My name is Nathan Empsall, aka Transplanted Texan. Some of you may know me from my Katrina diaries. I have not been particularly active on MyDD lately, which I regret, and so I feel quite honored to be writing this "campaign blogger" post for Joe Biden.

(It's not a great photo of me, but who cares? I'm with Joe!) I am a member of the Biden for President New Hampshire Steering Committee, but that is strictly a volunteer role, and this post is not vetted by the campaign. It is independently written and unpaid, just like my own blog, The Wayward Episcopalian. Like the other campaign bloggers, here's a quick bio of who I am and where I'm coming from: I am a native Texan, but have lived in Idaho since 2000. (No, I am not from DeLay's district, but I do owe you an apology for Bill Sali.) I am currently a rising junior at Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH, where I am double majoring in Government and Native American Studies. I have volunteered for a number of political campaigns, including Dean for President in WA and ID, Carter for Congress in LA, Hodes for Congress in NH, the Manchester City Democrats in NH, and Dunne for Lt. Gov in VT, among others. I have also worked for the Washington State Democratic Coordinated Campaign, the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana (Katrina recovery), the Episcopal Diocese of Spokane, and the Spokesman Review newspaper. Of particular interest to fellow progressives might be that I wrote a lengthy research paper about Keith Olbermann in March 2006, shortly before Countdown's ratings and publicity really took off.

I have long admired Senator Joe Biden, and am thrilled that he is running for President. His only previous run, in 1988, was derailed by exaggerated claims of plagiarism. But perhaps it is well that Biden's '88 campaign was derailed-he himself admits that he was then too young and inexperienced to be President. Twenty years is a long time, however, and Biden has since grown from a Senate firebrand to an esteemed statesman. No one can argue that he lacks the maturity and policy expertise to be President today.

Though I have specific reasons for not supporting any of our party's current "frontrunners", I want to keep this post positive, and will focus on why I support Joe Biden. I will address some of the more common blogosphere criticisms of Biden in the comment section below. Jerome also asked us campaign bloggers to "asses how their candidate has done to date (ie., what's been the moments of the campaign strategy... that standout)." The positives about Joe Biden the man will make for a fairly lengthy post on their own, but I will say two things about the actual campaign: First, I strongly believe Biden has won, or come in a strong second, at all five of the debates. This is slowly giving the campaign more and more press attention, which well help with fundraising efforts and name recognition. Fundraising should also start to improve now that Biden is not tied up by Senate hearings on Iraq and Russia. Second, do remember that in December 2003, a month before the Iowa caucuses, John Kerry was polling at 3% and his campaign finances consisted of a second mortgage on his house. 2004, 1992, 1988, and 1976 all show that it's foolish to count out the second tier. For more on how Biden can win, read this article I wrote for the Dartmouth Independent. And with that, here are the five primary reasons why I'm with Joe:

1. Iraq
   
2. The Violence Against Women Act
   
3. Experience
   
4. Doesn't Duck Questions
   
5. REAL Family Values

More after the jump...

Update: Got the YouTube figured out. Thanks!

There's more...