VP Debate - Israel: What has the Bush administration done...

MS. IFILL: Senator?

SEN. BIDEN: Gwen, no one in the United States Senate has been a

better friend to Israel than Joe Biden. I would have never, ever

joined this ticket were I not absolutely sure Barack Obama shared my

passion.

But you asked a question about whether or not this

administration's policy had made sense, or something to that effect.

It has been an abject failure, this administration's policy. In

fairness to the Secretary Rice, she's trying to turn it around now in

the seventh or eighth year.

Here's what the president said when we said no. He insisted on

elections on the West Bank when I said and others said and Barack

Obama said big mistake, Hamas will win, you'll legitimize them. What

happened? Hamas won.

When we kicked -- along with France, we kicked Hezbollah out of

Lebanon, I said and Barack said move NATO forces in there, fill the

vacuum, because if you don't know -- if you don't, Hezbollah will

control it. Now what's happened? Hezbollah is a legitimate part of

the government in the country immediately to the north of Israel.

The fact of the matter is, the policy of this administration has

been an abject failure.

And speaking of freedom being on the march, the only thing on the

march is Iran. It's closer to a bomb. Its proxies now have a major

stake in Lebanon, as well as in the Gaza Strip with Hamas.

We will change this policy with thoughtful, real, live diplomacy

that understand that you must back Israel in letting them negotiate,

support their negotiation and stand with them, not insist on policies

like this administration has.

MS. IFILL: Has this ad