A bit of sniping among three senators who want to be president.
Illinois Senator Barack Obama is criticizing New York Senator Hillary Clinton for her "yes" vote on a resolution that Obama contends gives the Bush Administration a "blank check" to go to war against Iran. But Joe Biden, a senator from Delaware who is also seeking the Democratic Party’s presidential nod, suggests Obama doesn’t have much room to talk since Obama skipped the vote.
"Senator Obama, who was campaigning instead of voting — I wonder why he wasn’t there to vote," Biden says. "We all knew this vote was coming up." But Biden, like Obama, calls Clinton’s "yes" vote a "mistake."
"There bottom line here is…how much confidence you have in the president’s judgment," Biden says. "…I have very little confidence."
Biden suggests the U.S. cannot launch a strike against another country right now because the military’s stretched too thin. "I think a war with Iran at this moment would be the height of folly," Biden says. "…We have 12 divisions, 10 of which are coming or going from Iraq. I’d like to get one settled."
Biden is unsure whether the debate over whether the U.S. should strike against Iran will sway many voters. "It’s hard to tell on the Democratic side what effect it will have," Biden says.
Biden made his comments Friday during a news conference in Des Moines. Obama delivered a late Friday morning speech in Des Moines denouncing Clinton’s vote on Iran. Clinton, Obama and Biden are scheduled to appear Saturday night at an event in Des Moines.