The classrooms on the University of Iowa campus may be desolate this week as students head home for Thanksgiving break, but this didn’t keep professors and politicos from brushing up on foreign policy at a Sen. Joe Biden House Party in Iowa City. In lieu of a traditional lecture hall, Mark Moen and Bobby Jett opened the doors of their 13th-floor penthouse home atop the Hotel Vetro to Biden, his family members and more than 200 members of the Iowa City community Monday night.

One of the evening’s hosts, Mark Moen briefly introduced the Democratic presidential candidate from Delaware, welcoming him to his home. “As many of you know, Bobby and are aren’t very political and don’t usually host these kinds of things, but Sen. Joe Biden is the exception,” said Moen, who added they’ve been impressed by Biden’s knowledge base and his straightforwardness. “It’s refreshing to finally see someone running for president who is truly genuine.”

Over 200 people crammed into the Iowa City penthouse to hear Sen. Biden speak

Using self-deprecating humor, Biden wasted no time connecting to the crowd as he made his finances public. “A western Iowa reporter asked me about finances, and I thought I was going to get a chance to talk about public campaign finance, but she asked me about my personal finances instead,” Biden confided. “‘Senator, is it true that you are the second poorest man in the Senate?’ she asked me. When I told her yes, she asked how that could be possible, since I’ve been there for nearly 35 years.”

Biden told the woman that Rush Limbaugh asked the same question: “How can you have somebody like Biden for president?” Limbaugh rhetorically asked his radio listeners. “He’s made no money in the Senate.”

“I thought that was the point,” Biden told the house-party guests.

After he put the audience at ease, Biden made his presidential pitch while simultaneously drawing distinctions between himself and his Democratic party rivals. “The Democrats have bought into the idea that you can’t possibly go out there and compete as a Democrat in 15 of those red states. I’m telling you, I can and I will,” Biden said. “I reject the premise that has been adopted by so many people in my party that we are inextricably divided between blue and red. A single parent, and I was a single parent for five years, in this town raising two kids has no different aspirations than those of a single mother or father in Brooklyn, N.Y., or Boise, Idaho.”

“I also reject, categorically, the notion that there are fundamental lines of division based on ideology that separate this country. It is not true,” Biden argued. “The country is neither liberal, conservative, or centrist, but rather, it’s pragmatic. The American people are looking for pragmatic solutions to concrete problems they face every day.”

“The American people agree across the board on health care. They know it’s broken. They know it needs to be fixed,” Biden said. “They know that the education system needs significant change. Whether they are Democrats or Republicans, they know we have to deal with our energy crisis in order to regain our international independence. I don’t believe they are not open to pragmatic solutions, particularly for the war and the attack on our civil liberties.”

Sen. Biden mingles with Johnson County politicos before delivering his opening remarks

Biden’s promise of pragmatic solutions rang true with Iowa City resident Dick Dorzweiler, who was initially drawn to Sen. Barack Obama of neighboring Illinois, but is now split between Obama and Biden. “I found Obama’s charisma appealing, but Biden’s pragmatism and ability to transcend the current partisanship to find solutions has me wondering if he’s the best candidate,” Dorzweiler said. “Besides, his depth of knowledge on foreign policy is second to none.”

After making a 20-minute pitch for his candidacy, Biden opened the floor and fielded questions from the audience for the next 90 minutes. As if addressing students in a lecture hall, Biden elaborated on myriad foreign policy issues, providing history and insights on the war in Iraq, the situations in Iran and Pakistan, trade concerns with China, and the war and opium industry in Afghanistan. Moreover, Biden responded to questions about health care, the global energy crisis, Medicare, prescription drugs, incarceration rates related to drug offenses, and domestic violence against women.

At one point, Biden shifted his sights to the Republicans. “I want to make it clear that I am running for the president of the United States on the Democratic ticket as a Democrat, and there are some things I will not compromise on,” Biden promised. “I refuse to cede to the Republicans this moral high ground they claim when it comes to occupying the moral values ground.”

“If you’ve watched me over the past few years, you may not always like what I say, but you never have to wonder if there’s any difference between what I say and what I mean and what I will do if I say it,” Biden said. “I can hardly wait to debate Mayor Giuliani or Mitt Romney on values. This is the most intolerant crowd on the Republican side that has been assembled in a long time. You are going to see the next Republican nominee campaigning in a moderate suit and moderate clothing, but do not be mistaken, the next president, if it’s a Republican, will be George W. Romney or George W. Giuliani.”

During his 90-minute Q & A session, Biden took a seat on a nearby couch to field quesitons on Medicare and the prescription “donut-hole”

Mike Nash, a Marion resident, drove down to Iowa City to see Biden and shared a story with the guests illustrating Biden’s bipartisan appeal. “I had a house party for Sen. Biden and I invited all my good friends, both Democrats and Republicans. By the end of the party, most of my Republican guests said they were switching parties to caucus for Biden,” Nash said. “They discovered, as I did months ago, that once people spend five minutes with Joe Biden, they start to believe that he can get done what needs to get done for our country.”

“I can’t understand, given Biden’s experience and breadth of knowledge, why more people aren’t getting behind him in the polls,” Nash told the Iowa Independent after the event. “He comes from a moderate upbringing, he’s respected on both sides of the aisle, and he’s a thinking-man’s candidate.”

During the tail end of his stump speech, Biden argued: “The central premise of my candidacy is that the American people are ready to respond to genuine leadership and authenticity, and we’re on the verge of a great Renaissance. I think the Democratic Party is going to be judged harshly for a squandered opportunity if it does not understand the sentiment that lives in the hearts of the vast majority of Americans,” Biden said.

“Sometimes the Democrats forget just how hard it is for average, middle-class people. People aren’t worried about the bickering that goes on among those of us running for president,” Biden contended. “They’re worried about what’s happening tomorrow in their lives. Whether they’ll have enough food for their families, put their kids in college, or if they’ll have enough money to afford health care. The Democrats are really good, but we’ve certainly become policy wonks. They don’t talk as much with their heart, and I’m not talking about populism, but about the things that really matter.”

Nash, who was accompanied by his wife and son, echoed this sentiment. “My son Tim is an Iraq war veteran, and nobody ever really thanked him for what he did,” Nash told the Iowa Independent. “Not that he’s expecting to be thanked, but it sure would be nice to hear. I’ll never forget when Joe Biden grabbed a hold of Tim and thanked him for his service. The gesture was truly heartfelt.”