Joe Biden: Remember Me?

I never know what to think about Joe Biden. His understanding of international relations is quite obviously impeccable, but once you get beyond that there's always been something about him that just gives me the creeps. I don't know if it's just some sort of a visceral reaction to his accent or maybe just that he always seems to be pissed off at someone even when he's telling a joke. More likely, it's that he's always seemed incapable of independent thought outside of the field of international relations.

Whatever the case, he seriously raised the ante the other day, clearly stating that he will push for impeachment if the Bush administration attacks Iran without congressional authorization. Given Biden's weight, especially with regards to international relations, this would be a fairly significant threat. Of course you have to take it with a grain of salt- the guy is running an insignificant campaign for President and needs every ounce of publicity he can get. Plus, he didn't specify what would be appropriate congressional authorization. Still, coming from Biden, it's a serious enough threat to raise the President's personal "cost" for conducting such an attack, which I have argued several times makes no sense whatsoever.

One last thing worth reminding people about: Biden is one of the few politicians who has put forward a serious proposal for leaving Iraq without it remaining in a permanent state of chaos.