June 3, 2007
Posted: June 3rd, 2007 09:50 PM ET

MANCHESTER, New Hampshire (CNN) - Did Joe Biden hit a homerun Sunday night? The Delaware senator is battling to climb out of the second tier of Democratic presidential candidates, and his supporters think his debate performance helped the cause. Biden was quite forceful when answering a question about the genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan. I just spoke with Biden senior adviser David Wilhelm moments ago in the post-debate spin room. Wilhelm told me Biden’s response showed that the candidate is presidential material.

Wilhelm didn’t say Biden hit a home run Sunday night, but not surprisingly he was pleased with the senator’s responses. That feeling was echoed by Jim Ryan, a New Hampshire state representative and a Biden surrogate in the Granite State.

Wilhelm did say he'd hoped Biden would have had more time to explain his vote on the Iraq war funding bill. Biden was the only Democratic presidential hopeful to vote in favor of the bill. Still, Wilhelm said it's going to be a long summer , and he’s confident Biden will have more time to explain his position on Iraq.

As for going up with campaign commercials, Wilhelm said the campaign’s in no rush. Rival second tier candidates Chris Dodd and Bill Richardson are already both up with ads in Iowa and New Hampshire.

- CNN Deputy Political Director Paul Steinhauser

Filed under: Joe Biden


Bryan Barber, Gig Harbor Washington   June 4th, 2007 7:25 pm ET

Biden hit it out of the park and was the only one to do so on the major overarching issue in America today.

Our government will continue to be owned by special interests and not by the American people as long as we do not have publicly funded elections. In our current system of corporate funded elections, the corporations are the politicians' main constituents, not the people, and issues of health care, education, environment, guns, international trade, jobs, and military spending will not be solved as long as corporations fund the politicians and make sure that the status quo is maintained.

85% of elections are won by the candidate with the most money. Is that democracy or corporate ownership of the government?

Arlen, Hanover, New Hampshire   June 3rd, 2007 10:18 pm ET

Biden came off as very angry on every issue he talked about, I really don't think he did himself a favor by acting and talking in that style.

Carl, Dallas, Texas   June 3rd, 2007 10:09 pm ET

Well I may not agree with Biden on every issue, but he did present himself and give direct answers... something few candidates did tonight. He presented himself very well...

B.T. Mendelsohn, Ashburn, VA   June 3rd, 2007 10:07 pm ET

I thought Biden was excellent. I particularly liked his response on the Sudan genocide. The only mistake he made was his claim that the Democrats need 67 votes to end the Iraq War. The 2/3 majority is only needed to pass legislation, not to block spending on a war that the country doesn't want. Bush would have to withdraw troops if the supplemental budget was not passed.

mel, Tulsa Okla   June 3rd, 2007 10:04 pm ET

Joe Biden Did a great job, remove Edwards and place Biden as one of the front runners !

larry lujack   June 3rd, 2007 9:55 pm ET

Biden is a big time nobody and will continue to be one, particularly among Democrats, because his views are more aligned with Lieberman's than the majority of Americans who want to leave Iraq.

Comments have been closed for this article

subscribe RSS Icon
About The Ticker

The latest political news from CNN's Best Political Team, with campaign coverage, 24-7. Sign up for our twice daily Ticker emails. Got a news tip or feedback? For complete political coverage, bookmark CNNPolitics.com.

CNN=Politics Screensaver

CNN=Politics ScreensaverTap into the power of The Situation Room. Download this powerful new tool that keeps you posted on the latest political news from the campaign trail.
Download (4.1 MB, PC only)

twitter
@wolfblitzercnn: Trifecta -- NOT. My Redskins, Bills and Packers all lose this weekend. Very sad.
Updated: Mon, 21 Dec 2009 20:40:09 -0800
@HornickCNN: RT @andersoncooper: Interactive: The top 10 Health-Care-Reform Players http://bit.ly/6C3OlX
Updated: Mon, 21 Dec 2009 19:47:50 -0800
@HornickCNN: RT @cnn_oppmann: CNN.com: Mexico City approves same-sex marriage. http://bit.ly/5RyMnk #mexico
Updated: Mon, 21 Dec 2009 19:46:26 -0800
@HornickCNN: Rudy's reportedly not running for NY SEN or Gov ...
Updated: Mon, 21 Dec 2009 19:43:48 -0800
@wolfblitzercnn: Redskins-Giants always exciting. Both teams have a lot to prove. And Giants can still salvage playoffs. Skins just need a win.
Updated: Mon, 21 Dec 2009 17:19:36 -0800
Categories
Powered by WordPress.com VIP