US Senator Joseph Biden (D-Del.) Photo by Gabriela Garcia

Senator Joe Biden sat with the Columbia press corps Tuesday afternoon in Gambrell Hall. He was the guest of USC's Walker Institute of International and Area Studies, the West Forum, and Modern Political Collections of the Thomas Cooper Library. The Columbia Star got in a few questions:

Question #1 - Senator Biden, the military brass is now touting a reading list from the Vietnam era, books that include the British lessons learned in guerrilla warfare on the Malay peninsula in the early 1950s, lessons that apply today to our efforts in Iraq. We already know those counter-insurgency lessons, right? Why have we not applied them?

Abbreviated answer: In a word, incompetence.

Question #2 - Senator, the NASDAQ is putting in a bid to take over the London Stock Exchange. If a foreign firm moved on the Amex, would we scream and holler the way we did when the Dubai firm tried to operate American ports?

Abbreviated answer - No, we don't want to discourage foreign investment. But our ports need to reach the level of security in Hong Kong where they annually handle nine million containers and inspect every one, every single one.

Question #3 - Dr. Rice is rumored to be highly entertained with the thought of leaving State for the NFL. We're here to discuss foreign affairs. Would you avail yourself to become our next Secretary of State?

Abbreviated answer: Yes.