Somebody with 22 years' political experience. Somebody who's not interested in being a celebrity politician: just a genuine leader. Somebody with relatively little baggage. A non-adulterous man whose personal life is, by comparison to the others in either party, the Lake of Tranquility.

Then again, how long has it been since America elected a non-neurotic President? Truman? Eisenhower? Kennedy? Carter?

Biden's an experienced grownup.

If history holds, that's the last thing America wants in its President.

... but I'm not sure he could be elected President, and I'm not sure the reasons are exclusively the unfortunate ones of our celebrity culture invading our political culture. I feel sure, if it were one on one, he would beat Paris Hilton for President. Against the celebrity polticians (Clinton, Obama), he would have to be considered to have some deficiencies. He is more than a little undisciplined, and his missteps with attribution, both in law school and on the stump, don't speak as well of his character as one would wish. He is a C student, and Clinton and Obama collected their A's. To be sure, there has been the claim that C students make better leaders, e.g., FDR. I don't know for sure I believe that. All that said, he has been around long enough to know a lot and he seems to have a genuine interest in saying what he knows for the benefit of the country. He also seems to be a generous-hearted person, but it's hard to really know candidates' character. I like Biden...

This long trek to the primaries is exposing a great many weaknesses in the anointed candidates and in their path to power. After the debacle of the stealth amnesty bill which proved our candidates don't give a shit about what their constituents want, many of us are taking pause. Progressives started out elated over a resumption of power...until we discovered that instead of focusing on wrapping up Iraq, leadership had climbed in bed with the devil himself spending precious months and resources crooning Spanish tunes on Univision and doing the bidding of Business. While we're furiously emailing reminders about Iraq, Hillary's on the stump praising Bush's bipartisan talents to special interest groups. Talk about squandering good will.

Perhaps Biden deserves another look. Perhaps he would be so grateful for his voters that he'd actually listen to them. Perhaps his experience is indeed important and we would be foolish to ignore someone who has been committed so long to government and democracy. Perhaps Biden is the only straight shooter to the point of being unreservedly frank at times. Perhaps Biden, so well known and well liked around the globe, is the kind of president we need to restore the world's faith in our leadership.

Biden's confidence comes from experience; it's not manufactured, it's not a promise yet fulfilled, it's not bolstered by a parent or a spouse relied upon as a coach. He knows everybody and he can't pretend to be more or different than he is, because everybody knows him. He's a statesman, a delegator, a guy who's often suffered such real problems as being upside down on his house payments.

Biden deserves another look.

...til you voted to get more brave American soldiers killed for Bush and Cheney's pissing contest. Don't like you at all now.

Clinton down.

Obama down.

Biden down.

Who's next?

I remember when Biden chickened out on opposing the nomination of Clarence Thomas. This can be seen as an overstatement, but when Thomas said "high tech lynching" Biden went weak in the knees. Thomas was one of the supremes who gave Bush the election in 2000 that led to the war, the Patriot Act, torture, domestic spying and on and on. I don't trust Biden to have a backbone now! The Democrats as a party are spineless. When I vote Democratic I'm not voting for a Democrat I'm voting against a Republican.

Joe was one of the straight shooters who gave us the bankruptcy bill in 2005. A boon to the credit card companies that dominate the economy of his home state of Delaware. A kick in the balls to millions of Americans.

In Biden's televised appearances as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, he has come across as pompous, bloviating, and unable to cut to the chase or get to the point. Are these the qualitities of a chief executive?

Doesn't that imply that we can't have an embassy? I guess that means to Joe Biden that we won't have any formal diplomatic relations with Iraq at all. Well.....ok then. Your ball, it's over here, take it, go home.

Joe Biden is a vain, preening man, a charter member of the best Congress money can buy...a pawn of the credit card companies...a serial plagiarist...in six Senate terms what has he accomplished? A true empty helmet, an idea of Biden's would die of loneliness. Look elsewhere.

As of this posting,there are 8 previous letters on the Biden article. Most seem to be of the form: "I disagree with him on one issue, so Biden is dead to me."

Every president except Lincoln got elected because of one set of issues but spent his term struggling with new issues unseen by anyone during the campaign. Presidents are always on a steep learning curve for at least 4 years. The worst presidents have always been sure of their policies and methods, the best only of their goals and their compassion--and communicated those goals effectively and honestly to all.

Am I for Biden? No, but I am for the party selecting a grownup.

Biden carries alot of baggage that makes it hard for me to embrace him or get excited about his campaign, but I'd much prefer him over the vapid, empty, self serving Hillary Clinton or Barak Obama. At least Joe Biden as a candidate has taken clear stands on the issues. Unlike the Annointed Two whoare masters of empty double-talk. I suggest Sen. Clinton take her finger out of the wind for a moment and tell us what she really stands for, and Sen. Obama might consider actually saying something of substance before I take a serious look at them.

Biden is doomed to be an also ran which is unfortunate. He is one of the few actually pushing the debate. The media has crowned Clinton and Obama as the only ones worthy of our attention, and it looks like were stuck with two empty vessels.