I have said previously that I thought Sen. Joe Biden (Democrat-DE) should be considered a top tier presidential candidate. I still do. He's brutally honest when it comes to foreign policy and he's the only government official out there who has put together a coherent, grown-up plan on how to deal with the Iraq War.Had Biden thrown his hat into the ring in 2004, or had John Kerry put him on the Democratic ticket, George W. Bush would be unemployed and sitting in Crawford today.
But despite being what I consider a top tier candidate (ie, someone with substance as opposed to someone with star power), Biden had his work cut out for him when he announced his candidacy for the 2008 Democratic nomination this week. The star power of Sen. Hillary Clinton, Sen. Barack Obama, and former Senator John Edwards seem to be overpowering Biden's experience and elder-statesmanship at this early stage of the game.
So it didn't help matters when, on the day of his announcement, Sen. Biden called Sen. Obama a "mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean."
It was a compliment that came out the wrong way; and therein lays Biden's problem. He has "foot-in-mouth syndrome." The guy doesn't know when to shut up. When he gets going on a subject he keeps running his mouth and sometimes doesn't think before he speaks.
The comment probably ended his 2008 presidential run on the same day that it began. But as a voter in his party's primaries, I really hope the good Senator stays in the race as long as he can.
His criticisms of Iraq plans by Ms. Clinton ("nothing but disaster") and Mr. Edwards ("I don't think John Edwards knows what the heck he is talking about"), while harsh, are legitimate in the debate that needs to take place during the Democratic nominating process. Sen. Biden's presence in the race will help force the party's nominees to focus on what will be the #1 issue next year: the Iraq War and its effect on the international fight against terrorism. (Like it or not my fellow liberals, it should and will be THE issue of the campaign.)
And when all is said and done, and the party has its ticket in place, and should that ticket win the White House, Joe Biden would be a superb choice for Secretary of State. (Or, if things are still a mess, a special envoy to Iraq.)
So, forgive the Senator his bumbling Obama comment and let him add some substance to the debate as the party weighs its presidential options. Believe me, we need Mr. Biden to be part of what Hillary calls the "conversation."
