page_title: Joe Biden 2008 presidential campaign
section_title: Third-quarter 2007
hierarchical_section_title: Joe Biden 2008 presidential campaign / Campaign development / Third-quarter 2007
caption_attribution_description: Senator Biden gives his opening statement and questions U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker and General David H. Petraeus at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Hearing on Iraq.
context_page_description: The 2008 presidential campaign of Joe Biden, the longtime Senator from Delaware, began when Biden announced his candidacy for President of the United States on the January 7, 2007, edition of Meet the Press. He officially became a candidate on January 31, 2007, after filing papers with the Federal Election Commission. If elected, Biden would have been the first sitting Senator and Roman Catholic to become president since John F. Kennedy, and the only president to be born during World War II.
  During the campaign, Biden focused on his plan to achieve political success in the Iraq War through a system of federalization. He touted his record in the Senate as the head of several congressional committees and experience in foreign policy. Despite a few notable endorsements, Biden failed to garner significant support in opinion polls, and was marred by controversial comments made while campaigning. He ultimately dropped out of the race on January 3, 2008, after coming in fifth place and capturing less than 1% of the vote in the Iowa caucus.
context_section_description: The next month Biden participated in two debates: The July 12 Debate in Detroit, Michigan and most notably the July 23 YouTube debate in Charleston, South Carolina featured on CNN. In this debate when asked what Republican he would pick as a running mate if forced, Biden answered, "I would pick Chuck Hagel, and I'd consider asking Dick Lugar to be secretary of state." In regards to Iraq, Biden stated that it was unrealistic to say that all troops would be redeployed. He instructed those who used that rhetoric to "Tell the truth for a change." When he discussed education Biden declared that he "would scrap" the No Child Left Behind Act. He concluded his participation in the debate after being asked to say something he didn't like about the candidate to his left, Dennis Kucinich. Biden replied, "I don't like a damn thing about him ... only kidding. The best thing about him is his wife."
  The next month Biden was not able to participate in two debates, the August 4 debate sponsored by the DailyKos and the August 9 LGBT Debate featured on the gay network Logo. He participated in the August 7 AFL-CIO Debate and the August 19 Iowa debate featured on ABC. On August 20 Biden aired his first campaign advertisement in the first caucus state of Iowa. In the 30-second ad a voiceover states that Biden has a plan to end the Iraq War, and that "We (America) must end this war in a way that doesn't require us to send their (soldiers) grandchild back." It continues by declaring, "Joe Biden is the only candidate with a plan to get us out of Iraq and keep us out."
  As September began, while on the campaign trail in Iowa, Biden confided to the Associated Press that he was "counting on Iowa a lot". He hoped to come in "first, second or an indistinguishable third" and if not he would leave the campaign trail and return to Washington. His early statements seemed to mirror the future as he would ultimately drop out of the race after finishing lower than third in the Iowa Caucus. The results also presented a refutation of what he stated in September 2007 when he said that the campaign was "gaining some traction [in Iowa]." The September 2007 assessments made by University of Iowa professor Bruce Gronbeck and Drake University professor Dennis Goldford displayed more merit at the end of the race after Gronbeck stated that Biden was not gaining traction in the race and with Goldford adding that "[Biden] talks like a senator, not a president". Democratic strategist Ron Parker argued in September that Biden still had a chance but just had to sell his case to the American people.
  On September 9, two days before the Iraq commanding General David Petraeus addressed the Senate, Biden stated that, "I really respect him, and I think he's dead flat wrong [about the War in Iraq]". He criticized the president, arguing, "This president has no plan – how to win and/or how to leave". During the September 11 testimony by the General, Biden stated that the question to be asked to determine progress was "Are we any closer to a lasting political settlement in Iraq at the national level today than we were when the surge began eight months ago?" He answered his own question by stating "In my judgment, I must tell you, based on my experience and my observation here, as well as in-country, the answer to ... [the] questions is no." After the testimony concluded, Biden and other Democrats were criticized for their conduct during the deliberations. In the following weeks Biden would continue with these arguments while campaigning.
  At the September 26 MSNBC debate, Biden explained how he would allow for Social security to last. He said that in the 1980s he had a meeting with prominent members of Congress and the solution they came up with was the raise the cap level, he stated that now the same solution would apply and that unity between the two parties was also necessary, "It was Joe Biden, Pat Moynihan, Bob Dole ... [and] George Mitchell when we made that deal [to reform social security]. I'll never forget Bob Dole turning to Pat Moynihan and saying, 'we all got to jump in t
caption: Biden questions General David Petraeus
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