PROVIDENCE

The American people face serious issues that demand a serious presidential candidate, U.S. Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. told Rhode Island supporters last night.

And Biden said he is that candidate.

“In all the time I have been a United States senator, I have never seen the American electorate as sober as it is today,” said Biden, who was first elected to the Senate in 1972 at age 29.

The Delaware Democrat appeared at a fundraiser at the Richmond Square law office of St. Peter & Kasle. As the party nomination process grinds into gear across the country, Biden is making the rounds, testing his talking points and raising money. Yesterday’s $500-a-head event came “close to” reaching its goal of $50,000 raised, according to Frank McMahon, one of the hosts.

McMahon, of the lobbying firm Advocacy Solutions, said he favors Biden for the Democratic nomination because Biden has the potential to be “a serious world leader who could lead America into the near future.”

Biden has headed the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations in the past, and he will return to the chairmanship in January, when Democrats gain control of the Senate. In his speech last night, Biden emphasized foreign relations and national security.

He has made headlines recently with his strategy for ending the Iraq war. Biden proposes the formation of three regional governments – one Kurdish, one Sunni, one Shiite – with each region responsible for domestic laws and internal security, but a central government to control border defense, foreign affairs and oil revenues.

Indeed, Biden promises to focus on foreign affairs as president. “If we get it wrong on Korea and Iran, your grandchildren are going to live in a nuclear world that doesn’t exist today,” he said during a media availability before the fundraising reception, directing his comment to one of the younger reporters in the room.

Biden said he appeared at 68 events this election cycle for Democratic candidates in Iowa – which will hold the nation’s first Democratic caucus on Jan. 14, 2008 – and not one person asked him about social issues such as abortion and gay marriage.

He takes this to mean that getting out of Iraq and preventing terrorism and nuclear war are more important to the American people

During the media availability and the reception, Biden accused President Bush of fumbling the response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, not by calling Americans to keep shopping and keep flying – both reasonable requests, Biden said, to shore up the economy and display pride and perseverance. Rather, Biden said Bush erred by stopping there. If the attacks had taken place during John F. Kennedy’s administration, Biden said Kennedy would have called an immediate international summit to discuss stemming terrorism and Islamic fundamentalism, and would have sent a major energy bill to Congress to reduce U.S. dependency on foreign oil.

If elected, “I’m going to take away your tax cut if you make more than a million bucks,” and use the money to implement the recommendations of the Sept. 11 commission, Biden said.

In introducing Biden, lawyer Gary St. Peter praised the senator’s foreign-policy views, but said he first came to admire Biden in 1987, when Biden chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee and presided over the Senate hearings on the nomination of Robert Bork to the Supreme Court. (Bork was not confirmed.)

St. Peter lauded Biden’s support for First Amendment rights, due process and a right to privacy. “I believe he’s the smartest man in the Senate,” said St. Peter, who hosted last night’s event along with McMahon.

Also in attendance last night were former Governor Bruce Sundlun; Lt. Gov. Charles J. Fogarty; Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline; former Providence Mayor Joseph R. Paolino Jr.; and U.S. Senator-elect Sheldon Whitehouse, who will join Biden on the Judiciary Committee in January.

Biden is far from the first ’08 presidential hopeful to visit Rhode Island. Four of his Senate colleagues have already been here: Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y.; Barack Obama, D-Ill.; John McCain, R-Ariz.; and Chris Dodd, D-Conn. Also among the reputed contenders who have visited: Massachusetts Governor Romney; former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani; New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson; and Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack.

Biden is a seasoned politician who works a room with ease, making frequent eye contact and mingling jokes with weighty ideas. But he is also known for making statements a little less polished than what comes out of other politicians’ mouths.

Refusing to mince words might just make him the perfect candidate to reclaim the presidency for a party that has become “too timid,” overly cautious and afraid to offend, Biden said. He said he wasn’t sure his style was “something the public was ready for 8, 10, 12 years ago.”

Biden first threw his name into the hat for the presidency 20 years ago. He bowed out of the 1988 race after a revelation that he had delivered a speech containing elements plagiarized from a speech given by a British politician. Biden was also having health problems at the time – he underwent surgery for two brain aneurysms.

About the plagiarism, Biden said yesterday, “Twenty years ago, I made a mistake. Twenty years ago, I learned a whole hell of a lot getting up off my knees.”

About his health, Biden, who just turned 64, said it’s “good now – knock on wood.”