Biden-Richardson show weakness by not jumping into Clinton-Obama experience battle
Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are going back and forth over the issue of who is the person with the most experience when it comes to foreign policy, and are picking up a lot of airtime and ink in the process.
In reality, both are much weaker in this area than some of their challengers.
But maybe one of the reasons Sen. Joe Biden and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson are doing so poorly in the polls is that they don’t even know how to jump into a fight that they can win!
In her slamming of Obama, here is what Clinton had to say about her foreign policy experience compared to his: “I have traveled the world on behalf of our country – first in the White House with my husband and now as a Senator. I’ve met with countless world leaders and know many of them personally. I went to Beijing in 1995 and stood up to the Chinese government on human rights and women’s rights. I have fought for our men and women in uniform to make sure they have the equipment they need in battle and are treated with dignity when they return home.
“…Now voters will judge whether living in a foreign country at the age of 10 prepares one to face the big, complex international challenges the next President will face. I think we need a President with more experience than that. Someone the rest of the world knows, looks up to, and has confidence in. I don’t think this is the time for on the job training on our economy or on foreign policy.”
But if you look at resumes, Biden and Richardson blow the top frontrunners away, yet did you notice the two of them making this case?
Nope.
On The Situation Room, they showed video of Biden blowing out candles on his birthday cake, and not saying a word about the Clinton-Obama experience flap. Even former Sen. John Edwards managed to get a word in.
Biden has been a longtime member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was negotiating with leaders in Bosnia during the ethnic cleansing in that country, and has been on the frontlines of other international flaps.
Richardson is a former ambassador to the United Nations, and when we got into a verbal battle with North Korea, they traveled to New Mexico to sit down with him, and not President Bush.
So where are their news releases going after Clinton and Obama on this issue?
CNN’s Iowa Producer Chris Welch did get Biden to speak to the issue of Obama’s experience. How profound was he?
“I think he’s right,” Biden said smiling. “That is his strongest [foreign policy] credential.”
Dude, that’s it? I’ve really liked Biden’s performances in the debate, but this is why the second tier candidates are there. They don’t get enough media attention, and even when they have a chance to make some noise, they fade away.
When Clinton made it clear on Monday that she’s the best choice to fix the nation’s economy, you might think the only governor on the Democratic side would have jumped out and touted him being the only one to present AND sign a budget into law. So what did Richardson have to say? Dunna know. He didn’t say a word.
If the two of them don’t even have the common sense to try to interject themselves into political squabbles that could help their campaigns, then they might as well pack up their bags and go home.
As of now, all they are doing is taking up space.
