Joseph Biden Quotes (105 Quotes)

If the European countries that are there in Bosnia now all decide to pull out ... when we take out the land forces, I think it will make it very difficult to get the vote to expand NATO in the Senate.

This is the very man who may have to take the case to the world on Korea and on Iran based upon intelligence. ... I believe this appointment is damaging to our national interests.

This interim government needs an infusion of a modest amount of capital in days, not weeks, not months,

What's being reflected in these hearings and these discussions is there's an overwhelming lack of confidence that the president is up to the job here since they've made such terrible mistakes since the end of, quote, the war, ... American Morning.

If the United States and the new Afghan regime agree to the measure, there will be the ability to literally give some of the Afghans back their money to govern themselves in the near term, ... We're talking about more than 100 million.

It's time for him (President Clinton) to stop saying he won't put them on the table,

the first time our Republican colleagues have joined Democrats in insisting on a clear Iraq strategy from this administration.

If we get to the point and vote witnesses, we will have approved a process by which we will ensure that they have a chance to depose those witnesses first and so on, ... It will be a process that gives the president's lawyers ample time to depose that witness first and be able to be treated fairly.

In the constitution, nowhere does it mention sex discrimination, child labour, segregation. It doesn't mention it,

I pointed out that I had been a senator five years when I was 35, and no one says to me what you said in 1974 as a senator we can forget,

It is a stark reminder that no progress on reconstruction can be made in Iraq without establishing security. And, clearly, this is not just a problem for the U.S., but for the whole world,

You better examine your conscience and figure out whether or not this is just a little slip, or that we're about to send a man who lacks credibility, I would argue, with half of us on the Hill,

Who is in charge What role is the United Nations going to play Is NATO going to come in What has to be done to get NATO in, ... These are questions that everybody knows have to be answered, and the concern people have is that there seems to continue to be a real debate within the administration on how to proceed.

That's a bad word, senator.

Lugar called India's nuclear record unsatisfying ... I wonder how good the July 18 deal really is.

There is not a controversial issue in this country that does not have the prospect of coming before the court.

The idea that the Senate would degenerate into a pit bull ring ... was something that each of us thought ... would reflect incredibly badly on the place we think is a big deal.

The idea that this new government can get up and running without having the close to 600 billion worth of debt that they have out there forgiven is preposterous,

Drug companies have these precursors to steroids that have the same properties and also diminish health,

Where is he going to find roughly half a trillion dollars over the next several years for Iraq and for Katrina

Without any knowledge of your understanding of the law because you will not share it with us we are rolling the dice with you, judge,

The fact that he questioned abortion and the idea of quotas is one thing. The fact that he questioned the idea of the legitimacy of the reapportionment decisions of the Warren Court is even something well beyond that,

It is time for a little grace and dignity here, ... It is time for someone to step forward and take a hit for the team. It is time for us to demonstrate that this is in fact a consequential undertaking.

We need a regional strategy that persuades Iraq's neighbors to wield their influence with the Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds for political compromise. They will do it, because no one other than the terrorists has an interest in Iraq descending into civil war,

Russia's annual arms deals with Iran during the Clinton administration were only a 10th of what they were during the Bush administration, and there was no legal requirement to give Congress formal notice of the Gore-Chernomyrdin deal, ... But at least one House committee was briefed.

It comes down to a simple bet we're making. It's a bet that India appreciates, as much as we do, that the two nations have the potential to be the anchors for stability and security in the world going into the 21st century.

My instinct is we should commit.

I'm talking about people ... who will come in here with guns and understand that they don't have to check with anybody before they return fire,

It acknowledges that the Security Council fully understands that this is the world's problem -- Iraq is the world's problem -- not just the United States problem, and that failure to secure the peace in Iraq would have significant consequences and ramifications for the region and the world,

I call that groping. It sounds like a man who is going down and decides to try to throw something to his supporters, ... Face the Nation.

Who do you think will be more likely to yield to national pressure, Helms or Lott ... There's only one person who can break the logjam. That's the majority leader.

I think that Syria's in their cross hairs, as well as Iran and, quite frankly, our Arab 'friends',

Instead of seizing the opportunity, ... it seems to me, Dr. Rice, you have danced around it and, sort of, stuck to the party line, which seems pretty consistent You're always right. You never made any mistakes. You're never wrong.

I think that's a big mistake.

Not one word of Korea. Not one word with regard to Iraq. Not one word with regard to Iran. It's like Wonderland,

One of the things that's been amazing is you are one of the best witnesses that I think has come before this committee and I've been here 30-some years.

Judge, if I looked only at what you've said and written in the past, I'd feel compelled to vote no.

If I think he will be Justice (Antonin) Scalia ... I vote no. If he is a (Justice Anthony) Kennedy, I vote yes. If he is a Rehnquist, I probably vote yes because it won't change anything,

If I think he's going to be a Justice Scalia, who I like personally very much, I vote no. If I think he's going to be a Kennedy, I vote yes. If I think he's going to be a Rehnquist, I probably vote yes.

We're rolling the dice with you, judge, ... because you won't share your views with us. You've told me nothing in this Kabuki dance. The public has a right to know what you think.

It is unreasonable to ask the president of the United States to say that he will oppose bringing up this treaty during the duration of his presidency, ... If that's the price that has to be paid, then we'll have a vote.

If he really believes that reapportionment is a questionable decision -- that is, the idea of Baker vs. Carr, one man, one vote -- then clearly, clearly, you'll find a lot of people, including me, willing to do whatever they can to keep him off the court. We don't know that. We have to hear it, ... That would include a filibuster if need be.

What happens when our ambassador has to stand up and make the case on intelligence relating to Iraq and North Korea ... Do you think John Bolton is going to be believed And do you think it matters I think it matters a great deal.

You know there's this tradition in the United States Navy that if a captain of a ship goes up on the shoals, almost regardless of whether it's his fault or not, he loses command.

That's if we do it to you, ... Go ahead and continue to not answer.

Ultimately, all the federal government does is not going to be able to get the job done without your aid.

They haven't asked for one single penny for next year for Afghanistan and Iraq. Give me a break,

We are rolling the dice with you, judge, ... It's kind of interesting, this Kabuki dance we have in these hearings here, as if the public doesn't have a right to know what you think about fundamental issues facing them.

National elections and elite political deals won't lead to stability ... as long as average Iraqis can't turn on the lights, can't drink the water, can't step out of their homes without stepping into raw sewage and can't let their daughters leave the house for fear of being kidnapped.

What's the plan, Stan Tell us, ... We are not setting timetables and saying cut and run. We are saying give us a plan.