Essential Estrogen

Delaware Sen. Joe Biden is proud of the fact that he hasn't changed much since 1994.

"If I could wave a magic wand," he told the standing room only crowd in Cedar Rapids Sunday night, "the one thing in world politics I would do would be the empowerment of women."

Biden was responding to an audience member who questioned what could be done about the declining status of women in Iraq.

"I don't want to empower women because they are sweet and nice," he added. "It needs to be done because that's 51 percent of the world's population and because it would better us all."

Although the primary topic for Sunday's stump speech was the Iraq War, the U.S. Senator and author of the 1994 Violence Against Women Act often answers audience questions or follows a train of thought which leads him to discuss women and/or women's issues. On his campaign site he states that writing the VAWA was the most proud moment of his entire career. The legislation helped set up shelters and a national hotline where women who are abused can get help. In addition, the courts were empowered to protect women being stalked.

Following his public remarks, Biden spoke privately about the recent Supreme Court ruling. Pointing to his opposition of Justice Samuel Alito and Chief Justice John G. Roberts (not to mention Robert Bork), he said, "As president I would be prepared to nominate individuals who would respect a woman's right to privacy."

Biden, during his speech, said the one thing that needs to happen in the coming months was the "pricking of the consciousness of the nation."

He walked into the audience and placed a coffee cup in the middle of a round table. "That's what we have to do," he explained. "A leader has to be able to listen to all of these people at this table, each of them with their own opinions and find that one common thread they all agree on."

He pointed to the coffee cup and added, "Once you have the thing they can agree upon, you start building around that to bring them together."

He agreed to expand on this thinking as well after the event.

"We need to stop saying 'red' and 'blue' and thinking in those terms," he said. "We also need to stop buying into the false divisions which have been put out there. We have to reach out to one another and work together."