Joe Biden is In: Goes on Offensive Against Hillary, Edwards, Obama on Iraq

Joe Biden catches a lot of flak on the internet and in political circles (some deservedly, some not so deservedly). I’d say he’s probably one of the most reviled mainstream Democrat politicians out there (along with Hillary, Ted Kennedy and a few others). With the weird announcement last week that he would announce today, I didn’t have high hopes. Now, don’t get me wrong, I still don’t have high hopes for his campaign - he’ll be lucky to break into the top 4 nationally - but he’s actually managed a fairly decent announcement in the nascent hours of his campaign.

First, his website is pretty nice (it compares to Hillary’s and Edwards’, and trumps everyone else in the Democrat field by far, with apologies to Chris Dodd’s Doddpod). Secondly, he actually has a plan to reduce violence in Iraq (which is posted on his website). Hillary is calling on Bush to fix it, Obama yesterday wanted troops out by March ‘08, and Edwards wants them out as soon as possible. And the freinge candidates don’t tend to be much better in terms of what they’ve said so far. He also has an energy and security plan posted.

And this morning, Biden went on Good Morning America. I haven’t seen the video yet, but an article posted on GMA’s site recaps the interview. Biden, as always, was gracious towards his opponents, saying about Hillary, “She is fully qualified to be president. … We have a heck of a field out there, and she is clearly the front-runner.” Regarding Obama, he stated, “He’s fresh. He’s new … I think experience does matter. … But it also relates to judgment. … He’s a really incredible person.” But the pleasantries ended upon discussion of Iraq. Regarding Hillary’s plan being to cut off funds potentially, he stated, “”I think it would be a disaster if it is her plan … I think it’s counterproductive.” (Incidentally, I wasn’t sure if that was her plan at all; the first place I checked was her site, only to find no policy positions listed at all. For anything.)

Also on GMA, Biden wants a political solution in Iraq. He offers to avenues to pursue. “We should insist on a political settlement between the Sunnis and the Shias. … We ought to be bringing all the parties together. … There is no military solution to Iraq.” Secondly, as the article quotes him, “The United States should ’sit down and talk to [Iran]. … We did that when we were in Afghanistan,’ he said. ‘They’re in the catbird seat because our policy in Iraq is flawed.’

Lastly, the coup de grace. This will be THE interview quoted about Biden in the coming weeks, and frankly, it’s going to force other candidates to respond. You’ll be hearing this one again. Biden was interviewed by the New York Observer within the past few weeks.

Regarding Hillary Clinton, he directly addresses the elephant in the room - her electability:

“Are they going to turn to Hillary Clinton?” Biden asked, lowering his voice to a hush to explain why Mrs. Clinton won’t win the election.

“Everyone in the world knows her,” he said. “Her husband has used every single legitimate tool in his behalf to lock people in, shut people down. Legitimate. And she can’t break out of 30 percent for a choice for Democrats? Where do you want to be? Do you want to be in a place where 100 percent of the Democrats know you? They’ve looked at you for the last three years. And four out of 10 is the max you can get?”

His quote on Obama:

Mr. Biden is equally skeptical—albeit in a slightly more backhanded way—about Mr. Obama. “I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy,” he said. “I mean, that’s a storybook, man.”

But—and the “but” was clearly inevitable—he doubts whether American voters are going to elect “a one-term, a guy who has served for four years in the Senate,” and added: “I don’t recall hearing a word from Barack about a plan or a tactic.”

That first paragraph is just weird - I’m going to assume he meant mainstream politician African-American and not just African American period. Otherwise he comes off as incredibly racist. Those types of verbal guffaws aren’t going to help his campaign over the long run. But his criticism about plans or tactics from Obama does seem to ring a little true, even if it’s because he’s only been in the Senate for two years. The obvious way for Obama to answer this is to talk about his plan - which I expect he will, once he announces. This is definitely the lightest criticism in the article, and it’ll only get traction if Obama allows it to happen.

But it’s on John Edwards that Biden really lets loose:

“I don’t think John Edwards knows what the heck he is talking about,” Mr. Biden said, when asked about Mr. Edwards’ advocacy of the immediate withdrawal of about 40,000 American troops from Iraq.

“John Edwards wants you and all the Democrats to think, ‘I want us out of there,’ but when you come back and you say, ‘O.K., John’”—here, the word “John” became an accusatory, mocking refrain—“‘what about the chaos that will ensue? Do we have any interest, John, left in the region?’ Well, John will have to answer yes or no. If he says yes, what are they? What are those interests, John? How do you protect those interests, John, if you are completely withdrawn? Are you withdrawn from the region, John? Are you withdrawn from Iraq, John? In what period? So all this stuff is like so much Fluffernutter out there. So for me, what I think you have to do is have a strategic notion. And they may have it—they are just smart enough not to enunciate it.”

That’s about as strong language as you will see from the Democrats during the primary. That’s just really, really biting language. Best case scenario, people respond with their own plans. Worst case scenario, the Democratic primary gets ugly, Biden gets ignored, andwith him getting ignored, his legitimate points are lost.

The article does go into some detail about Biden’s plan in Iraq, which I could best describe as the Iraqi version of the Trail of Tears:

By contrast with what Mr. Biden describes alternately as his opponents’ caution and their detachment from reality, the Senator from Delaware has for months been pushing a comprehensive plan to split Iraq into autonomous Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish ethnic regions that is controversial, to say the least.

Under the plan, local policing and laws will be the responsibility of regional authorities. Most of the American troops would be withdrawn, with small numbers remaining to help with anti-terrorism operations. The ensuing chaos from ethnic migrations within Iraq would be contained with the help of political pressure created by a conference of Iraq’s neighbors.

Apparently Biden fashions himself a modern Andrew Jackson? And I’m not sure that a conference would help mass migrations - would the trail of tears been better if the Sioux and the Chickawa had met a couple of times beforehand? I don’t see the United States having the political capital to pull this off, or the American people being convinced that forces mass migrations based on religion is a viable solution.

So, in short, I’m as sure as ever that Biden won’t get the nomination … but unlike yesterday, his opinions matter now.