Biden attacks Richardson’s experience at forum

Gov. Bill Richardson and four other Democratic presidential candidates all promoted similar plans for universal health care during a forum in Iowa on Thursday, but Joe Biden stood out, most notably for an assault on Richardson.

It was Biden who first pointed out that all the candidates’ plans are similar.

“It’s not the plan,” the New York Times quoted him as saying. “It’s the man or the woman pushing the plan.”

Richardson focused on his plan’s call for cutting costs through preventative health care and reducing bureaucracy, the Times and Associated Press reported. Richardson said he had the best knowledge and experience to deal with the situation because, as a governor, he was “the only one up here who has actually had to deal with health care.”

Biden told the governor that improving health care in a state of 2 million people and believing that qualifies you to fix the national system is similar to playing halfback in high school and believing it qualifies you to play professional football.

Richardson laughed. The moderate asked if Biden was saying Richardson isn’t qualified.

“I’m saying he’s a great governor. He’s a great governor. He’d make a great secretary of state. But he’s not, you know,” Biden said before changing the subject to take less severe shots at Hillary Clinton and John Edwards, implying that it’s unlikely either of them, or Richardson, could convince Congress to approve a health-care reform plan that would make a difference.

When Richardson got another chance to speak, this was his comeback:

“You seem to be denigrating my experience,” he told Biden.

Obviously.

It was the second time on Thursday that Biden attacked Richardson. His campaign put out a news release earlier in the day saying Richardson has contradicted himself on Iraq. Richardson said in an e-mail to supporters on Thursday that he is the “only Democratic candidate with a concrete plan to end the war.”

But Richardson said at a previous debate, the Biden campaign pointed out, that Biden’s Iraq plan “has potential.” He also told a newspaper last year that Biden’s proposal “ultimately may be the right solution,” but Richardson now opposes Biden’s plan, saying it doesn’t call for a quick enough withdrawal of American troops.

“Governor Richardson is right that he represents both experience and change. He has a lot of experience changing his mind on matters both large and small,” Biden Campaign Manager Luis Navarro said.

But back to Thursday’s debate: You can read more about Biden’s assault from The Politico. Here’s video: