Biden Says Bush's Iraq Policy Doomed

Biden predicted that Bush "will pay a heavy price" if he vetoes legislation approved by Democratic majorities in the House and the Senate that sets a firm timetable for withdrawal of American troops from Iraq.

Although Bush will not appear on the ballot in 2008, Biden noted that he could well face a rebellion among the 21 Republican Senators up for re-election in 2008.

"Does anyone think [they] are going to stick with this president's plan without any target date to get out of Iraq, without a fundamental change in strategy?" Biden asked. "I think not."

On Iran, Biden cast doubt on claims made by that country's government that it currently has 3,000 centrifuges to produce uranium, but criticized the Bush Administration for its failure to engage what he called America's "strongest ally as it relates to Iran: the Iranian people."

Nearly two decades after he first ran for president in 1988, Biden admitted that much has changed. "Before I was the guy who could turn on crowds, the guy with charisma," said Biden. "Now I'm the old guy who's qualified."

Biden also noted that in his first run for president he was the financial frontrunner, a very different circumstance in which he currently finds himself. He said that the wide financial gap between him and financial frontrunners like Clinton and Obama complicates his effort among party insiders to gather the $20 million to $30 million he believes he needs to be competitive for the nomination. The solution? "You have got to go out and find people who are not betters," Biden explained. "You've got to go out and find people who really are focused on who they think can be the best president."

As for Imus' remark regarding the Rutgers women's basketball team and the controversy that has ensued, Biden said he would not appear again on the program unless Imus "fundamentally alters the composition" of the show.

But, Biden added, he believed there was a real chance for good to come out of the situation. "No matter what happens to Don Imus, the entire character of the discussion about race and gender in the mainstream media is going to change for the better," he predicted.