Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Biden on Jon Stewart Tonight

Joe Biden will be following up his appearance on ABC this morning, as a guest on the Comedy Channel's "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart".

The video from Biden is now on his website - head here to watch.

It's a good fireside chat. Biden looks and sounds impressive. Add this to his higher profile over the last few weeks, and he might just be a serious contender.

Biden says that this is not the time for the divisive politics George Bush is practicing. He says that we have to focus on the hopes and dreams of the people here in America.

Biden Calls Clinton Plan "Disaster"

While Biden this morning said that Hillary Clinton was fully qualified to be President, he also labelled her plans to withdraw funding from local Iraqi forces, a "disaster". Biden was speaking on ABC as he launched his bid for the Democratic nomination.

Biden is calling for a political solution and settlement between the Sunnis and the Shias, and said that a diplomatic resolution was the only way forward for the region.

Also in this morning's news was an interview Biden conducted with the New York Observer, where he launched attacks on fellow contenders, Barack Obama and John Edwards.


Biden said that he didn't think that Edwards knew what he was talking about on the Iraq issue, and regarding Obama, said he wasn't sure that America would elect a one term Senator.

Biden also said of Obama, that he is "the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy." That's an unfortunate choice of words by Biden, let's hope he has been misquoted - because the tone of that sentence is very troubling indeed.

Joe Biden - Running For President

Joe Biden has skipped the exploratory committee, and launched an all out bid for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States.

Biden of Delaware, who was unsuccessful in his campaign for the nomination in 1988, has been prominent as a Democrat, particularly in the last few weeks as Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Biden will shortly be releasing a video on his website, http://www.joebiden.com/

As far as experience goes, Biden is hard to beat. He has been a Senator since 1973, and as well as the Foreign Relations Committee, is a former chair of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary.

Biden has said that he would need to raise $20 million to be competitive in the nomination campaign. Thus far, he has $3million in his account.

Having already been to New Hampshire nearly 10 times in the last 2 years, Biden plans to travel there again next week. Expect a trip to Iowa in the near future as well.

If you have the time, check out the C-SPAN interview with Biden on his website - it's a frank discussion with the real Biden. If Democrat voters get a glimpse of this side of Biden, he will be a serious chance.

Monday, January 29, 2007

Biden Says Bush Has No Plan

Joe Biden appeared yesterday on ABC's "This Week" with George Stephanopoulos, and in reference to the Iraq Resolution by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last week, has called on the President to "Listen to Us".

He was joined in a debate by Sen. Richard Lugar (R) who is also from the Senate Committee.

Biden said that the ground has moved beneath the President's feet and there is a movement in the congress to say, "Listen to us". But he also said that the President has no credibility, he exaggerated the reason to go to Iraq and there is not a lot of trust in the Bush Administration.

Biden has made a prediction that this will be the first time on the Senate floor that there will be a full debate on this issue. He has said that he doesn't think there will be more than 20% of the Senate that says the President is headed in the right direction.

Even Sen Lugar said that he was only "hopeful" that the President was headed in the right direction, and that the debate on this issue was important.

Biden the 800th Candidate

In a wide field for the Democratic nomination for President, Joe Biden has joked that he is the 800th candidate.

Biden was speaking on ABC's "This Week" yesterday.

He admitted that the race to secure the nomination would not be easy, but people should judge him on his life story, and his record which he feels best prepares him for the job.

Biden said that those who have won Iowa in the past have usually been the ones with the most experience and most foreign policy capability. He also said that he was doing quite well in South Carolina.

Biden has looked very impressive over the past few weeks - and his stance on the war has given him plenty of media opportunities.

But it is a crowded field. And there are some good candidates in the race. However, Biden has said that if gets to stand on the same stage as them, he will do just fine.

As Biden also said, finding money to run for the nomination would be tough, and he thinks he needs about $20 million to take him to Iowa.

Saturday, January 27, 2007

Joe Biden to Declare Wednesday

Joe Biden will officially declare that he will be a candidate for the Democratic nomination for President, this Wednesday, according to sources close to his camp.

The announcement will be accompanied by a video statement by Biden, on his website www.joebiden.com

Biden has been getting some good press over the last month as Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's inquiry into the Iraq war.

Biden announced on Meet the Press earlier this month that he would file papers for an exploratory committee by the end of January.

Thursday, January 25, 2007

No More Troops - Biden

Joe Biden is urging people to sign a petition to stop any more troops being sent to Iraq.

Biden has been leading the charge in the last 2 weeks as Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He has said that it appears that the President did not listen to the message sent by the American people last November on the Iraq War.

You can view and/or sign the petition here.

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Biden on Clinton - She's the Frontrunner

Joe Biden appeared on Fox News on Sunday, and said that Hillary Clinton was formidable, and was definitely odds on favorite to win the Democratic nomination for President.

But Biden also said that this race was a marathon, and there was a long way to go before the nomination was decided. He said that Clinton would have to make her best case and "I don't think Hillary's best case versus mine or Barack's or anybody else's necessarily trumps us."

In other news, Biden yesterday introduced to the Senate the Homeland Security Act of 2007. The legislation would "create a trust fund to implement the 9/11 Commission’s security recommendations. It would also provide funds for new local law enforcement jobs and for other critical homeland security upgrades."

Biden has long talked about making America a safer place - this measure would strip some of the tax cuts for those earning over $1million a year, to put $10billion a year into a Homeland Security Trust Fund.

Joe Biden said that “This is all about setting the right priorities for America. Instead of giving a tax cut to the richest Americans who don’t need it, we should be focusing on the security of all Americans”

Friday, January 19, 2007

Bipartisan Resolution on Iraq - Biden

Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Joe Biden, will join Senator Carl Levin, Chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee and Republican Senator Chuck Hagel to introduce a bipartisan resolution against the escalation plans for Iraq.

Biden issued a statement saying that "The resolution we are introducing today is responsible, forward-looking, bipartisan and constructive" and "It is not in the national interest of the United States to deepen its military involvement in Iraq, particularly by escalating U.S. troop presence in Iraq."

This resolution should send a strong message to President Bush and the GOP that this issue wont be going away any time soon. And given that Biden is running for President, his role and experience on the Foreign Relations Committee will not harm his chances in attempting to secure the nomination.

Joe Biden will also be appearing on Fox tomorrow (Sunday) with Levin to discuss what the Democrats will be doing in Congress. Former Speaker of the House, and possible GOP candidate for the Presidential Nomination, Newt Gingrich will also give his perspective on the escalation plans. The State of the Union speech by President Bush next Tuesday is also sure to be discussed.

In other news The Congressional Quarterly has written an extensive piece on Biden's foreign policy credentials, saying he has considerable expertise. He also has an in depth understanding of the situation on the ground in Iraq, and "...he can speak knowledgeably about the allegiances of different Iraqi tribes, the shifting demographics in the northern city of Kirkuk, and the finer points of the Iraq constitution."

While Iraq is at a crucial juncture, CQ suggests that "Biden is also the only Democratic presidential aspirant with a detailed exit strategy for Iraq at a time when the country is desperately seeking a way out of the war."

Friday, January 12, 2007

Biden leads charge against Bush Plan in Iraq

As chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Joe Biden led the charge against the President Bush's plan to send 21,500 more troops to Iraq.

Biden said that the military is already stretched to the breaking point and the increase of US troops will inevitably lead to a loss of more lives .

Citing the result in the Mid-terms in November, Biden made it clear to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that the country had voted for a dramatic change, but obviously President Bush had not listened. But in addition, Bush had rejected a cross section of leaders across the country, as well as his own military commanders in Iraq.

Biden also said that he had heard that the Joint Chiefs of Staff were also opposed to the plan to increase troop numbers.

The only way forward Biden suggested, was to look for a bipartisan solution from Congress. He said that there needed to be a way to force the leaders in Iraq to act, and also to secure support from Iraq's neighbouring countries.

Biden described this issue as the most pivotal in all his time in the Senate. He said that a solution must be found and alluding to the Vietnam War said that no policy can be sustained without the informed consent of the American people.

Joe Biden's opening statement to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Iraq, 8mins.

Monday, January 8, 2007

Joe Biden is running for President

Senator Joe Biden of Delaware is running for the Democratic Nomination for President of the United States. On NBC's Meet the Press, Biden said that by the end of the month he will be filing the paperwork to set up an exploratory committee.

Joe Biden has made no secret of the fact that he would like to be President, so this announcement comes as little surprise. In 1988 Biden was a contender for the Democratic nomination that Michael Dukakis ultimately won. Biden withdrew from the race amid some controversy that he had borrowed some remarks from UK Labour Leader Neil Kinnock without attribution.

However, Biden has been a steady worker over many years, and his recent promotion to Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee gives him a much greater profile, emphasizing his experience in international affairs.

Over the coming weeks, Biden will be conducting a series of hearings on the strategy in Iraq. Although an early supporter of the war in Iraq, Biden is now a constant critic of the US strategy and the Bush Administration, stating on Meet the Press that "They have no answer to deal with how badly they have screwed it up."

Joe Biden already has close to 3.5million in his campaign account, and has spent a good period of time campaigning in key states like Iowa and New Hampshire. He has visited Iowa 6 times and New Hampshire 9 times since November 2004.

Recent polling numbers have Biden at about 4%, behind Clinton, Obama, Edwards and Kerry. But after the next month, and the profile he will receive on the hottest political topic of the moment, his polling numbers are almost sure to get a boost.

Biden has experience, and he is a steady hand. He has been a Senator from Delaware since 1973, he is a former Chairman of the Senate Committee of the Judiciary, as well as this being his second time as Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee.