His long tenure in Washington – and his age – have been cited as possible glitches to a Joe Biden candidacy, but the vice president wholeheartedly embraced those aspects of his biography Thursday, using them as proof he’s judged the Iran deal accurately.
Speaking to a roundtable of Jewish community leaders outside Miami, Biden made repeated references to the four decades he’s spent in elected office, most of them in Washington, characterizing himself as a longtime insider on the country’s foreign policy.
And he used Soviet-era nuclear deals, the names of which he admitted mean little to younger Americans, to bolster his authority on negotiating with hostile regimes.
“I have as of today traveled 992,894 miles for the President,” he said, pulling a card from his pocket that lists his mileage to date. “I have met virtually every major leader in the world. I know these guys. I know them better than anyone in the administration because I’ve been hanging around so long.”
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Biden’s decades as a U.S. senator, paired with eight years in the Obama administration, could present a challenge in Biden if he decides to run for president. After years of gridlock on Capitol Hill, polls show Americans largely souring on government institutions.
Voters instead have looked to so-called outsiders, who present themselves as detached from the partisanship that has left little room for movement on in Congress – though often use just as fiery rhetoric in describing their political adversaries.
Biden himself decried Washington dysfunction Thursday, saying it hampered attempts to assert American power overseas.
“I’ve been doing foreign policy for 42 years,” he said. “I cannot think of a single time since I’ve been involved where our ability to conduct foreign policy has been so strained because of the dysfunction in Washington and in Congress.”
But he nonetheless made no attempt to separate himself from official Washington, including Obama.
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“I can only notice a couple of you around the room that may be in my category in terms of longevity,” Biden said, suggesting it was “dubious distinction.”
“I go way back,” he said. “Back when I got to be a young U.S. senator, with some of your help, as a 29-year-old kid … I wanted to engage in foreign policy.”
Afterward, a survey of attendees didn’t yield anyone who’d mind had been changed. All said they still opposed the Iran deal.
“I thought he had a lot of good points I didn’t hear before,” said Barry Wilen. “Maybe I went from 80% against to 56% against. But I just don’t trust Iran.”
