Joe Biden for President: He Can Unite America and the World

In this election cycle there is a chance to make history. The first woman president, the first African American president; the chance to solve poverty, the chance to end a war. What it all comes down to is, 'What's the highest priority?'

If the answer is that ending the war in Iraq with a victory, and bringing the troops home in a way that secures the region, while at the same time restores America's image in the world, is the most important thing that the next president must do, then the only man or woman qualified for the job is undoubtedly, unquestionably, and undeniably Joe Biden.

Biden who?

Joseph R. Biden, Jr. is the senior senator from Delaware. Elected to office at the age of 29, he is one of the youngest senators ever elected. Over his career, he faced many challenges both political and personal, and he as overcome them all.

When Biden was elected to the US Senate, he faced a popular incumbent republican. Everyone, including Joe Biden, was surprised when he won at the polls.

Immediately following the election, his Senate career was nearly cut short when a tractor-trailer hit a car carrying his two sons, wife and daughter. His wife and daughter were killed, and his boys seriously injured.

After the tragedy, Biden came together with his sister, Valerie Biden Owens, to help take care of his children while he was at work. Then and to this day, the Delaware senator takes the Amtrak home to be with his family each night.

As Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, in 1987 Biden committed his life and energy to successfully defeating Robert Bork's nomination to the Supreme Court.

Then, in 1988, Joe was diagnosed with a series of near-fatal brain aneurysms; he was given only a thirty-percent chance to live, and received the Last Rites.

Today, as Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Joe Biden is the most trusted authority on international affairs on both sides of the isle.

I mention all of this to prove a point, that Biden can overcome difficult odds, and is a stronger person for having triumphed in the darkest of days that any one person could be expected to face.

Why Biden

Two words: Leadership and Experience.

Joe Biden has a singular quality that no other candidate running for President possesses: The proven experience to lead by developing bold ideas and multilayered solutions for the increasingly complex and multifaceted problems that America and the world face today.

For instance, Biden's plan to win the war in Iraq received 75 votes in the Senate. When the Pakistan crisis began to peak, Pervez Musharraf called Biden first, not Bush or Hillary.

On the topic of Iraq, the 'Biden Plan' is the only realistic and reasonable solution put forward by anyone from any party. Biden understands that the reality of the situation is that time tables for withdraw are a fairytale. Pulling out the troops before a political solution is in place leaves the region vulnerable to outside influence and increased violence from within.

Joe Biden unlike his peers in the Senate or are also seeking their party's nomination, is also the only one amongst them who is willing to vote for funds to provide armor and protection for our troops while they are still in harm's way. Hillary and Obama prefer to simply cut off war funding without weighing the consequences.

The Iraq Solution

The Biden Plan is a simple solution that is similar to what America's Founding Fathers came up with when faced with the dilemma, "How can groups with different ideals work together?"

The answer is to form a federal system. Endow strong power in individual state governments while at the same time creating a weak federal government to tie them all together. This is the one instance in international politics where the idea that "if it's good enough for America then it's good enough for someone else too" is actually true.

The infighting and sectarian violence in Iraq is spurred primarily by a strong desire for self-determined rule by each of the three major groups, Kurds, Shi'a, and Sunnis, without being encroached upon by the others.

The populations of these groups are already geologically divided: Kurds in the north, Sunnis in the center, Shi'ites in the south. Iraq cannot be fairly split into separate countries because Iraq's main natural resource, oil, is not evenly divided.

Given the facts of reality, the sensible solution is to give each of the three groups control over their own affairs with a strong state government, and then create a weak national government to principally provide for the distribution of oil revenues and national defense.

Not only does this common-sense plan have overwhelming support in both houses of Congress, but it is popular in Iraq as well.

The Bigger Picture

In this election, there is more than just Iraq at stake here. There is the issue of the greater image of the United States in the world, where even many of our own allies look upon us poorly, to say nothing of other nations.

There is also the nuclear power Pakistan, and the urgent need for democracy to prevail in that country. There is also Iran and North Korea, which cannot be permitted to aggressively seek nuclear weapons. There is China and dangerous imported goods and increasingly exported jobs; there is Mexico and immigration, Israel and peace, and much, much more.

These are the challenges that the next occupant of the White House faces. Senator Biden is the only candidate who can effectively restore our image abroad, and establish America's goodwill overseas while protecting our interests, thereby creating a peaceful world for our children to grow up in.

Joe Biden stands for an America that we can be proud of. He stands for a world that today we only dream of. No other candidate is as mindful, knowledgeable, or as thoughtful as Senator Biden is on issues that matter.

Join me in casting a vote for Joseph R. Biden, Jr. of Delaware; the one man who honestly knows how to do what's right. Just ask Hillary, Edwards and Obama, "Joe's Right!"