In response to Joe Lieberman's risible Wall Street Journal op-ed attack on Senator Obama, Senator Biden hits back, hard and directly, against the mendacity and foolishness of the Bush/McCain/Lieberman worldview. The whole thing is an exceptional rebuke of failed policy and underhanded politics, and it's worth a full read. The closing point, though, is this:
The Bush-McCain saber rattling is the most self-defeating policy imaginable. It achieves nothing. But it forces Iranians who despise the regime to rally behind their leaders. And it spurs instability in the Middle East, which adds to the price of oil, with the proceeds going right from American wallets into Tehran's pockets.
The worst nightmare for a regime that thrives on tension with America is an America ready, willing and able to engage. Since when has talking removed the word "no" from our vocabulary?
It's amazing how little faith George Bush, Joe Lieberman and John McCain have in themselves – and in America.
It's nice to see some Democratic push-back against Lieberman, too. He has the potential to be a real problem in the fall, and it's important to start making sure people know his foreign policy views are completely and utterly bankrupt long before then.
During the segment, O'Reilly stated: "What is significant is that this website [DailyKos] and the others mentioned have intimidated the entire Democratic presidential field, with the exception of [Sen.] Joseph Biden [DE], who will not go to that convention [YearlyKos]. And we respect the senator for that." In response, Biden's campaign posted a diary entry on Daily Kos describing O'Reilly's comments as "reckless" and "a total misrepresentation." Biden's campaign further stated:
The simple truth is Joe Biden would be at YearlyKos if he could, but adding a book tour to all the demands of a campaign meant some things had to change. But we won't stand by and let Bill O'Reilly try to drive a wedge between the progressive online community and us to make a false point on behalf of his half-baked theories.
While not always agreeing with all members of the DailyKos community, Joe Biden respects what the YearlyKos convention -- a diverse assembly of activists and organizations -- represents as a vehicle for progressives to organize and advocate on behalf of democratic ideals and the Democratic Party.
