Biden Versus Holbrooke: Quien Es Mas Macho

It looks like a Foggy Bottom Smackdown is blowing our way, and you might have to duck for cover, as leaks -- "not for attribution," of course -- are the traditional weaponry of statesmen-wannabe's in our endlessly fascinating democratic pageant.

Granted, of course, that Kerry wins the Presidency is not a foregone conclusion at this point, but already NBC Correspondent and connoisseur of power, Andrea Mitchell, on the Chris Matthews Show's "Tell Me Something I Don't Know" segment, speculates -- either Senator Joe Biden or Richard Holbrooke will be Kerry's pick at Foggy Bottom.

Of Holbrooke, who so perfectly cultivates the inevitable air of his ascendant regency at Foggy Bottom -- The Corsair just likes saying "Foggy Bottom", Nicholas Von Hoffman wrote in Spy in May 90:

"To interview Holbrooke is to learn the etiquette of media-government relations as they are observed in Washington. Some statements are on background, some are not for attribution. Some are deep background, others are deeper background, and a few are uttered on a swallow and forget basis."

Smooth. Biden also, for his part, has stepped up his weighty foreign policy speeches.

Holbrooke, who was an early supporter of Kerry, has, of late, been indispensable in giving Kerry some borrowed glory on the Eastern Seaboard, as, recently reported, according to the Herald Tribune:

"(Kerry) stayed up late Sunday night with aides at his home in Beacon Hill, rewriting - and rearguing - major passages of his latest Iraq speech, a ritual that aides say occurs even with routine remarks.'He attacks the material, he questions things, he tries to get it right,' said Richard Holbrooke, the former UN ambassador and an adviser to Kerry.

"During a recent conversation about Iraq, Holbrooke recounted, Kerry 'interrupts me and he says, Have you read Peter Galbraith's article in The New York Review of Books? You've got to read that. It's very important.'"

And, on last week's Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace:

"The former United Nations (UN) ambassador indicated that it was a huge mistake to star a war in Iraq without first bringing the situation in Afghanistan under control. He also insinuated that the administration of US President George W. Bush lacked a coherent strategy in Iraq.

"About the situation in Afghanistan, Wallace asked Holbrook, 'What would Kerry do differently? Is Afghanistan unfinished?'

"'Without question,' responded Holbrooke. 'Osama bin Laden is not captured. Al Qaeda is threatening to attack by the end of the year. Afghanistan is not in good shape."

"Holbrooke then talked about the deteriorating situation in Iraq. 'Strategically and politically, the situation in Iraq is worse than it ever was in Vietnam,' Kerry's advisor said.

"Continued Holbrooke, 'While it was possible to walk along the streets in Vietnam during the war, it is not possible in Iraq. Therefore, the regional danger posed by Iraq is much greater.'

Score on Ass Kissing: 8 out of 10
Comments: Nice, but the NYRB is already firmly in the Kerry camp. Anyone who reads the IHT or NYRB has been a Kerry bitch fro the get-go. And comparing Iraq to Vietnam is a bit premature, The Corsair thinks.

Senator Biden, however, a little more rough about the edges, is a champ at infighting and brown nosing, as he showed us with startling effect on his own Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace:

"BIDEN: I find the way the opposition is dealing with (Kerry criticism of Iraqi President Allawi) is really, really dangerous. They're telling everybody that basically if Kerry becomes president of the United States, he's not going to stick with Iraq.

"I personally was authorized by Kerry in front of all my colleagues to say the first thing in a private meeting, I said, 'Mr. President, you know me.' And he said, 'Yes, I do.' I said, 'I guarantee you that John Kerry as president ? you will continue to have the full support of the United States of America in order to be able to establish a representative republic.' He said, 'Thank you, and I know it.'

And, later:

"WALLACE: Would he wait until the Iraqi ? excuse me, sir. Would he wait until the Iraqi troops are trained? What specifically would he do in these so-called no-go zones?

"BIDEN: John Kerry would have listened to his Marines at the time when in fact they said we should have finished the job then. John Kerry will listen to his military on the ground. John Kerry will listen to the people who know, not the politicians in the White House."

Ass Kissing Points: 10 out of a possible 10.
Comments: Quien es mas Macho? Senator Joe Biden, that's who.