Charismatic and blunt, the 65-year-old is a gifted retail politician. Voters tend to show up at Biden events in a curious mood and leave in full swoon.

Sunday, December 16, 2007; Page A24

Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. is a 35-year legislative veteran, a widely respected foreign-policy expert, a likable man with one of the most gripping biographies in American politics.

Not a bad formula for a presidential campaign.

Yet, Biden has failed to excite voters, and is polling steadily in the mid-single digits with little time before the Jan. 3 Iowa caucuses. Nonetheless, he is campaigning at full speed, barnstorming the countryside to build support among rural Democrats.

These are the most practical and cautious of caucusgoers, the type who appreciate Biden's six terms in the Senate and his absorbing tutorials on Social Security and OPEC, who have hours of an afternoon to catch up on Pakistani politics with the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Charismatic and blunt, the 65-year-old is a gifted retail politician. Voters tend to show up at Biden events in a curious mood and leave in full swoon. Indeed, advisers to some of Biden's better-performing Democratic competitors believe that if the Delaware senator had real money and a serious organization in Iowa, he could pose an actual threat. 

The Foreign Policy-Pro: Joseph R. Biden Jr. - washingtonpost.com.