why isnt biden promoting HIS iraq plan(pdf) now that the dems are in charge? if he really believes that it would work, this would give him a major edge over all the other democratic presidential candidates. kind of makes you wonder, doesnt it? the question for the 08 contenders should be how they would deal with external threats to our country and what steps they would take to ensure the safety and security of this nation. im looking for someone who takes this seriously, understands the nature of the enemy we face, and can sell their strategy for the war on terror which will not be over when president bush leaves office.biden has the most experience of the dem candidates on foreign policy (and in running for president), but he hasnt proven that he has any staying power or the charisma that kerry lacked. is he more likable than kerry? well, yes but that wouldnt take much. do we really want another east coast liberal as the democratic nominee? maybe the conventional wisdom is overrated in this case. even though i am skeptical about bidens chances, i still think he would be the smartest pick from the current field of democratic candidates.
take a look at these candidates. hillary is not as strong as the media wants her to be. obama-mania will fade at some point. people will soon remember why they rejected john edwards the first time. kucinich and sharpton (if he should decide to run) will provide some laughs, but not much else. there could be others jumping into the pool, but at the end, it wont matter much.
this is not to suggest that the republican field has a much stronger group of candidates. theres something to dislike in all the frontrunners and there are serious questions about each one. for some reason, conservatives hate mccain. right resume, wrong messenger. giuliani is far from a social conservative, but he can claim some successes from his tenure as americas mayor and his leadership after 9/11. he also has previously supported a guest worker program for illegal immigrants, which will earn him no points with the no amnesty crowd, and has argued for providing city services for them while mayor of new york city. then theres romney, who may or may not persuade conservatives that he is conservative enough for them, and hes a mormon on top of that. i still contend that the question of romneys conservatism will be more important to republican base voters than his religion. the only reason that his conservatism or lack of it should matter is that the next president could get to make a few judicial nominations, including the supreme court, and it would irk social conservatives if he nominated someone who was pro-choice.
as for the second and third tier possibilities, the most you can say for them is that they definitely are more conservative than the top three contenders (who have actually announced that they are running). what these gentlemen might want to keep in mind is that while you can generate buzz by being single-issue candidates, it would help to be more well-rounded for a presidential run. i like what i have heard from sam brownback and mike huckabee. however, i dont know whether they could get enough name recognition to be serious contenders. same goes for duncan hunter, although he might be the strongest candidate on this level.
then theres always the possibility of newt .what will he do? he will have a great deal of influence on the outcome of the ’08 election, even if he decides not to run.
tags: ’08 election, joe biden, rudy giuliani, mitt romney, john mccain