Picking up steam from Vegas, Biden gets a bit of buzz in Iowa

By J. Patrick Coolican (contact)

Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2007 | 7:12 a.m.

Delaware Sen. Joe Biden made a speech on Sept. 10, 2001, in which he said the Bush administration's focus on a national missile defense and old foreign policy paradigms was misguided. Instead, he argued, America should be looking to unconventional threats, such as terrorism.

More recently Biden, who is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, laid out a plan for an American exit from Iraq. He would decentralize power away from the Nouri al-Maliki government in Baghdad and toward the provinces to allow for tribal and religious reconciliation.

Biden proved prescient on both counts, and after a strong performance in the recent Democratic presidential debate in Las Vegas, he's finally getting a little buzz in his run for the presidency, though he's still badly outfunded and outmanned by New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama and former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards. They're all competing hard here in the runup to Nevada Democrats' Jan. 19 caucus.

In a phone interview between campaign stops in Iowa, Biden said voters are finally paying attention just as he's hitting his stride.

"This is not about experience, it's not about change; it's about action," he said during the recent debate, before cutting himself off during a litany of accomplishments and qualifications. The crowd and TV viewers found Biden, until now known for his long-winded C-SPAN persona, to be self-deprecating, direct and charming.

"It's happening in Iowa for real," Biden said.

Even if - as seems likely - his candidacy for the Democratic nomination fails, as his first did in 1988, Biden will remain an influential spokesman for his party's centrists, especially on foreign affairs.

In the interview, he reacted to the chatter of the week's Sunday talk shows, which focused heavily on the reduced violence in Iraq.

"The military has done its job, which is not a surprise," he said, referring to the troop "surge." "The president's job is to bring the parties together."

But there's been no grand political reconciliation between Iraq's warring parties, he pointed out. He said only by devolving power outward would the factions make peace and create some stability. This is what's happening in some provinces, including Anbar, which was once the seat of the Sunni insurgency.

"If you don't get political reconciliation, all this will be for naught," he said.

Biden, who was elected to the U.S. Senate at age 29 more than three decades ago, also reacted to news that the Bush administration is considering permanent military bases in Iraq:

"This would just reinforce in the minds of Iraqis that our real purpose was a permanent foothold to get at their oil. Also, it would be seen as a beachhead to go after Iran."

Both perceptions, he said, would further destabilize the region.

Finally, asked about a possible recession and its effect on the presidential race, Biden said the election will still be about security, though he added economic security is another area of concern for voters.

Biden said he'd push the Bush tax cuts from upper-income Americans to the middle class.

In his classic folksy manner, Biden said it's not clear which way the economy is headed, or, in his words, whether we're at the front end or the back end of the toboggan.