwizard wrote:Just curious, McG. Is "Rodham" the new way conservatives plan to refer to Hillary Clinton, or was that just a quick whim?
I think "Hildabeast" remains at the top of the list.
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