Letter: Listen to Biden: You’ll want to vote for him

[gateley]

Earlier this month, I had the pleasure of meeting Democratic presidential candidate Senator Joe Biden at an event in Tipton. After listening to Senator Biden talk about his plans for 2008, I am convinced that it is impossible to hear him and not want him to be in the White House. Joe Biden does not just offer his positions. He really clarifies the issues, and you know that what he says now is what he will do as president. He is clearly the most trustworthy, knowledgeable, and dependable Democrat seeking the nomination this year.

Joe Biden is the only candidate who has been honest with the American people from the very start about our situation in Iraq. Biden has not claimed, as others have, that we can get all our troops out right away. If we want to avoid the civil war that is erupting in Iraq, we will need to do what the Iraqi Constitution calls for and give each ethnic group power over their own land. Biden has been pushing for this for over a year, and finally in September the Senate voted 75-23 in favor of the Biden plan for Iraq. Twenty-six of the senators who voted for Biden’s plan were Republicans. That kind of ringing endorsement not only shows how our country’s leaders trust Biden on matters of foreign policy, but it also shows that Biden can bring members of both parties together to get important things accomplished.

Even after we resolve the conflict in Iraq, there are still very difficult situations in the Middle East and North Korea that pose threats to our national security. Of all the Democratic candidates, only Senator Biden has been involved in diplomacy enough to have earned the respect of other world leaders and know when and how to negotiate. Not only do the front-running candidates lack that kind of experience, but some of their recent decisions have made me question their judgment. Senator Clinton voted for a bill that condemns most of Iran’s military as a terrorist organization. That gives President Bush the go-ahead to use military force against Iran, if and when he wants to! And Senator Obama did not even bother returning to Washington to do his job and vote on the bill. Senator Biden has said that war with Iran would be far more costly and deadly than the war in Iraq, and for that reason, he voted against the bill. I can only trust a candidate who takes the situation with Iran as seriously as Joe Biden does.

I think it is time that we start looking beyond the front-running candidates. If you have the opportunity to hear Senator Joe Biden speak, I encourage you to do so. It is an enlightening experience and one that gives me hope for a safer world in 2008.

Norma Beecher

West Branch

http://www.westbranchtimes.com/article.php?id=2336

Edit - I screwed up the link.

[PatSeg]

1. Great letter

The link doesn't work though ;(

[gateley]

2. Thanks - fixed it. nt

[laureloak]

3. I like Biden.

I want him to be Edwards' VP.

[youthere]

16. I could live with that...

though, as a Biden supporter, I would prefer that ticket flipped around! LOL!

[goodgd_yall]

4. His strengths are in foreign policy, not domestic issues

He stabbed us in the back with the bankruptcy law. I don't see that he's been breaking his back to put more control over credit card companies. So, I have to question where his allegiance is, corporations or consumers?

[Mojorabbit]

5. I am looking twice at him

with the giant fubar * is going to leave, foreign policy experience is going to be so important.

[goodgd_yall]

6. It certainly is

But for me, the excessive robber baronish practices of corporations---another * gift to us---is also important. That and environmental issues (which I haven't seen addressed enough in any of the candidate forums) are as important as foreign policy. We'll be OK as long as our next president is not cavalier about using military means to settle matters with other countries---that's my bottom line.

[iverglas]

7. let me ask the same question

that I'd like to see answered regarding Biden's poor record on some aspects of women's reproductive rights.

How will whatever this perceived (and much repeated) problem with Biden's record on the bankruptcy bill affect his performance as president?

Regarding reproductive rights, Biden having voted for the reprehensible "partial-birth abortion" legislation and against funding abortions for low-income women, I would ask: if Congress votes to repeal the legislation in question, and to fund abortions for low-income women, would Biden veto those actions?

I wouldn't think so. So despite those two truly anti-progressive votes, I cannot imagine a Biden presidency having any negative effect on women's reproductive rights, and I would only expect the situation to improve under him if he were able to make good appointments to the bench.

So what about bankruptcy legislation? If Congress voted to change it to reflect what people who criticize Biden would like to see, would Biden veto those changes?

Biden's votes on the bankruptcy bill and the various amendments to it would not have altered the outcome in any way, as I understand it; in fact, I gather that it would not have mattered if all Democrats had voted against it. However, different votes could have caused him a significant loss of support in his constituency, where the banking and credit industry sustains a lot of jobs. We also can't really know what he might have got in return for supporting the bill, whether in some specific way or simply in bankable goodwill among his colleagues.

I assume that the expectation is that the next president will be dealing with a Democratic Congress. What danger would there be if Biden were in that position? Is he likely to veto anything sent to him by a Democratic Congress?

On the other hand, if Congress is Republican after the election, does anyone think that Biden won't use all his significant persuasive powers to temper any egregious excesses it might come up with?

The appalling "partial-birth abortion" legislation is now in place, and as far as I can tell, Biden would go no farther in interfering in women's reproductive rights, or accept any further interference from a Republican Congress, to the extent he could veto legislation or however it works. (I apologize for not being really conversant with how that system works; in my own parliamentary system, the titular head of state would be facing armed insurrection if she refused to sign legislation into law.)

I also can't see what negative predictions for his performance as president can be made based on his record on the bankruptcy legislation.

It seems to me that if someone is wanting to object to having Biden as president, they should really be doing it based on something relevant -- something that actually is some kind of predictor of what he would do in that office.

What a president does is not the same as what a senator or representative does, and the considerations that go into what a president does are often very different, starting with not having to be so concerned about re-election by a local constituency with local concerns.

So my question is: exactly what are you worried that Biden might do as president that you would object to?

[goodgd_yall]

10. What you say can be applied to every candidate

Am I really worried that Hillary Clinton is going to get us into war with Iran? No, I'm not. I'm sure as president she would take every diplomatic action possible and avoid war at all costs. Some would tell me that's an insane belief since she did vote for the IWR and the Lieberman/Kyl amendment. But when I consider what you are asking me to consider but thinking of HRC instead of Biden, that's what I come up with.

If the Levin bill, S. 1395 (I think) were to pass (a bill that would restrict credit card companies' current practices regarding fees and interest rates), would Biden veto it? From his vote on the bankruptcy bill, I think he might. I think that is a very important bill. I will not vote for a person that I think will veto it. But, you may be right that he voted for the bankruptcy bill because of his constituency. Somehow for me, that isn't much of a comfort.

But then again, would he veto anything passed by a Democratic congress? That would seem to be political suicide.

You bring up some very good points. I think it's a very good exercise to think of each candidate in his or her presidential role. As you say, "what a president does is not the same" as what a member of congress does.

[Think82]

11. If you watch the debates, googd, who do you think seems like the "leader" of the group?

To me, it's Biden. I see him being able to get more done as president than the others... His deep understanding of issues (He has a very interesting domestic agenda, if you'd look at what he's proposing, esp. for education, and his approach to healthcare is interesting and pragmatic) and the respect he garners from all types of politicians, left and right, plus, in his speeches, he's the only one who mentions that it's not only the plans the candidates have, it's who is legislatively competent enough to get these change-making laws passed. After listening to all the candidates, I personally think he could break the gridlock in Washington moreso than the others. But that's just me.

[CrispyQ]

18. I agree.

I think Biden shows the strongest leadership skills & the best overall grasp of the issues.

I love Kucinich, but Biden's my choice for this election.

Welcome to DU, Think82!

:hi:

[iverglas]

15. true!

I think it's also a factor that it's easier, looking in from outside the country, to take that perspective -- to look at all of the candidates from the perspective of what will they do as President? And not have all their baggage, which of course all of them have, sitting in the line of sight.

So of course that means you there should let us out here pick your next President. ;)

Or at least let us vote ...

[Frustratedlady]

8. I feel good about Biden, too.

I just listened in on his conference call on the military and he is very concerned about the vets coming home and not receiving the care they need. He told several stories about the long waits for disability checks, 2 years to appeal when rejected for disability, even of one soldier who was told to bring in his Purple Heart to prove he had been injured. Madness!

I like to listen to him, because it is as though he is talking from within and not from a script/speech, AND that he means what he says. I have never paid that much attention to him in the past, but always got a kick out of the times he put his foot in his mouth. I'd rather see that than the lies we've been fed for 7 years by this resident.

I was also surprised to learn he entered the senate when he was 29. That's a lot of background information he carries around with him and we should make use of that knowledge.

Go, Joe!

[gateley]

12. Frustratedlady - do you know if audio is available of the conference call you

refer to? I'd love to hear that.

Biden is passionate about concern for our servicemen and women. He's adamant about protecting our troops while they're still there - he said as long as there is one person left he will not abandon them. He wants to start bringing them home immediately, and is furious about the care they receive upon their return. I feel more than the others, he is absolutely dedicated to ensuring they receive the best care. He won't let our veterans slip through the cracks.

I think so highly of him as a person. I feel he we would be proud to have him as our President.

[rucky]

9. It's not just getting both parties together, it's doing so on his terms.

which are the only terms that make me interested in getting both parties together.

[Naturyl]

13. Biden is a good man and a strong candidate, but...

He's just not progressive enough on the issues.

Among the "moderates," he's definitely the best, though. I'd prefer him to either Clinton or Obama.

[ginnyinWI]

17. I think the GOP would have a hard time beating him

What have they got--Giuliani? Ha. Ha. Ha. They are poised to run against Hillary. Biden with his foreign policy expertise would be a whole different thing.

I am looking for character: compassion, heart, bravery, trustworthiness. Individual policy positions are less important to me. I want a person who will follow through with what they say they will do.

[youthere]

14. Yep..Just appeared in this week's Tipton conservative...

a small weekly with a large circulation in Cedar county.

[youthere]

19. kicking

[Think82]

20. kick