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U.S. Sen. Biden says intends to run for
President
26.12.2006
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We've already broken Iraq. We're about to break
the United States military.
WASHINGTON, December 26 ,-- Delaware Sen.
Joseph Biden, one of the Democratic party's leading
voices on foreign policy and a sharp critic of
President George W. Bush's handling of the Iraq war,
on Tuesday said he intends to run for president in
2008.
"It is my intention to seek the nomination, and it's
my intention sometime in the month of January to set
up the appropriate mechanism to be able to raise
money for that purpose," Biden said near the end of
a telephone news conference that centered mainly on
Iraq.
New York Sen. Hillary Clinton and Illinois Sen.
Barack Obama currently are viewed as the leading
likely contenders for the Democratic presidential
nomination, which will be decided in early 2008.
Bush's term ends in January, 2009, and he is barred
from seeking a third four-year term. |
U.S. Sen. Joe Biden. Biden is considered a possible
2008 presidential candidate. AP |
Biden, who sought the 1988 presidential nomination
only to quit in 1987 amid accusations he plagiarized
some of his stump oratory and early academic work,
would enter the race as some prominent Democrats are
bowing out.
Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana earlier this month
announced he would forego the 2008 campaign. His
decision came after Obama attracted large crowds in
New Hampshire, one of the early states to choose
presidential nominees in 2008.
The perceived star power of Obama and Clinton could
make it difficult for other Democrats to amass
campaign contributions needed for a successful White
House run.
Former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina is
expected to announce his candidacy this week.
Edwards was running mate in 2004 to Democratic
presidential candidate John Kerry in his failed bid
to unseat Bush.
With no end in sight to the unpopular Iraq war and
with Bush weighing a possible surge in U.S. combat
troops there, Iraq is likely to loom large in the
2008 presidential race after it contributed to the
Democratic win in November's congressional
elections.
As the incoming chairman of the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee, Biden will have a forum for
criticizing Bush's handling of the war. Biden said
his panel is planning three weeks of high-profile
hearings starting on Jan. 9.
Biden criticized calls by some Republicans to
boost combat troops in Iraq, telling reporters:
"We've already broken Iraq. We're about to break the
United States military."
Bush is preparing to announce a new policy on Iraq
in early January.
The 64-year-old senator, who was first elected to
the Senate in 1972, said Bush should follow
recommendations of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group,
which called for reducing the U.S. military presence
to encourage Iraqis to take more responsibility to
establish a political settlement among warring
factions.
Two Democrats already have announced long-shot runs
for president: Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack and Ohio Rep.
Dennis Kucinich, an unsuccessful candidate in 2004.
Reuters
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