Some comments on Joe Biden.

I had the chance to hear Biden speak to a crowd of about 150 just before the Iowa Caucus in late December, 2007. If you look back in my archives for that month, you can probably find what I said at the time.

My memory of that night was he was highly impressive. He had the crowd thinking, "Why isn't this guy doing better in the polls?" Somebody finally asked him the question. Biden replied that he wasn't considered "reliable" by the corporate donors. In other words, Biden couldn't be counted on to support the corporation no matter what. He decided his position on issues based on their merits, no based on who he was beholden to.

Biden has massive experience in a lot of different areas, but especially foreign policy. He struck me as someone who would have no problem saying what needed to be said to a foreign head of state and he gave the impression of someone who knew where the leverage points were to influence those foreign heads of state to get things done.

On a personal note, Biden showed the mental toughness and resolve to overcome the loss of his first wife and a child in a traffic accident. I've been a widower. It ain't fun. It's a fraternity I do not recommend to other men. Most men don't join. They die before their wives. That Biden has overcome and thrived speaks volumes to me about his personal character.

All of us face adversity. What differentiates us is how we react to that adversity. Biden, to me, has displayed that he (in the words of the western novels) is someone to ride the river with.

This campaign and its debates in the final months will be livelier and more robust for his presence.