Lots of new Biden supporters around here-your opinions

[PatSeg]

I know people are probably getting tired of hearing the initial few spouting off our opinions about Joe Biden and why we chose to support him against all odds.

I'd like to turn the floor over to those who have just discovered Joe Biden. Whether you have decided to support him or whether you are now just considering him, please tell us why. A fresh perspective is always welcome.

Thanks!

[TheWraith]

1. I love that we have an embarassment of riches.

We have a whole bunch of great candidates. And I think Biden would make an excellent president. I may not vote for him this time around, but he rocks either way.

"A noun, a verb, and 9/11."

[PatSeg]

9. That may be the sound bite of the year!

And it certainly rings true.

[TheWraith]

25. It goes into my file right next to Al Sharpton's remark in 2004

In the first debate after Iowa, and Dean had just made a sort of embarassed joke about his "scream" clip. Sharpton quipped "If I spent as much money as you did and only got 16% of the vote, I'd STILL be screaming."

[PatSeg]

29. I didn't hear that one!

Al Sharpton can really nail it sometimes.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. I think a lot of people are getting tired of the nonstop media spotlight

on, and the waffling bloviations of, Clinton and Obama, and are looking for an alternative.

[PatSeg]

11. I think you are right

The front runners are overexposed and what sounded 'fresh and new' a month or two ago, starts to get really stale.

I've been listening to Joe Biden for years now and he NEVER sounds stale!

[Mojorabbit]

3. I took another lookk at him

during the last debate when he brought up Pakistan. He knows his foreign policy.

[PatSeg]

12. Given today's news about Pakistan,

it is scary how on the money he was and how clueless so many people are.

[frogcycle]

4. here's the deal

This country is desperately in need of adult supervision. Joe Biden is the guy.

Biden has experience, skill, knowledge, and clearly wants passionately to make things right for the country, both foreign and domestically. He clearly loves the country and its people - all of them - regardless of race, creed, or sexual orientation. He is the real deal. To paraphrase criminal justice terminology, he has means and motive - a better combination thereof than any of the others - and should have be given the opportunity. If you wanted to bet on which one would just roll up his sleeves and get to work making things right - effectively - Biden's where the smart money would go. I would hope he'd put Edwards in position to "go after" the fat cats and fix healthcare, labor laws, trade, employment... and I think he would. The two of them would be a dream team.

The two glamour candidates - I have no idea what they'd do, but I suspect it would involve a lot of posturing and bickering and not accomplish much. I have nothing to persuade me that Richardson, Dodd or Kucinich, despite good positions on many issues by all, and the definite shows of moxie recently by Dodd and Kucinich, would actually be effective it righting the ship of state.

[PatSeg]

13. Adult supervision?

Yeah, its time for us to grow up. Very well said. Thanks.

[ginchinchili]

16. Good post. An original angle, and on the money.

[ginchinchili]

5. As you know tsegat01 I'm not a new supporter, however...

a very close Republican friend of mine actually spoke positively of Biden today. For him to say anything positive about any Democrat is a big deal. And he isn't thrilled about any of the Republican candidates. I'm thinking positive that I can win him over to Biden. It's a long shot, but I'm thinking positive. About 6 weeks ago, just before Thompson officially declared his candidacy, he said he was interested in Roberts. After thinking about it for a moment I pointed out to him that his new candidate is named Thompson, not Roberts. His interest in "Roberts" has since waned.

[PatSeg]

6. Oh, how funny!

Roberts, Thompson - he's really on top of his politics, isn't he?

[gateley]

8. Hi tesgat! Good to see you!

:hi:

[PatSeg]

15. As they say, it is good to be seen

Saw my life flash before me in a few minutes.

[gateley]

7. What a great story about Roberts! That's funny! nt

[Clintonista2]

10. At first, Biden seemed kind of boring

But his feud with Rudy truly showed me what he's worth.

[PatSeg]

14. I've been listening to him for over three years

and I always end up actually learning something. The clincher was his speech to the IAFF. Everyone I've shown it to was blown away (one was a republican, but not anymore).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dU7yhHWuTC4

Not boring, I can assure you.

[smoogatz]

17. Biden strikes me as a rational pragmatist, very smart, good on TV

(he hasn't been a bobblehead all these years for nothing), who knows Washington like the back of his hand. I think he has little chance of winning the primaries, alas, but would kick some serious Rudy ass in the general. I think he and Dodd are currently the most focused, articulate and likeable candidates in the race, and I'd be happy to support either/both of them. I agree that Biden seems like a guy who would work effectively and immediately to start cleaning up Bush's Augean mess, and that Hillary and Obama would be more likely to focus on atmospherics in the early going, which would suck. If Gore doesn't run (and I don't think he will, now), I'm a Biden/Dodd guy.

[Eurobabe]

18. From what I have seen of Biden, he's smart, he's capable

he's up front, maybe sometimes too honest -- but at least there is no waffling on his part. He says what he means and means what he says. Refreshing for someone who has been in DC forever. :hi:

[PatSeg]

31. It is refreshing and unusual

for someone who has been in the Senate 34 years to not sound redundant.

[Eurobabe]

42. Great pix by the way...

I was hoping to meet Joe before the primaries, but I don't think I will make it up to NH this year, it's coming fast and furious!

[PatSeg]

49. Thanks

I've tried several different pics, but this one is my favorite.

I'd love to see Joe in person, but I'm in CA so don't see any opportunities in the near future.

[wyldwolf]

19. there are two kinds of Biden supporters on DU

There are those who support his presidential primary run. Then there are those who are generally Joe Biden fans. You can be both, of course. I'm one of the latter although I would vote for him enthusiastically in a general election.

[PatSeg]

32. I began as a fan

then became a supporter when I realized he was the person I wanted to see in the White House.

[PaDem]

20. I'd been looking at him for a while.........

I appreciate what I perceive to be his honesty. What put me over the top was his response to that loon with the machine gun in whatever debate that took place in. Watching his response, and perhaps just as importantly the non-verbal response of Obama and Clinton, did it for me. I'm sick of politics as usual.

[PatSeg]

33. That was a priceless moment

And he probably was saying what a lot of people were thinking.

[rndmprsn]

21. i like biden...

don't agree with all of his stances, but then again who the hell do i agree with 100%?

he always seems really affable, a guys guy so to speak...and he is one smart puppy too.

he needs to start slamming rudy everyday...i think that is biden's best ticket to the nom.

[PatSeg]

34. If that gets old, there's always Thompson

They make it so easy every time they open their mouths.

[Inuca]

36. Nope, Giuliani is MUCH better

Biden vs. Thompson would be KO in round 1, not much fun. Giuliani, like him or not, has an agile brain and a fighting spirit, he does kick back, and that's when the fun really is :-). I tried to watch Thompson on MTP this morning, after noticing how slow witted he seems to be, and how utterly uninteresting his answers, I literally drifted back into sleep and woke up just in time to see Biden on CBS.

[PatSeg]

41. I see your point - Zombies don't make good debate

opponents!

[mmonk]

22. Biden is deserving in the interest.

A good while back, I tried to get a forum for him and generated little interest. And now there is a forum and a good amount of interest. I think this is a testament to how well he has come across in the debates. I would like to see increased interest in Dodd as well. I'm hoping in the end, the cream rises to the top so to speak in regards to candidates I think show the deeper substance.

[PatSeg]

35. That's a good analogy

"The cream rises to the top".

I think the increase in interest also reflects the public's increased awareness of the issues. We're moving past the veneers of the candidates and getting down to actual substance.

[faithfulcitizen]

23. Honestly, I have been very disenfranchised by the choices...

especially with the media's push to Clinton and Obama. Both of whom I like, but don't consider prez material (yet). But now, it's time for me to get over it and make a decision. For me, experience matters A LOT and I choose Biden.

[pacalo]

24. I've always admired him. He's intelligent, articulate, & vastly experienced.

He can command a room & get its attention. If he were to be the nominee, the 'thug candidate will have to wear an earpiece, ala the boy king, during the one-on-one debates just to be able to keep up.

[Jade Fox]

26. I was a Gore hold out.....

and I like Kucinich. I don't want Clinton for a number of reasons, and I don't think Obama has the experience. Also, I believe that out country is still racist and sexist enough that both would have a tough time getting elected. My second choice after Gore was Edwards. But all three of the top contenders (Edwards, Clinton, Obama) are starting to look like squabbling children, no doubt in part to over-exposure.

The candidates who have taken strong stands against Bushco are Biden, Dodd, and Richardson. I'm confused as to why those three are not top contenders. They have experience and gonads. Isn't that what we want? None of them are perfect, but neither are the top three.

[PatSeg]

37. Over exposure is a downside to a LONG primary season

but the long primary benefits the lower tiered candidates. Just as the front-runners start to run out of steam, the dark horse(s) can pull forward.

[dmosh42]

27. Because of his 'confederacy plan' for Iraq, I supported him....

early on, and even donated to his campaign. But Joe hasn't rolled out his real attack plan to win the nomination. It's nice he doesn't want to attack his fellow Dems, but that's what is needed in this campaign. I'm suppoerting Edwards, but Kucinich is really the only one that has spoken the words that the other Democratic candidates avoid. ANd that means opposing the corporations, and fighting for the working people. I like Dodd also, but he is also holding back when he needs to say what needs to be said.

[conservdem]

28. Where is he on immigration?

He seemed to join the crowd, not Dodd, when it came to the drivers license for illegal aliens question. Am I wrong on this?

[ginchinchili]

30. Yes, he's in agreement with Dodd.

He made that clear right after the debate during an interview with Chris Matthews. He doesn't believe that illegal immigrants should be given drivers licenses. This won't please all Democrats, but that's his stand and he'll stick to it.

[conservdem]

38. Great. I think I am on board with Biden.

[iverglas]

44. if that's the case, I completely disagree with Biden

-- both Biden's opinion and mine being irrelevant, since the issue is a state issue in the US, and Biden is not a state-level politician and I don't live in the US ...

Again, I'm reminded of his vote against funding abortions for low-income women.

In that instance, he is standing on some sort of principle that derives from classical liberal thought, and not considering real life. Low-income women may have a formal right to abortion, but it is empty and meaningless if they have no way of exercising it, and that inability can have devastating effects on real people that are sometimes more deserving of consideration than some fine principle on the other side. There are some situations in which formal rights are all a society needs to guarantee; there are others in which someone who gives a damn has to recognize that positive action is needed to ensure that the rights can be exercised. Would Biden also oppose funding public defenders so that individuals charged with crimes are able to actually exercise their right to counsel?

In this case, he must be in classical Puritan mode: so-and-so just doesn't deserve whatever it might be, because s/he hasn't earned it. I would expect him to put his fine brain to work on the question of what is really in the public interest in this situation.

Unfortunately, google isn't finding me any statement by him on the issue ...

[ginchinchili]

45. As Dodd points out, driving has always been considered a privilege...

in this country, not a right. If are going to come here illegally, why should they be rewarded with a privilege? In addition, most Americans oppose it and this is a democracy.

[iverglas]

46. yeah, like I was saying

Never mind what might be in the public interest -- like being equipped with a way of enforcing the requirement that drivers carry insurance, and of protecting the public from uninsured drivers.

No, no; somebody might get something they don't deserve. And we can't have that. Especially when it's people who have not much of anything ... why spend time and energy thinking or talking about the people who really have a whole lot of stuff they don't deserve -- like massive tax cuts -- when there's a much easier and less powerful target?

Right, privilege, crap. Rights and privileges have precisely fuck all to do with the issue, and anyone who starts throwing them around is just using the discourse of they aren't deserving.

A driver's licence is a means of enhancing public safety, a means of ensuring that people driving on the public roads have the skills and knowledge to do so safely. It isn't "a privilege", it is evidence of having demonstrated those skills and that knowledge.

Issuance is ordinarily restricted to people with legal residence in the jurisdiction. That doesn't make a licence a "privilege". It is a licence to do something that the state permits only qualified people to do, to which qualified people in fact have a right. Do you seriously think that if you are a legal resident of a jurisdiction, and pass the skill/knowledge tests, and do not have a record of driving offences, you may be denied a driver's licence? That your driver's licence could be revoked because a bureaucrat didn't like the colour of your hair?

A jurisdiction can establish the qualifications for licensing as it wishes (as long as it doesn't discriminate on unacceptable grounds, and a residence requirement would of course not be an unacceptable ground). It establishes those qualifications in the public interest.

How it would not be in the public interest to have an additional tool for ensuring that everyone driving on the roads be licensed to do so -- when it is apparently impossible to prevent unlicensed drivers from driving -- I don't know.

Obviously requiring a licence, and making it possible to get a licence, would not completely solve the problem of unlicensed/uninsured drivers. But it would give the state a tool to use to enhance compliance.

It just wouldn't be as satisfying for some people as saying they don't deserve it.



And by the way ... most USAmericans supported the invasion of Iraq, and it was a democracy ...

[PatSeg]

51. I am probably too close to the realities on the ground to

form an unbiased opinion. I've seen the worst and best, up close and personal and I have very mixed feelings about the issue.

There are no easy answers and I can understand both sides of the debate.

[youthere]

56. kicking

[conservdem]

48. I looked for a link and/or video of it with no luck.

Do you have a link?


On edit, I found a link.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x66219

[JNelson6563]

39. I like Biden, Dodd too

I could happily support either one as our candidate. These two don't belong in the "2nd tier".

:toast:

Julie

[Inuca]

43. Absolutely

It's ridiculous actually, and I am not sure what it means about the country in general, or the media (I could venture some guesses there), or polls or whatever. I remember seeing a poll last week or so where either Biden or Dodd or both, I do not remember were polling behind Colbert (that was before Colbert "dropped out"). Pathetic and scary.

[Think82]

40. KICK! Welcome newbies. Help Joe and make a small donation if you can

every little bit helps. $ is the only thing he needs.

[frogcycle]

47. I'm pleased to see all these responses, and hardly a

whisper of vitriol. If i didn't know better, I'd think DU had returned to a level of reasonable discourse! But I poked around a bit before returning to this thread.

Anyway, I have been a fan of Biden since seeing him in the C. Thomas confirmation hearings. I saw tape of him at a town meeting sponsored by a GLBT group in Iowa a few months ago, and felt like I really got to know Biden the person, not just the Senator. And I really liked that person. Then I heard a couple of his speeches - the one to the firefighters, and the one supporting his federal system for Iraq - and just was blown away. He gets better, and better, and better.

I heard the other day that something like 80% of Iowans are still undecided. That makes all the polling pointless. How a small sample of the 20% who are willing to name a favorite at this stage feel is just not predictive. I don't care WHAT the statisticians say, whatever mechanism drives some to commit and many not to could easily be skewing the results. Like, maybe, only those who think it is cool to say they support the female, or the African American are responding at all - and they are lying through their teeth. Or some other scenario. Whatever - I have a good feeling that despite the ridiculous primary shuffle, when people go to actual cast a vote, there will be a strong - very strong - urge to go with the experience, maturity, and honesty of a Joe Biden vs. just about anyone else. Dodd may be as good; I have liked what little I've seen of him - but I have nothing to persuade me to want him vs. Biden, and I like Biden as Chief Executive better than all the rest. I like the hell out of Edwards, and want him to get busy fixing things; I have contributed to his campaign several times. But now I am contributing to Joe.

[democrat2thecore]

50. I had narrowed my choice for three months

I had narrowed my choice to Edwards, Obama and Biden. I finally settled on Biden last week. The most electable and, in my opinion, the most qualified of the pack to be President of the United States.

[PatSeg]

52. I've heard a number of people say

they think Biden is the best choice, but he is so low in the polls and doesn't have the money, therefore he won't get the nomination.

If more and more people believe he is the most qualified, then he will go UP in the polls and will attract more money.

[youthere]

53. Kicking

[Bonobo]

54. Strong. Qualified as hell. He gets it. And he will DESTROY the other side.

I like him. He will gnaw on the bones of his enemies.

[murbley40]

55. K&R