The Best Debate Moment Belongs to Joe Biden

[PatSeg]

From Mother Jones:

<The best answer in last night's Democratic presidential debate came not from the leading contenders but from Senator Joe Biden.

In his usual manner, moderator Tim Russert tried to put the candidates into a corner with one of his yes-or-no questions that do not allow for nuance or complexity:

MR. RUSSERT: Senator Biden, would you pledge to the American people that Iran would not build a nuclear bomb on your watch?

Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and John Edwards each wiggled his or her way out of the question, essentially pledging to do what they could to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Then Russert turned to Biden, and Biden threw the question back in Russert's face.

SEN. BIDEN: I would pledge to keep us safe. If you told me, Tim -- and this is not -- this is complicated stuff. We talk about this in isolation. The fact of the matter is the Iranians may get 2.6 kilograms of highly enriched uranium; the Pakistanis have hundreds, thousands of kilograms of highly enriched uranium.

If by attacking Iran to stop them from getting 2.6 kilograms of highly enriched uranium, the government in Pakistan falls, who has missiles already deployed, with nuclear weapons on them, that can already reach Israel, already reach India, then that's a bad bargain.

Presidents make wise decisions informed not by a vacuum in which they operate, by the situation they find themselves in the world. I will do all in my power to stop Iran from getting nuclear weapons, but I will never take my eye off the ball.

What is the greatest threat to the United States of America: 2.6 kilograms of highly enriched uranium in Tehran or an out of control Pakistan? It's not close.>

snip

<Political handicappers are assessing the debate by how effectively Obama and Edwards attacked Clinton and how effectively she deflected the blows. (Short version: Edwards slammed Clinton better than Obama did; Clinton defended herself well.) But the top moment of the night belonged to Biden, and it was a moment of pure substance.>

http://www.motherjones.com/mojoblog/archives/2007/10/6000_the_best_debate.html

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

1. it was a beautiful answer

[PatSeg]

3. One that was overlooked because of his artful

Rudy zinger.

[Richardo]

2. The only pledge I'd make to Tim Russert would be to kick him in the nuts after the debate.

What a disgrace.

Excellent answer by Joe. :patriot:

[AlinPA]

11. I can't stand to look at or listen to that slob Russert. He is a GOP mouthpiece.

[Eurobabe]

22. I gotta agree with you n/t

[ellacott]

4. Pure Substance

I like the way they said that. I bet the other candidates were wishing that they had said that. What is so good about Biden is that this type of discussion is not coming from a prepared text and he's not concerned about style points.

[Cha]

6. But, did they have a

clue? When the corporatemediawhores and bushits are pushing "IRAN IRAN IRAN IRAN", 24/7/365?

[lyonn]

21. Each candidate should have known that Iran would be an important

issue. They should have been better prepared. Apparently Biden was.

Edit: Or, the others are not seeing the total picture, or not willing to venture there. The Dems have got to be more aggresive about how to deal with the ME mess.

[Cha]

25. I know..I should have

had the little sarcasm thing. Biden is impressing me with this..sounds like they could learn from him if they wanted to.

[skipos]

5. I don't know if Biden is my pick, but the answer is good

1. It is easy to understand
2. and it didn't require being dumbed down to bumper sticker speak (freedom isn't free, you hate america, etc)

[LSparkle]

7. But Biden's also good at the bumper sticker stuff too ...

Like the Rudy gibe. People call him a windbag but whenever C-Span is airing one of his speeches, I don't find myself turning it off ... very compelling orator.

[CTyankee]

17. I missed the debate. What was his jab at Rudy? n/t

[ljm2002]

18. Paraphrased...

"Rudy is the single most unqualified person to run for President since George Bush. He only says one thing, any sentence out of his mouth is 'noun, verb, 9/11' -- that's all he has."

That 'noun, verb, 9/11' thing was the zinger everyone's talking about. And it's soooo true!

(on edit) Here's a link to a 27-second clip in the Videos forum:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x66085

[CTyankee]

24. Thanks! That's great! It's the way to handle Rudy, IMO.

He's a goof ball and a dilettante who made lotsa money off of that great tragedy. He should be called on that time after time after time. Good for Biden. He got it right on the nose!

[ellacott]

9. Oceans no longer protect us

Sorry,:hide:

[KittyWampus]

8. He raises the bar for all the other candidates who are left saying "I agree with Joe"

[ellacott]

10. So true n/t

[gateley]

12. I'm pleased there is acknowledgment of his foreign policy statements.

It's his experience and understanding of the the foreign arena that we are in desperate need of now. I've said it several times already, but what he can bring to the country during this potentially dangerous time is crucial.

[demnan]

13. I agree with you

Although Kucinich's call for impeachment wasn't bad either.

[justinrr1]

14. Joe is our best candidate

Hands Down!

[Think82]

15. He wins every debate. He's the best candidate. It's about time the dems got on with it and nominated

him already! BIDEN 08

make a contribution at joebiden.com

[jillan]

16. hey - they stole that from me!

He blew me away when he said that last nite.

He also blew me away when they were trying to get him to attack Clinton, and instead he said -
I'm not running against Hillary, I am running to be the next leader of the free world.

I have never been so sure about a candidate as I am about Biden.:loveya:

[mrigirl]

19. I sense a shift in momentum here on DU w/ Biden

I see more and more people taking a first and second look at Biden and what he stands for. I must say that I am quite pleased w/ the amount of DU'ers that are now seriously considering Biden as our nominee. I have never felt so sure in my life about Biden and his ability to turn this country around and point us in the right direction. I just hope that everyone else will come to that same conclusion also.

[lazyriver]

20. Excellent reply to that gasbag Russert.

Biden has impressed me more and more lately.

[bigwillq]

23. Biden proved he is probably the most experienced

not only on foreign policy but the most experienced in general. I have been very impressed with him but I must admit I need to do some more reading up on him and his stances on all the issues. But he has been impressive.

[PatSeg]

26. His book, Promises to Keep

is a good place to start. It gives you a more personal look at the man and it is a fascinating look at politics the past 30 years.

[illinoisprogressive]

27. Agreed. Biggest line was 'a noun, a verb and 9-11' as well.