Biden ready to take on Palin

Washington - Democrat Joe Biden says he has debated "an awful lot of tough, smart women" throughout his career and next month's vice presidential debate with Republican Sarah Palin will be no exception. But he would like to know where she stands on issues.

"She's a smart, tough politician, so I think she's going to be very formidable," Biden told NBC television's Meet the Press on Sunday.

The Democratic senator from Delaware and the Republican governor of Alaska are scheduled to debate October 2 at Washington University in St Louis.

Biden, serving his sixth term in Congress, said, "There's a lot of very tough, smart women in the United States Senate I debate every day." So, he said, "It's not new" to be going up against Palin. He also mentioned his wife, Jill, who has a Ph.D.

Asked whether he'd debate Palin differently than he would Republicans Mitt Romney or Tom Ridge, two former governors who figured into speculation about John McCain's running mate, Biden said the only difference is that he knows their positions on issues.

"I have no idea what her policies are. I assume they're the same as John's. I just don't know," he said of Palin.

Biden said she delivered a great speech to the Republican National Convention last week in St Paul, Minnesota, but "her silence on the issues was deafening.

"She didn't mention a word about health care, a word about the environment, a word about the middle class. They never parted her lips ... so I don't know where she is on those things."

Later on Sunday, Biden held a rally in the heart of conservative Montana, saying his campaign with Barack Obama will make good on its pledge to compete in places that have previously spurned national Democrats.

"This is not a place where you traditionally expect to see Democratic candidates run for national office," he said at an afternoon rally in Kalispell, Montana. "But in case you didn't notice, Barack Obama has been (to Montana) five times.

"Now, they finally thought it was safe enough to risk sending me out here."

George W Bush won Montana by nearly 20 percentage points in both 2000 and 2004.

Biden said McCain and Palin won't be able to separate themselves from the Bush legacy.

"Everybody talks about change. Let me tell you something, I am fascinated to find out that all of a sudden John McCain and Sarah Palin are the agents of change," Biden said.

"Name me one single place where the McCain-Palin ticket disagrees with George Bush."

- AP