NYT - BIDEN: Nobody, including the president, has a firmer grasp of international affairs.

[jillan]

I was just reading the NYT article about Biden receiving the first endorsement from a newspaper.

Wow - it is really powerful stuff "man"!

Highlights:

“Biden is our choice for the nomination for the powerful personal story he shares, for his deep knowledge of international affairs, and for his long record of exemplary service in the United States Senate.”

what we need right now:
Someone who can restore the good name of the United States of America around the world, who can hold the torch lighting the way of liberty and human rights throughout the world. Biden is that man. He says his first order of business will be to shut down Guantanamo Bay prison and quit torturing people.
And, we need someone who understands civil liberties here at home. Biden says that will be the theme of his inaugural address, if elected. You can’t preach liberty abroad when you’re spying without court orders on your own citizens.

When he last ran for president 20 years ago, Biden lifted a line from a British politician’s speech ­ whether conscious or not. Biden did not run and hide and deny and hedge. We recall it as if it were yesterday. In Davenport, he immediately admitted he was wrong, quit the race and thanked Iowans for their patience with him. We will never forget the classy way in which he ended that race. What appeared to be his major political foible is to us one of his strengths: humility, and a surprising lack of vanity. That’s something we’ve been lacking with the current occupant of the White House.

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/22/in-iowa-an-early-vote-for-biden/#comment-17904

Go Joe

[daninthemoon]

1. The president's "grasp of international affairs" is a pretty low bar.

[jillan]

2. The piece was not just referring to the President.

Did you read the whole post or just the subject line?

[daninthemoon]

4. I know, i'm just sayin. I like biden, and i know he has a good grasp

of international affairs.

[PatSeg]

5. Fortunately Biden can be favorably compared to more

credible politicians when it comes to international affairs. He isn't getting nearly the credit he deserves, but hopefully that will change.

[PatSeg]

3. Thus far the comments are all very positive

Good article.

[MrModerate]

6. I saw him on CSPAN last week working a room (in Iowa I think) . . .

And he was very impressive on a wide range of topics. And charismatic to boot. I was surprised because of his reputation as a bloviator.

[Think82]

10. that reputation is really a mischaracterization

it actually stems from people's insecurity at the fact that biden can talk circles around any other politician

[MrModerate]

14. You got that right. He blew my socks off . . .

I a very genuine, "common man" sort of way. As articulate as Clinton the First without the rhetorical flights of fancy.

[gateley]

18. That's what drew me to him initially - he's so "real". Sounds trite, but you

know what I mean. It indicates to me he's a what you see is what you get kind of person, and boy, do I want that in a President!

[PatSeg]

28. You can't fake that kind of "real"

He is definitely what he appears to be.

[PatSeg]

27. "As articulate as Clinton the First"

Yes, he is and there is more substance behind his rhetoric. He gives great stump speeches but gets very little credit for them.

[ShortnFiery]

22. Short version - Biden needs a coach to tell him when it's time to wrap it up?

:shrug:

[PatSeg]

26. Once the media puts a tag on someone

it is hard to shake it off. Howard Dean will always be remembered for the scream.

[PatSeg]

36. It is the political ploy of attacking a politician's strengths

and turning them into weaknesses. I'm sure we'll see a LOT of that in the general election.

[Froward69]

13. Now knowing Bidden as a former stutterer

I can understand his past bloviating. He was just enthusiastic about getting his point across. what we take for granted was extremely Difficult for him. My father was a stutterer. I have a grasp of the difficulties.

[PatSeg]

29. And he really has a LOT to say!

[Rhythm and Blue]

7. If there were any fairness in the way we chose candidates, this race would be

between Richardson and Biden, not Obama and Clinton.

[PatSeg]

8. I am optimistic that we can change that

I could be wrong, but I have to believe it is possible.

[KittyWampus]

11. how about Richardson, Biden and Dodd

[PatSeg]

34. Agreed, Dodd doesn't get nearly enough credit

for his years of service, knowledge, and experience.

[gateley]

19. I agree - and I'd throw in Chris Dodd, too. Compared to Obama and Clinton,

these guys have so much more to offer the country, and don't seem to be inclined to pander.

What sucks is fairness has nothing to do with it - it's money.

I love your avatar, by the way.

[Imalittleteapot]

9. I'm thinking positively for Biden. Remember -

Kerry was way behind in the polls last election.

[jillan]

12. That's what keeps me going.

[PatSeg]

25. And Howard Dean was the front runner

Iowa really clarifies things and takes a lot of the clout away from the big money media.

[youthere]

15. Joe is no slouch on domestic policy either...

but he blasts everyone out of the water when it comes to foreign policy, and lets face it, the next administration is going to be all about foreign policy...we're going to need an expert and Biden certainly fits the bill.

[murbley40]

16. kicking for Joe!!

:kick: :patriot:

[PatSeg]

23. And few people realize how our disastrous foreign policy

is affecting our domestic policies. The cost of this war will be felt for years to come.

[LynneSin]

17. To be fair - my cats have a firmer grasp on international affairs than that dimwit in the white hous

Go figure

[gateley]

20. That's why we need someone who knows what s/he's doing. Does your cat

have political aspirations? :7

[ShortnFiery]

21. True true! The only *firm grasp* that our Dear Leader has ...

is "his firm grasp" on his gold plated flask of Jack. :evilgrin:

[Martin Eden]

24. Biden must have learned a lot in the last 5 years ...

... because 5 years ago he voted to give the chimperor the go-ahead for invading Iraq.

I, too, have been impressed by Joe Biden during his current campaign, but I simply can't overlook his grievously poor judgement on what was likely the most important vote of his Senate career.

[gateley]

33. I think he DID learn a lot since then. Part of his reasoning for voting against

the Lieberman/Iran thing was because he'd learned how deep Bush's treachery lies (my words). He isn't willing to be fooled again.

I actually think MOST of the candidates have learned a lot and that's what's most important to me now - how they plan on moving forward to help heal our country.

If you think WE regret that vote, imagine how those who voted that way feel!

If he had voted for Lieberman/Iran, I wouldn't even be considering him, but again, to me it's most important where the candidate is NOW, the experience and wisdom they've gained, and how they view the future of our country.

[Martin Eden]

35. You're more forgiving than I am.

I'll support Biden or whoevever is the Dem nominee in the general election, but I will not support in the primary any candidate who voted for the IWR in 2002 or voiced support for it.

Why am I so unforgiving?

Because we here at DU knew before that vote 5 years ago the case for war was bogus and the intervention would cause far more problems than it would solve. It was obvious that Bush was lying, and that once given the authority he would invade no matter what. Why didn't Biden know what we knew? Being a U.S. Senator he not only should have known more, we were counting on him and others to show the leadership necessary to prevent this colossal, extremely costly blunder.

Joe Biden is a very smart man. Do you have his explanation for his vote? I'd like to hear it.

[CrispyQ]

37. I believe he admitted it was a mistake.

I googled it & found some current DU threads & also a daily KOS post, so take these references for what you think they are worth.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rls=com.microsoft%3Aen-US&q=joe+biden%2C+IWR+vote%2C+mistake

A common complaint against the current White House resident is that he never admits to making a mistake. Finally, a candidate who admits that he made a mistake & that he is not perfect. Will you hold that against him?

I think Biden is our most viable candidate. I think there are tons of republicans who are going to vote independent or not vote at all, but if Biden were our candidate, they would vote for Biden over the independent candidate. He is a professional statesman with experience & passion. I love Kucinich, but Biden is a more viable candidate who I have come to like more & more as I hear his positions. I am happy to support Biden!

[Dawgs]

30. So, the IWR vote?

[Think82]

31. Go to the Meet The Press website and watch his interview from March

He goes into depth about the IWR resolution, and explains his thinking and the circumstances around the vote quite well,and to my satisfaction.

Also, he has the solution to get out now, which should be more relevant for you.

[Martin Eden]

38. I found this transcript of Biden on Meet The Press (not sure if it's the one)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18381961/">April 29, 2007
MR. RUSSERT: You said this back in October of ‘02: “We must be clear with the American people that we are committing to Iraq for the long haul; not just the day after, but the decade after.” Do you believe we’ll be in Iraq for a decade?

SEN. BIDEN: I said back then, before we went to war, I wrote a report saying the decade after, and everyone was talking about the day after. And the point I was making was, if you went in and used force, which he should not have done when he did it, that we were committing and signing on to a decade. That was the—that was the minimum requirement. I also pointed out we needed more troops. I also pointed out at that time we would not be greeted with open arms. I also pointed out at that time oil would not pay for this. It was a warning, a warning to the president. “Mr. President, the objective of us giving you this authority is to get inspectors back in, bring the pressure of the world community—which remember, at the time, when we were sitting here talking about this, the—at that moment the issue was are we going to pull out of—are we going to lift sanctions on Iraq or are we going to put more sanctions on Iraq? That, that was the context in which that debate was taking place.

I'm sorry, but I am not satisfied with that explanation. First, Senator Biden was on board with the agenda of a long term U.S. military presence in Iraq. What he apparently has a problem with is the incompetence with which the agenda was carried out. I guess I can't fault him for failing to anticipate such gross incompetence on the part of our government, and he did realize from the start it wasn't going to be a cakewalk. But I disagree strongly with the agenda in the first place, and Joe either didn't have a very firm understanding of the intent of this neocon administration to invade Iraq no matter what, or he understood and concurred. Any intelligent person familiar with PNAC and who listened to the rhetoric coming from the White House knew they weren't interested primarily in another UN inspection regime that might confirm the absence of WMD and avert a war.

After reading this transcript I have less regard for Joe Biden and the judgement he showed. If you have a better explanation from him, please post it.

[murbley40]

32. kick

[demommom]

39. Go Joe!

:patriot:

[murbley40]

40. kick