Dan Balz's Take
Biden Focuses on Iraq, Hoping For an Iowa Surprise
Joe Biden listens to a rival's speech at Tom Harkin's steak fry in Iowa yesterday. (Dan Balz).
DES MOINES -- Joe Biden gets the same question over and over as he campaigns for the Democratic presidential nomination: Aren't you really just running to be the next secretary of state? Biden has a new answer for that question: Are you prepared to vote for someone for president who's not capable of being secretary of state?
Biden was the last of six Democratic candidates to speak at Sen. Tom Harkin's annual steak fry in Iowa on Sunday. By the time he got to the microphone, the huge crowd--more than 10,000 strong -- had begun to thin out and the noise level at the top of the hill was so loud that his words could barely be heard.
What he said was worth listening to, however. He argued that last week's testimony by Army Gen. David H. Petraeus and the prime-time address by President Bush brought a paradigm shift in the debate over Iraq. As he put it during an interview a few hours before the steak fry. "The earth moved."
By that he meant the events of last week drilled into public consciousness the reality that ending the war in Iraq will become the responsibility of the next president, not this president. "One of us on this stage, based on what we heard from the president, is going to have to end this war and secure that future," he told the steak fry audience. "And what we say and do--the remainder of this campaign--will affect our ability to do just that."
His words were meant to have a sobering effect on an audience of people likely to be among those who turn out for the Iowa caucuses in January. Getting that policy right will be "more important than the presidential aspirations of any of us on this stage," he said. Until the war is ended, and ended wisely, there will be no way to build a consensus for the other goals all the Democratic candidates share, from universal health care to economic security.
Biden believes that the more Democratic voters focus on this reality, the more they will weigh their presidential choices differently. He hopes that will be good for his long-shot campaign but recognizes that it could be as good or better for the front-runner, Hillary Clinton. Caucus-goers in Iowa, he believes, will put an even higher premium than before on the national security credentials of the candidates.
"Arguably the only two people it plays to are me and Clinton," he said.
Biden's campaign team believes neither Barack Obama nor John Edwards will measure up to this kind of scrutiny by Democratic voters in Iowa. "They don't have any experience and the way they talk about it [Iraq] is in sound bites," one member of the Biden team explained.
Biden has called out some of the other candidates over Iraq policies that he believes are impractical. At times he shows visible impatience with what they have to say on Iraq. He has been particularly critical of New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson for saying he would take all U.S. forces out of Iraq. Who would protect the embassy in Baghdad, Biden wonders?
At last week's Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearings, he was caught reading a newspaper while Obama was questioning Petraeus. An aide told him to put down the paper. Biden insisted in our interview that the incident was not an intentional snub of Biden, just a thoughtless act and nothing more. On Sunday, as some of his rivals were speaking at the Harkin steak fry, Biden could be seen at one side of the stage, head down in reflection--or disinterest.
Perhaps he's earned the right to be impatient with some of his rivals. Biden also has seen growing, if grudging, acknowledgement that his plan for a soft partition of Iraq into three regions--Shia, Sunni and Kurdish--may be the right way to think about the future of that country. He has argued for more than a year that there is no real hope for creating a strong, functioning central government in Iraq. The government of Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki has lived up to Biden's prediction.
Alone among the Democratic senators running for president, Biden voted for the Iraq supplemental funding bill that did not include a timetable for withdrawal of U.S. forces. His rationale was that the bill included money vital to the safety of the troops and as long as they are on the ground, he will not vote to cut off their funds. His rivals -- Clinton, Obama and Chris Dodd -- all voted against the measure. He wonders what they would have done if theirs had been the deciding vote on that bill.
Biden still believes there is an opportunity to spring a surprise in Iowa and his hope is that the nomination battle is turning from a focus on celebrity and money to an examination of credentials and experience. Voters, he said, want to be confident that whoever takes hold of the steering wheel in January 2009 knows how to drive.
Like Dodd and Richardson, Biden has ambitions that may exceed his and his campaign's capacity to deliver. But on the central issue of the campaign, he has carved out a unique role as one of the president's most vociferous critics who has also sought to hold the other candidates to account as they compete to satisfy the antiwar activists in the party.
He may not achieve his goal of winning the nomination, but it is likely that if one of the other Democrats ends up in the White House in January 2009, he or she will look to Biden to help make good on the pledge to end the war and end it in a way that does no additional damage.
--Dan Balz
Posted at 1:15 PM ET on Sep 17, 2007
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Posted by: zenpiper1 | September 19, 2007 12:39 AM
Bwn,
You've said it all and said it well. I hope Senator Biden sees Dan Balz's column and your comments and is heartened and encouraged by them. I've always thought well of the senator and I'll vote for this man in a heartbeat if given the chance.
Posted by: murphy2 | September 18, 2007 5:03 PM
My my, it seems there IS hope for America.
I thought she was asleep at the wheel.
One of those recurring Dreams.
I'm really happy to see Joe Biden running, this is rare the US citizens have opportunity to have an actual potential leader running for high office.
I started to ponder a Biden presidential solution around 2002, 2003. I'd LOVE to see a Biden Boxer ticket, but she's not running I don't think, and I agree with Biden that he'd be more effective where he's at rather than a VP role, so Biden for President ? You bet.
It's the ONLY smart, AND wise choice from what's out there so far as I can see. You know what ? His kids never got some golden seal treatment to skate serving for their country.
You place Biden in charge, and you can BET not a ONE US solider will be on or off US soil without the best interests of everyone in mind.
I find Bush's track record questionable as to just how far he'd put HIS neck on the line for anyone but himself, and his personal afterlife plan - but MY GOD - no, OUR GOD - Biden is someone who is not for sale - so, that's a RARE opportunity (just noticed the word unity in that word) to have someone who will not go about serving private corporate interests.
I'll put it this way, Joe Biden would be running for presidnet, I'm SURE if the job didn't even come with a paycheck. I mean, every BIT I intuit about Biden tells me - he's the only way, NOT out of this, but INTO resuscitating America. She's on life support right now, calling Joe Biden to ER of the nationstate !
Biden can fix things, he's got solutions, not more blind stubborn adherence to changing dart board foreign policy. Biden also has the respect of just about EVERYONE inside the Beltway.
Heck, I even came to like Lugar -even AFTER the Bolton hearings seeing that Biden demonstrates at ALL times, reverence and respect for people.
Sheesh, I think now that I've been reminded there IS a way forward, I think I'll stop complaining about who's IN Office and start seeking to be as constructively creative as I can to promote Biden in 2008. I kind of had given up, as corporate news media had Obama, Hillary and Edwards (least Fox News gives them never ending press, even bad press is press). Seems that Washington - NOT corporate news is looking at Joe Biden as the best candidate President for the United States of America, he actually had ideas, and cares, gee, that's rare. Granted big energy or insurance might try to stop him, but I'd put MY life on the line for Joe Biden as president. You bet.
Why ? I KNOW he's going to be capable of providing actual direction and leadership for this nationstate. It also means I probably won't move if Biden as it seems to be in the air - a serious candidate now, regardless of the corporate news channels won't give him any focus.
I do wonder why corporate lobbyists love Hillary, Edwards and Obama (hmm... WashingPost spell check doesn't like that last one)... I think I know why - because they're buyable.
I don't get a good intuit or read from Hillary - I USED to actually support the idea that she could be president a LONG time ago, too much integrity loss in retrospect for Hillary to me.
Edwards, I do like John Edwards, and that's not just because Fox News does so badly hate John Edwards (I mean, in general Fox smears who they think is a threat, or backup plan is also buyable) -I DO get a better read from John Edwards intuitively - but I just don't feel secure that he's not within reach of corporate lobbyism, it's hard to resist billions from big energy -it's hard (or for the last 7 years, perhaps, not so hard). Obama ? I do like, but I don't see the experience necessary to act with knowledge, foresight and confidence derived from those two combined.
Joe Biden though ? You have experience, competence, knowledge and my oh my, how often do you get Wisdom TOO !!!
You know what I think ?
I think Joe Biden is probably the only one running that is doing it for YOU, ME, US, not for their own personal interests.
Posted by: Bushes_worst_nightmare | September 17, 2007 5:00 PM
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I think Joe Biden is probably the only one running that is doing it for YOU, ME, US, not for their own personal interests.
I agree, except for one thing: Joe Biden (as well as Clinton, Edwards and Obama) are members of the Council on Foreign Relations. This should disqualify the lot of them, but, sadly, it does not. Since 1921, the CFR has sought to undermine U.S. sovereignty: we are members of the United Nations, GATT, NAFDA, the WTO, and (likely) the North American Union. All of these fiascos were set into motion by the CFR.
The only candidate I could support is one who is NOT a member of the CFR, and who works to restore our sovereignty as a republic, Congressman Ron Paul. I used to think he was off-the-wall, but after taking a close look, I came to deeply admire what he is doing. He is a physician, highly successful and much loved by many. What impressed me was the millions of supporters who, on their own, made signs, started meetup groups and got caught with the bug of freedom. This is the guy I am going to support; not a CFR member.