Biden Launches his Bid on the Daily Show

Senator Joe Biden launched his bid for the Democratic Presidential nomination on Wednesday. Unfortunately, it was accompanied by the most awful series of gaffes about his Democratic opponents, in particular a few very badly chosen words that were meant to compliment Barack Obama. You can see more below in what has now become the de rigeur 'Daily Show' interview that accompanies any figure in the Democratic Party when they have something to say.

I have to say I like Joe Biden, and think he could well make a good president. He also has a lot of the superficial qualities needed to win the nomination and election - he is telegenic, handsome, good hair, a sense of humour, interviews well, has three decades of experience in the Senate (he was elected to it aged 29!), strong foreign policy credentials. I'd vote for him over John Edwards any day of the week.

On the down side, 'Joe' is from Delaware, a state whose main handicap is its size and where 100,000 votes gets you elected. He also has an occasional scatter-gun approach to things, quite often particularly his mouth, which will undoubtedly land him into more hot water between now and the convention in '08.

I am unsure about Biden's plan for Iraq, which involves turning Iraq into a loose confederation, combined with more regional diplomacy. If the political will in Iraq existed for such an arrangement I could be persuaded of its merits, but at the moment I am just concerned that confederation is the last stop on the way to partition and the break-up of Iraq, and the regional disaster that would entail. But to his credit, long before the Bush administration, or indeed most of those within his own party, had a plan of action for Iraq, Biden had the cojones to get out there with Leslie Gelb and put something forward.

But as I said. I like Joe Biden, and while I don't think he has much of a chance of getting the nomination, or even successsfully positioning himself as the 'Neither Hillary nor Barack' candidate (for which there is room for only one - currently Edwards), he will bring something to the campaign that is to be welcomed.