Bill Clinton Heaps Praise For Biden In Florida Rally

October 2, 2008 11:19 a.m. EST

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - Former President Bill Clinton lavished praise for Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE) in Florida on Wednesday, saying the Democratic vice presidential candidate was the Senate's foremost economic and foreign policy expert.

"You can talk to me or anybody else at any time in Washington, and they will tell you there is nobody, nobody in the entire United States senate that understands the political, the economic, and the security challenges and opportunities of the world better than Joe Biden does. He is a superb choice," Clinton said during an event in Orlando.

A little over a month ago, the former president said in his speech before the Democratic National Convention that he "loved" Biden, and that Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL), who has received less emphatic praise from Clinton, had "hit the ball out of the park" by naming Biden to the ticket.

Biden, the first Roman Catholic vice president if he wins, is a six-term senator who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and was formerly chair of the Senate Judiciary panel. Despite his widely recognized expertise in foreign policy and national security, his tendency for gaffes has given critics more reasons to target the Democratic ticket.

Earlier this month, he had to backpedal on his opposition to the government bailout of the American International Group (AIG). He also drew flak from Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) for saying that it's time for wealthy Americans to be patriotic by paying higher taxes.