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Last update - 00:00 28/08/2006
Joseph Biden, Democrat
Current position:
Senator for Delaware (elected 1972)
Curriculum vitae:
Graduate of Syracuse University College of Law
Adjunct Professor, Widener University School of Law (1991-present)
Memorable quotes:
"The bottom line here is, if regime change is the operative element of this administration's policy [in Iran], you are never going to get to the point where you end up with a diplomatic solution. There may be no diplomatic solution, in the end. That's possible. We may have crossed the line, or they may have crossed the line...while we fool around with this, you're going to see Japan go nuclear, and you're going to see China react to Japan going nuclear, and you're going to see a chain of events set in motion that are going to be significantly damaging to the next generation of Americans. And so, it seems to me we should get off this wicket of suggesting that we won't talk. I mean, what are we afraid of in talking?" (FOX News Sunday with Chris Wallace, October 22, 2006)
The Democrats' support for Israel "comes from our gut, moves through our heart, and ends up in our head. It's almost genetic." (October 5, 2006)
"There has never been progress in the Middle East without the United States acting as a catalyst. The fact of the matter is that our good offices are important. The fact as the matter is that I would not do anything that I did not coordinate with the Israeli government. I would not pretend to be anything other than we are. Arabs know where we are and all they want to know is that we are going to, in fact, be blanced and fair about it. I think we can still establish that...My point is that we should have some very important person on the ground there, ready to explore all the initiatives, any serious person in the government thinks it might be worth considering. We should be a catalyst here." (October 5, 2006)
"The single most important thing we could do for Israel right now is to get a political settlement in Iraq. That changes the dynamic, frees up resources for us, frees up our capability and changes the whole game, but we don't seem to have anyone in this administration that can connect the dots." (October 5, 2006)
"It seems to me what we have to do is continue to push to see if we can hold this coalition together to increase gradual sanctions [on Iran]. Without that, we don't have a whole lot of options here...This is a test for the diplomacy. This is a test for the United Nations. If it fails, then what we're going to have to do is begin to come up with a serious containment policy, here." (August 27, 2006)
"Because of our lack of a prevention strategy, we're left with no option here, in my view, but to support Israel in what is a totally legitimate self-defense effort." (Washington, July 16, 2006)
"The outcome [of the Palestinian elections] reflects Palestinian anger and frustration at the Palestinian Authority and Fatah for their corruption, mismanagement, and failure to provide law and order." (January 2006)
"Israel cannot be expected to negotiate with a party that calls for its destruction, engages in terrorism and maintains an armed militia. Hamas must choose: bullets or ballots." (January 2006)
Other information:
Acted as observer at the January 2006 Palestinian parliamentary elections
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