Des Moines Register: Biden, Dodd Competitors, but Friendly in Dubuque

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Des Moines Register: Biden, Dodd Competitors, but Friendly in Dubuque

BY ABBY SIMONS

U.S. senators and presidential candidates Joe Biden and Christopher Dodd, in brief but impassioned speeches Thursday, praised Iowans for their contributions to the election of a Democrat-controlled Congress and pledged their loyalty to each other despite their competition for their party's nomination.

Biden and Dodd were featured speakers at the Dubuque County Hall of Fame Dinner that honored former U.S. Sen. John Culver, father of Iowa Gov. Chet Culver, who also spoke to the crowd.

Dodd and Biden, long-serving senators from Connecticut and Delaware, respectively, focused their speeches on Iowa politics and touched only briefly on their bids for the presidency.

Both spoke of how their families influence their criticism of President Bush and the war in Iraq. Dodd has two young children; Biden's son, Beau, is in the Army National Guard.

"We bear a collective responsibility to get this done right," Dodd said. "We've realized by watching over the past six years that if we don't get this country back on track, we could be the first generation to leave our children and grandchildren without the opportunity to have things better then they were."

Biden said the solution is to turn over power to the Iraqi government and, in part, admit that such a country might be unable to thrive as a democracy.

It's about "making Iraq the world's problem, not just our problem," he said.

The two embraced after Dodd's speech.

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