It's a full year away before we know who our candidate will be in the November general election, but that hasn't stopped our presidential hopefuls from throwing their names in a hat. While the field might be considered large at the moment, it will only get bigger. So, who is involved in probably the most open race in the last 50 years? The next few posts will highlight the key players in the upcoming election.
Senator Joseph Biden: The senior Senator from Delaware, Senator Biden is currently serving his sixth term in office. In the 110th Congress, Senator Biden serves as the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, a committee that he has had a long presence on. He also chairs the Senate Sub-Committee on Crime and Drugs, while being an active member of the Sub-Committees on Technology Terrorism and Homeland Security, Immigration, Human Rights and Anti-Trust Competition Policy and Consumer Rights. Senator Biden is probably most famous for his work during his time as the Chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary, where he chaired two Supreme Court nominations, those of Robert Bork and Clarence Thomas.
Controversy has plagued Senator Biden over his numerous attempts at the Presidency. During his 1988 campaign, reports were leaked that Senator Biden had plagiarized a speech made by an English Parliament member, and while Senator Biden had correctly cited that person on most occasions, the one time he did not was caught on video. This was a blow that Senator Biden could not recover from, and he eventual gave up and the nomination went to Michael Dukakis. In 2004, he floundered and could not make a serious run against Senator Kerry, and while some had thoughts of a Kerry-Biden ticket, Biden withdrew his name from all considerations. The Senator has also made several gaffes that has hurt his image, including an off the cuff comment towards the Indian-American community. Through this all, Biden has persevered, and will be a force in the 2008 election.
His politics have been defined as a centrist Democrat. However, his actions push him more to the left. He is probably the most outspoken leader in the opposition of the President's current policies in Iraq. As Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, he has actively tried to find solutions to the complicated problem of what to do in a foreign country. He is for a decrease in oil consumption, along with an increase of funding for research and development of energy and climate changing products. Senator Biden is for assisting the current Health Care System, not creating a new one. He believes that the states have come up with creative and innovative systems that are working, and with the national government's assistance, those can help more so than the federal government. However, he does point out that our health care system needs to be a top priority, as with the ever increasing global job market, companies spend too much on a bad health care system, which will cause them to lose stature on a global scale.
On the civil rights side, Senator Biden's work in the 90's put 100,000 more uniformed cops on the streets, which helped if not caused the crime rate to go drastically down. His Violence Against Women Act was a groundbreaking legislation which established national hot-lines, clinics, and assistance to women who had some criminal act forced upon them. He is not the strongest supporter of Abortion, has he voted with the ban on partial birth abortions, but he is strong for his support of Roe vs. Wade. Senator Biden supported legislation that gave 100 million dollars for education and assistance on teen pregnancy, including contraceptive availability and use. He is for intervention in Darfur to assist in the grievous acts of genocide that are occurring there. He is for embryonic stem cell research, and is an active supporter for increasing the research into that field.
That is a brief overview of Senator Biden. For further information, Senator Biden's official campaign website is www.joebiden.com.
Currently, Senator Biden is in Iowa campaigning throughout. Today he is scheduled to deliver the Keynote Address at the Black Hawk Democratic Party event in Cedar Falls, Iowa. The event starts at 6:00 P.M and is located at Olsen's Boat House off of Center Street.
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