Biden Gives His Take on Iraq Policy, Pakistan, Campaigning in Iowa

JIM LEHRER:

And finally tonight, another of our conversations with candidates for the Democratic and Republican presidential nominations who are running in the primaries.

Tonight, the candidate is Senator Joe Biden, Democrat of Delaware. Judy Woodruff spoke with him in Mason City, Iowa, yesterday.

JUDY WOODRUFF:

Senator Biden, thank you very much for talking with us.

SEN. JOE BIDEN (D), Delaware: I'm flattered you'd have me. Thank you.

JUDY WOODRUFF:

We are here in Iowa. You're campaigning all-out. You are saying to the voters of Iowa you are the most qualified person in the race. In the midst of this battle among the Democrats over who's got the most experience, you have a new ad out, a full-page ad in the Des Moines Register saying you are the wisest, most seasoned person to lead the nation. What do you base that on?

SEN. JOE BIDEN:

Actually, it's kind of a tongue-in-cheek ad. It starts off as a picture of all my colleagues I'm running with as saying, "Joe's right." And so it's kind of tongue-in-cheek.

But I'm basing it on my experience. The fact of the matter is that, although Senator Clinton talks about having the most experience — and she has great experience — while she was working for the Children's Defense Fund, I was writing laws protecting children in the United States Senate. She did good work. I was in the Senate.

While Barack Obama talks about change, I was able to convince the Democratic Party to change their position on the criminal justice system, on crime issues, on the Violence Against Women Act. I've been able to convince President Clinton to use force in Bosnia to end the genocide.

But it's really not about change or experience. I think it's about action. And the ad is sort of a little bit of tongue-in-cheek to get people focused.

JUDY WOODRUFF:

Well, you have this impressive resume, as you've just referred to. You've been running for the better part of a year, and yet I've heard you — read that you complain you're still having to introduce yourself to voters. Why is that?

SEN. JOE BIDEN:

Well, close to that. It's not that way anymore in Iowa, and it's not that way nationally. The Rasmussen poll that just came out shows me in a dead heat with Romney and shows me in a dead heat with Giuliani. And so it's starting to sink in.

But I think it's because, in the Democratic side, we have two incredibly talented people, a woman who has great talent, an African-American with great talent, and they've sort of sucked all the oxygen out of the air. You know, they've been very, very much in the news. They've raised tens of millions of dollars.

And so it's not at all surprising that the focus would go to them in the Democratic side, but now the Iowans are starting to focus. They're starting to decide. And I think I've got a clear shot here to do very, very well.