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Biden: Iraq like boulder that must be moved

By Elizabeth Kenny
Portsmouth Herald
news1@seacoastonline.com
May 13, 2007 6:00 AM

EXETER — Presidential candidate Sen. Joe Biden will not apologize for constantly talking about the war in Iraq.

"It's like a big boulder and until we deal with it, we won't be able to deal with global warming, education and health care," Biden said during a visit to Exeter Saturday evening. "We have to talk about Iraq."

He did apologize, however, to a crowd of about 40 for "crashing" the Exeter Democratic Town Committee Chili Party at the historic home of Kevin Fleming and Susan Scannell.

Scannell said Biden's visit happened to fall on the annual event that began during the "pre-Clinton era, when not too many people in New Hampshire were willing to admit they were Democrats."

But, as time has passed, the event has caught on and now often includes visits from local and even national candidates, such as Biden.

The first hour and a half of the event was spent mingling, chowing on chili and talking anything from politics to wine.

Some sported Barack Obama buttons, others wore stickers that read "Stop Global Warming." Others just wanted to see Bush removed from office and a Democrat elected.

"We're not screwing around this time; we need to win," said Exeter resident Susan Stafford, who added that it was still too early to tell which candidate will fit that bill.

Others, such as Michael Castaldo, attended the event to "bend Biden's ear" on global poverty. Castaldo, a volunteer with the nonprofit organization One, said he will support any candidate who will help to eliminate poverty.

After Biden arrived, he shook hands and talked individually with voters before addressing the crowd.

"I'm Joe Biden and I'm one of the 800 candidates running for president," he told a chuckling crowd. But the U.S. senator from Delaware quickly took a more serious tone and listed the policies he said make him stand out from the others.

Biden laid out his plan to decentralize Iraq, in essence giving Kurds, Shiites and Sunnis each their own region in Iraq, with their own control rather than placing an emphasis on creating a central government that he said will fail.

Biden also expressed grave concerns over civil liberties, including a desire to immediately close the U.S. facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

His service in the Senate, which began in 1972, illustrates his experience and dedication, he said.

"This is unlike any other time," Biden said. "We will pay an even bigger price if we elect someone who doesn't already know their foreign policy plan."