OBAMA'S OFF-MESSAGE MAN
Is Obama Ready To Be President? Biden Says No
BIDEN TAKES OBAMA OFF MESSAGE ON EXPERIENCE
Biden Has Served As Obama's Top Foreign Policy Critic, Even Saying Obama Is Not Ready To Be President:
Biden Said Obama Is Not Ready To Serve As President. ABC's George Stephanopoulos: "You were asked is he ready. You said 'I think he can be ready, but right now I don't believe he is. The presidency is not something that lends itself to on-the-job training.'" Sen. Biden: "I think that I stand by the statement." (ABC's, "This Week," 8/19/07)
Biden: "If the Democrats think we're going to be able to nominate someone who can win without that person being able to table unimpeachable credentials on national security and foreign policy, I think we're making a tragic mistake…" (Sen. Joe Biden, "The Diane Rehm Show," 8/2/07)
Biden: "Having Talking Points On Foreign Policy Doesn't Get You There." ("Biden Lashes Out At Obama," ABC News' "Political Radar" Blog, blogs.abcnews.com, 8/2/07)
Biden Attacked Obama For Voting Against Funding U.S. Troops In Iraq And Afghanistan, Accusing Him Of "Cutting Off Support That Will Save The Lives Of Thousands Of American Troops." Biden: "And, look, Tim, if you tell me I've got to take away this protection for these kids in order to win the election, some things aren't worth it. Some things are worth losing over. That would be worth losing over. Hundreds of lives are being saved and will be saved by us sending these vehicles over which we are funding with this supplemental legislation. And I want to ask any of my other colleagues, would they, in fact, vote to cut off the money for those troops to protect them? That's the right question. This isn't cutting off the war. This is cutting off support that will save the lives of thousands of American troops." (NBC's "Meet The Press," 9/9/07)
Biden On Obama's Leadership On Iraq: "I Don't Recall Hearing A Word From Barack About A Plan Or A Tactic." (Jason Horowitz, "Biden Unbound: Lays Into Clinton, Obama, Edwards," The New York Observer, 2/4/07)
Biden On Whether He Would Meet Unconditionally With The Leaders Of Rogue States As Obama Said He Would: "Absolutely Positively No." Biden: "Would I make a blanket commitment to meet unconditionally with the leaders of each of those countries within the first year I was elected president? Absolutely positively no." (Sen. Joe Biden, Remarks At The National Press Club, Washington, DC, 8/1/07)
Biden Attacked Obama's Public Pronouncement That He Would Unilaterally Attack Pakistan, Saying "The Last Thing You Want To Do Is Telegraph To The Folks In Pakistan That We're About To Violate Quote 'Their Sovereignty.'" Biden: "[A]nd I'm told, Senator Obama announced today. Senator Lantos (sic) and I wrote into law, the requirement that the aid to Pakistan be conditioned upon their support of us going after Al Qaeda in their Western province. It already is a law. The question, the way to deal with it is not to announce it, is to do it. The last thing you want to do is telegraph to the folks in Pakistan that we're about to violate quote 'their sovereignty,' putting Musharraf in a position that makes it virtually impossible for him to do anything other than what he's done. Basically cut a deal with the warlords along that border to our great detriment. So it's not something you talk about." (Sen. Joe Biden, Remarks At The National Press Club, Washington, DC, 8/1/07)
Biden Criticized Obama's "Johnny-Come-Lately Position" On Afghanistan. "The Biden for President Campaign today congratulated Sen. Barack Obama for arriving at a number of Sen. Biden's long-held views on combating al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Much of what Senator Obama has proposed Senator Biden has already initiated or accomplished." (Sen. Joe Biden, "Biden Campaign Congratulates Sen. Obama For Johnny-Come-Lately Position," Press Release, 8/1/07)
BIDEN TAKES OBAMA OFF MESSAGE ON FOREIGN POLICY
Biden's Experience Involves Supporting The War In Iraq, Which Obama Attacks:
Obama Argued That "Saddam Poses No Imminent And Direct Threat To The United States, Or To His Neighbors," Saying He Will Fall "Away Into The Dustbin Of History." Obama: "[S]addam poses no imminent and direct threat to the United States, or to his neighbors, that the Iraqi economy is in shambles, that the Iraqi military a fraction of its former strength, and that in concert with the international community he can be contained until, in the way of all petty dictators, he falls away into the dustbin of history." (State Sen. Barack Obama, Remarks Against Going to War With Iraq, Chicago, IL, 10/2/02)
Obama Attacked Proponents Of The Iraq War As Having "Helped To Authorize And Engineer The Biggest Foreign Policy Disaster In Our Generation." Obama: "Well, look, I find it amusing that those who helped to authorize and engineer the biggest foreign policy disaster in our generation are now criticizing me for making sure that we are on the right battlefield and not the wrong battlefield in the war against terrorism." (Sen. Barack Obama, MSNBC/AFL-CIO Democrat Presidential Forum, 8/7/07)
Biden Voted For The Iraq War Resolution. (H.J. Res. 114, CQ Vote #237: Passed 77-23: R 48-1; D 29-21; I 0-1, 10/11/02, Biden Voted Yea)
Biden Called Saddam Hussein "An Extreme Danger To The World." Biden: "This is a guy who's used weapons of mass destruction. This is a guy who's destabilized the whole neighborhood. This is a guy who in a war with the Iranians, over 800,000 people on both sides were killed. This is a guy who is an extreme danger to the world. And this is a guy who is in every way possible seeking weapons of mass destruction. That case, in and of itself, ought to be sufficient." (NBC's "Meet The Press," 8/4/02)
Biden: "We Have No Choice But To Eliminate The Threat." NBC's Tim Russert: "If the president of the United States was saying four years ago clear evidence of mass destruction, do we have any choice but to eliminate Saddam Hussein and the threat?" Biden: "We have no choice but to eliminate the threat." (NBC's "Meet The Press," 8/4/02)
Biden Said The Bush Administration Had Enough Classified Evidence On Iraq To Gain A Conviction At A Jury Trial. "Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr., D-Del., said Tuesday on Capitol Hill that 'the administration has evidence now that can change people's minds.' However, Biden said, 'It's a very tough call as to how much to release.' Biden said he did not think the administration would make photographs public, as Adlai E. Stevenson, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, did in 1962 to back the Kennedy administration's claim the Soviet Union had deployed missiles in Cuba that could strike the United States. But, Biden said, 'I know there is enough circumstantial evidence that if there were a jury trial I could convict you.'" (Barry Schweid, "Administration Plans Disclosure Of Intelligence On Weapons," The Associated Press, 1/28/03)
In July 2003, Amid Questions Concerning A Lack Of Stockpiles Of Weapons Of Mass Destruction In Iraq, Biden Defended The War As "Justified" And Said "I Still Believe That Saddam Possessed Weapons Of Mass Destruction." Biden: "I still believe that Saddam possessed weapons of mass destruction and that the war in Iraq was justified." (Sen. Joe Biden, "Statement Of Senator Joe Biden On The White House's Acknowledgment That Iraq-Uranium Assertion Was Wrong," Press Release, biden.senate.gov, 7/8/03)
Biden Has Praised John McCain's Foreign Policy:
Biden Said President Bush Should Have Followed John McCain's Foreign Policy Lead Following The September 11, 2001 Attacks. Biden: "I mean, look, the president had a choice and it was a tough choice when he came--when 9/11 occurred. He could either listen to the advice Colin Powell and Shinseki and most of the uniformed military, and John McCain as well, and Dick Lugar and others, or choose the advice of the vice president, secretary of State--the secretary of Defense and others, and he chose the wrong advice, and this--I think we need a fresh start to be able to gain any momentum on this war on terror, and I don't think we're going to see any change--I'd feel a lot better if I knew that President Bush was going to be elected--and I'm not being solicitous--if I knew he was going to start to listen to John McCain instead of the secretary of Defense, because they have totally different--no, I shouldn't say totally--many--have very different views of how to proceed. And so I think you'd see a difference in the way how you prosecute the war in Iraq. I think you'd see a difference in how you dealt with homeland security. And I think you'd see a difference in terms of the cooperation with other nations in terms of getting the consensus on how to deal with controlling chemical, biological, nuclear weapons." (CBS's, "Face The Nation," 10/31/04)
Biden Praised McCain's Early Call For More Troops In Iraq. Biden: "And so I've believed for a long time, a view shared by my Republican colleague John McCain and many others as well, that we need more force in Iraq. That's not a popular position to take. But we need more force now in order to have less force later. We need to gain control of security in Iraq." (Sen. Joe Biden, To The Center For Strategic And International Studies Policy Forum, Washington, DC, 4/15/04)
In 2005, Biden Even Said He'd Be Honored To Run On The Same Ticket As John McCain. Comedy Central's Jon Stewart: "You may end up going against a Senate colleague, perhaps McCain, perhaps Frist?" Biden: "John McCain is a personal friend, a great friend, and I would be honored to run with or against John McCain, because I think the country would be better off -- be well off no matter who..." Stewart: "Did I hear, Did I hear with?" Biden: "You know, John McCain and I think…" Stewart: "Don't become cottage cheese my friend. Say it." Biden: "The answer is yes." (Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" 8/2/05)
Biden Pick Intended To Alleviate Obama's "Shortcomings On Experience, Especially With Foreign Policy":
"Sen. Joe Biden Of Delaware: A Former Presidential Candidate And Longtime Senator, He Could Help Obama With Perceived Shortcomings On Experience, Especially With Foreign Policy." ("Vice Presidential Sweepstakes," Chicago Tribune, 8/5/08)
But Obama Premised His Campaign On Attacking Washington Foreign Policy Experience:
Obama: "What Americans Are Looking For Is Not Washington Experience, But Do You Have Life Experience That Is Gonna Lead You To Make Good Decisions." Obama: "[I] do think that, increasingly, what Americans are looking for is not Washington experience, but do you have life experience that is gonna lead you to make good decisions, and are you in touch with what's happening on the ground." (Comedy Central's "The Daily Show," 8/22/07)
Obama Said He Drew On Experiences From "A Life Of Living Overseas" In Approaching Foreign Policy. Obama: "What I was drawing on [in dealing with Iraq] was a set of experiences that come from a life of living overseas, having family overseas, being able to see the world through the eyes of people outside our borders." (Jake Tapper, "Obama: 'Better Judgment' On Foreign Policy," ABC News, abcnews.go.com, 7/25/07)
Obama: "Long Resumes Don't Guarantee Good Judgment." Obama: "And I have to remind them when I hear this, you know Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld had two of the longest resumes in Washington. They did. And led us into the worst foreign policy disaster in a generation. So long resumes don't guarantee good judgment." (Jason Horowitz, "Obama's N.H. Swing: The Clinton 'Brand,' Human Rights, Growing Up In A Muslim Country," The New York Observer, 11/26/07)
Obama Attacked "Longevity In Washington." Obama: "The sort of general notion of experience based on longevity in Washington, I don't think is sufficient to make the case to the voters of Iowa or the American people." (CNN's "The Situation Room," 11/19/07)
Obama Mocked Washington Experience, Saying "You Should Keep On
Doing The Same Things With The Same People Over And Over Again And Somehow Expect A Different Outcome. And That's The Definition Of Madness." Obama: "What Washington is really telling you is that you should keep on doing the same things with the same people over and over again and somehow expect a different outcome. And that's the definition of madness. Doing the same things over and over again and expecting something different." (MSNBC's "Tucker," 12/27/07)
Biden has been a US senator for 36 years.
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