Biden: Playing pro 'a different deal,' oughta know

This doesn't make sense. It only makes sense if Biden was touting his own state. He compared it to the national population, not to Delaware. It seems the point was missed.

Let's alos remember that Senator Biden has been making national and international policy for the entire country for 34 years. The Biden crime bill, which became the Clinton crime bill, the Violence Against Women Act and many other Biden causes have been implemented for the country as a whole, not just Deleware.

This is a cheap shot, and seems to wilfully misunderstand what Biden was saying, at least as I listened to that debate.

Biden is already playing in the pros--i.e., the US Senate, where it has thus far proved impossible to pass a national health care plan. I think he was saying that he has insight into the difficulties of doing it, and it is not as easy as doing it in New Mexico, and a lot more expensive.

I've been to hear Richardson here in Iowa a couple of times, and asked him about health care. He talked about an employer-based plan, in an answer immediately after talking about how terrible it was that an entire town was laid off when Maytag closed a plant here. When I asked him how his health care plan helped those people, he had no answer.

Funny. I was thinking the same as Biden as Richardson went on and on about all he'd done as governor. Just before Biden zapped him, I'd just commented to my girlfriend, "why does this guy talking about this? I mean, there can't be more than three people and few coyotes in that state? Big deal."

Biden is the one taking cheap shots. He may be in the U.S. Senate, but he is not "pulling together" 300 million people. He is dealing with 99 other Senators, all with egos almost as large as Biden's.

To castigate Richardson for running on his record (which by the way includes almost as much service at the national level as Biden - legislative staffer, Congressman, Sec. of Energy, and UN Ambassador) as Governor of New Mexico is to say a Governor of a small state isn't qualified to be President (Arkansas???).

Moreover, whether it's 2 million or 20 million, executive authority as a Governor is a microcosm of the executive functions as President. Biden's only executive and administrative qualification since the 70's has been to manage his office staff.

Everyone talks about Richardson's experience, but never anything that he has accomplished.
Why is that? What has he accomplished.

You can have a job, doesn't mean that you are good at it.

Biden - on the other - has a proven track record.

Well, David, Biden did pull together 75 of those giant egos this morning, and that is the point of what I was saying. It is not easy, and it is different from being chief executive of a small state. Richardson was reportedly not well-liked when he was in Congress. Will he be able to convince 67 Senators to follow him on the hard stuff?

The next president will inherit a giant mess in Iraq, in a world where America has lost credibiity and respect. The giant egos are not confined to our own borders. Biden already has relationships with leaders around the world, and would talk to them, unlike our present regime.

Read the transcript, he said there is a big difference between pulling something together (be it health care, or any program) in a state of 2 million as opposed to the entire country. It is a true statement. He also said he thought Richardson was a good governor, and he refused to say he wasn't qualified to be President, when Woodruf asked him the question.

The beauty of the Senate is that the Senators are equal, whether they are from the smallest or largest state in the US. Senators become powerful through tenure, and they must earn the respect of the other Senators. Sen. Biden has accomplished much since his election to the Senate at 29 in 1972. And he is the only one who warned the country and the President of the greatest security risk our country faced was from terrorist, not a nuclear bomb from a hostile country prior to 9/11. He was right then, he's right now!

I have lived in Iowa most of my 56 years. I have had an oportunity to see almost every presidential candidate since 1976. I have questioned them, talked with them and shaken hands with them. In all that time I have never met a more sincere and open man than Joe Biden. I have met and talked with Richardson, and I could support him, but as others have stated what has he realy done. Great resume, but not much in accomplishment. As Biden said at Tom Harkins annual steak fry, after all the others spoke and taked about health care, and education, and social security, etc, he said, "none of use are against any of these ideas, but none of these changes can be made until we are out of this war." if not an exact quote it's pretty close. I happen to believe that to be the case. No candidate has a better plan than Biden to end the war and that is why I support him, and if you take the time to listen to him I think you will also.

For those of you asking about Richardson's accomplishments as Governor here are a few:

1. Over 80,000 new jobs have been created, and unemployment is the lowest it has been in 30 years

2.New Mexico now offers health insurance to every child under five years old

3. raised New Mexico teacher salaries from 46th in the nation to 29th, and increased the number of "highly-qualified" teachers

4. New Mexico on track to exceed Kyoto Treaty standards

5. Declared a state of emergency along the border, making $1.75 million available to local law enforcement agencies to increase patrols and add personnel. As a result, arrests are up, crime is down, and the flow of undocumented immigrants has slowed. The New Mexico border town of Village of Columbus, for example, saw an 80 percent reduction in crime.

Those of us who live in New Mexico, a "Red State", are very pleased with his accomplishments. So pleased in fact that we re-elected him with 70% of the vote. Fully 40% of Republicans voted for him.

In terms of Foreign Policy he was the Ambassador to the UN and has negotiated with many a despotic leader. Biden is probably the only candidate with more Foreign Affairs experience, and then not by much.

Bill Clinton's Arkansas had 2.35 million people in 1990. Was his executive experience worthless?

While I agree with Mike in The Mountain West on Governor Richardson's accomplishments, I simply cannot agree with his description of New Mexico as a red state. New Mexico has a Democratic majority in both chambers of the state legislature, and most of the state elected offices are held by Democrats. Also, Al Gore carried New Mexico in 2000 by a thin margin, and Bush carried it in 2004 by a margin that was nearly as thin. Overall, I'd describe New Mexico as indigo leaning toward violet. A red state it is most certainly not!