Bye Bye Joe Biden's Presidential Hopes

Not that anyone thought Biden ever had a chance. Biden is especially unfond of John Edwards.

“I don’t think John Edwards knows what the heck he is talking about,” Mr. Biden said, when asked about Mr. Edwards’ advocacy of the immediate withdrawal of about 40,000 American troops from Iraq.

“John Edwards wants you and all the Democrats to think, ‘I want us out of there,’ but when you come back and you say, ‘O.K., John’”—here, the word “John” became an accusatory, mocking refrain—“‘what about the chaos that will ensue? Do we have any interest, John, left in the region?’ Well, John will have to answer yes or no. If he says yes, what are they? What are those interests, John? How do you protect those interests, John, if you are completely withdrawn? Are you withdrawn from the region, John? Are you withdrawn from Iraq, John? In what period? So all this stuff is like so much Fluffernutter out there. So for me, what I think you have to do is have a strategic notion. And they may have it—they are just smart enough not to enunciate it.”

Biden has been hanging out too much with Bill Kristol.

... Kristol sits here with me and Kristol argues and makes his case without ad hominem aguments.

Biden is actually serious. Kristol is a master of ad hominem attacks.

KRISTOL: They’re playing — they’re leap-frogging each other in the degrees of irresponsibility they’re willing to advocate. And I really think people are being too sort of complacent and forgiving almost of the Democrats. ‘Oh, it’s politics, of course. One of them has a non-binding resolution. The other has a cap.’ It’s all totally irresponsible. It’s just unbelievable. The president is sending over a new commander, he’s sending over troops, and the Democratic Congress, in a pseudo-binding way or non-binding way, is saying, ‘It won’t work. Forget it. You troops, you’re going over there in a pointless mission.

The violence in Iraq is increasing. Biden and Kristol fail to see that a U.S. presence is toxic in Iraq. Americans and Iraqis are not benefitting. Syria and Iran are going to continue to support the insurgency because of Bush's saber-rattling. Not that the insurgents need help. The United States has no choice, but diplomacy with the two border nations of Iraq.

Biden then makes a serious political blunder with his statement about Barack Obama.

Biden: I mean, you got the first, sorta, mainstream African-American.

Horowitz: Yeah.

Biden: Who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy. I mean, that's a storybook, man.

The audio makes Biden's statement come off even more condescending. The way Biden said the word "clean" sounded like he was impressed the Obama bathe.

Biden then went into damage control mode.

"I deeply regret any offense my remark in theNew York Observer might have caused anyone. That was not my intent and I expressed that to Senator Obama."

Obama released a statement.

“I didn’t take Senator Biden’s comments personally, but obviously they were historically inaccurate. African-American presidential candidates like Jesse Jackson, Shirley Chisholm, Carol Moseley Braun and Al Sharpton gave a voice to many important issues through their campaigns, and no one would call them inarticulate.”

I wonder what the Vegas odds are of Biden actually making it to the New Hampshire primary.