Joe Biden speaks on Iran -- and bolsters his electability argument

[Gothmog]

12. Biden Says 'Tweets, Threats, Tantrums' Won't Ease Iran Crisis

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Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden called Tuesday on President Donald Trump to return to diplomacy to ease rising tensions with Iran and urged the president to explain why he’s chosen to escalate a situation that had for months appeared relatively calm.

“The only way out of this crisis is through diplomacy -- clear eyed, hard-nosed diplomacy grounded in a strategy that’s not about one-off decisions and one-upsmanship,” Biden said.

With less than four weeks until the Iowa caucus, Biden’s quickly organized speech in New York was a chance for him to show off his deep knowledge of international issues and to demonstrate to voters that he has leadership qualities he believes the president lacks. Polls suggest Democratic voters think he possesses those qualities more than his rivals for the nomination.

Subdued and reading from a TelePrompter, the former vice president spoke in detail about Middle East policy and the traditional cooperation between the White House and Congress.

“No one wants war. But it’s going to take hard work to make sure we don’t end up there by accident.”

The former vice president said he knew that Trump wouldn’t listen to his advice but said he hoped the president would listen to top national security officials and find a way to back away from his “tweets, threats and tantrums” of the past week. He urged Trump to reach out to European allies and to signal privately to Iran that the U.S. is still open to a diplomatic resolution.