Democratic presidential hopefuls Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., left, and Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., talk on Capitol Hill in Washington on Wednesday, January 31, 2007 during the committee's hearing on Iraq.
Photo: AP
|
 |
Biden for President?
// US Presidential Race Heats Up
Democratic Senator Joseph Biden is the latest to declare his candidacy in the race to become the next president of the United States. With Senator Biden's entry into the race, the list of principle candidates can be considered complete. Though the senator has little chance of winning, his presence in the arena could have a significant effect on the outcome of the elections. Mr. Biden is considered one of the most respected American foreign policy experts, and any criticism from him could considerably weaken his opponents. However, his entry into the race has been marred by scandal: the senator has publicly accused Senator Hillary Clinton, a fellow Democratic candidate, of incompetence, and he has recently come under fire for embarrassing remarks about another Democratic candidate, Senator Barack Obama.
The Anatomy of a Scandal
Joseph Biden's entry into the race for the Democratic presidential nomination was extremely well-coordinated: almost simultaneously, he posted a video address on his internet site, appeared on television three times, and gave an in-depth interview to a New York newspaper. In each of his appearances, the senator, who is one of America's most seasoned and well-respected politicians, lashed out at his competitors with harsh and even insulting comments.
Having already declared that he would make a better president that Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama, the two Democratic favorites, Senator Biden further asserted that it will be great ideas, not money, that will be his most effective tools in the campaign. Mr. Biden, who is the veteran chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, made numerous cutting remarks about the situation in Iraq and the proposed solutions to the problem that have been advanced by his opponents.
In response to his Senate colleague John Edwards, who has called for American troops to be immediately withdrawn from Iraq, Mr. Biden said, "I don't think John Edwards knows what the heck he's talking about." Concerning Hillary Clinton, who has suggested decreasing the number of US soldiers in Iraq to a minimum via a gradual withdrawal, the candidate called her idea "catastrophic." In 2002 Senator Biden, like Hillary Clinton, voted for the war in Iraq, but he quickly became one of its chief critics.
Illinois Senator Barack Obama, the youngest participant in the race, is also not immune to Mr. Biden's sharp tongue. Exercising his reputation as an acknowledged expert in the field, Senator Biden maintained that Mr. Obama, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, knows nothing about foreign policy and has no idea of how to get out of the situation in Iraq. Then, however, Mr. Biden made an ill-judged attempt to praise his young colleague. "I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy,” he said. “I mean, that’s a storybook, man.” The remark immediately sent the American media into a frenzy, particularly over the word "clean": did Mr. Biden's comment have intentionally racist overtones? The senator was obliged to make a special appearance on yet another television talk show to explain that his word choice was intended to mean "fresh" or "new" and that he had not meant to insult his colleague.
It turned out, however, that Barack Obama himself had a slightly different take on things. He took offense not at the word "clean" but at the expression "first mainstream," reminding Mr. Biden that other prominent African-American figures have launched bids for the presidency, including Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, Shirley Chisholm, and Carol Mosley-Brown. "They brought up such important issues during their campaigns that it is not likely they could be called non-mainstream," said Senator Obama indignantly.
Mr. Obama's response is easily understood in the context of his difficult relationship with the African-American community's traditional leaders, Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, who are known to prefer his rival, Hillary Clinton. Thus, it was imperative that the senator go on record with some kind words for his older colleagues.
For its part, the Democratic mainstream has reacted extremely negatively to Mr. Biden's ungenerous commentary on his fellow Democratic candidates. "He is just jealous of the fame enjoyed by Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. He will never be able to raise more than $20 million for his campaign, while they have the ability to raise $100 million," railed the pro-Democratic press. Several newspapers even joked that Mr. Biden, after so thoroughly disgracing himself during the roll-out of his campaign, should withdraw his candidacy immediately and set a new record for the shortest presidential campaign. Incidentally, Joe Biden's previous campaign really was short: in 1988, he launched an ill-fated bid for the presidency that quickly ended when he withdrew after one of his speeches was discovered to be plagiarized from British Labour Party leader Neil Kinnock.
The Bets are Down
Now that Joseph Biden is in the race, it looks like all of the Democratic and Republican heavyweights have officially entered the ring. According to the majority of opinion polls, the battle for the Democratic nomination will basically be between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, leaving the other candidates with little to do but time their withdrawals for maximum effect. The most recent polls show Hillary Clinton comfortably in the lead with 30 to 40% of potential votes; Barack Obama is in second place with 20%. Former vice-presidential candidate John Edwards, who ran on the Democratic ticket with John Kerry in 2004, receives between 10 and 15%, with several other hopefuls, including Joseph Biden, trailing somewhere behind.
The position of the top two candidates in the Republican camp is much the same: former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani leads the pack with 28 to 34% of the vote by a margin that is significant, although not as large as Senator Clinton's, while Senator John McCain is breathing down his neck with 20 to 29%. However, Mr. Giuliani and Senator McCain both have a reputation of being moderate, even – gasp! – liberal Republicans, and they will face a serious challenge from former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, the leading representative of the party's ultraconservative wing, who currently garners support from around 10% of Republican voters.
The first primaries will not be held until January 2008, but the candidates are already fanning out across the country to meet with the voters. An exception is Hillary Clinton, who cancelled a scheduled trip to New Hampshire to stay with her husband after his stepfather, Richard Kelly, his mother's fourth husband, who passed away at the age of 92. Mrs. Clinton's campaign plans are reportedly on hold until after the funeral.
According to a public opinion poll conducted by the Quinnipiac University Institute of Sociology in the key state of Ohio, which handed George Bush the White House in 2004, Hillary Clinton will easily outperform her potential Republican challengers among the state's electorate. In the results of the poll, Senator Clinton beats John McCain 46% to his 42%, Rudy Giuliani 46% to 43%, and Mitt Romney 52% to 31%. Barack Obama, for comparison's sake, fails to make it past any of the Republicans in the Ohio poll.
Hillary Clinton's excellent performance will hearten her campaign team, since the most frequent charge levied against the senator from New York is that she cannot beat out the Republicans in crucial swing states. The former first lady's chances are looking good.
Petr Yozh
All the Article in Russian as of Feb. 02, 2007
|
|
|
