Biden seeks converts in uphill White House bid

ALLISON, Iowa (Reuters) - In a Democratic race for the White House dominated by Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, Joe Biden is scrambling to survive by enlisting an army of backers, one at a time, for Iowa's first-in-the-nation nominating contest.

At each campaign event, the U.S. senator from Delaware picks up a few supporters -- a grandmother here, a country lawyer there -- but he has no illusions about the difficulties he faces.

"I'm not a superstar," Biden said. "People say they like me, people tell me they think I'd be a good president but that they just don't think I can win."

It's not an assessment he shares. Biden is aiming for an upset -- at least a third-place finish in Iowa on January 3. That would be a victory in a state where he recently was seen running a distant fifth place, and would be enough to propel him into New Hampshire for its January 8 primary.

If he doesn't place third, or at least a close fourth, Biden says he's out of the race. But he is confident.

"I haven't yet held an event where someone hasn't come up afterward to say, 'I signed a pledge card for Hillary, John (Edwards) or Obama or (New Mexico Gov. Bill) Richardson but I'm now for you,'" Biden told Reuters in an interview between campaign stops.

Biden snared Margaret Johnson, the white-haired grandmother, in Allison, Iowa, where he denounced Republican President George W. Bush as reckless and discussed his own plans to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq, expand health care, upgrade education and move toward energy independence.

"I was for John Edwards but now I'm for you," Johnson told Biden.

"I love you," Biden replied with a hug.

"We've seen a lot of politicians, and Joe Biden comes across as the real deal," Johnson said.

The most experienced politician in a very experienced field of Democrats, Biden, 65, has spent the past 35 years as a senator, one who has become very influential.

A former chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee who now heads the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he has authored landmark crime-fighting legislation and traveled the globe conferring with world leaders.

With a son preparing for an anticipated deployment to Iraq with his Delaware Army National Guard unit, the war is particularly close to Biden's thoughts. He is pushing a plan that has drawn support from Iraqi leaders, world leaders and most U.S. senators -- but not the White House.

It features creation of three largely autonomous regions in Iraq -- Shi'ite, Sunni and Kurd -- with a limited central government.

"I'll be able on day one of becoming president to pull that plan out of the drawer and implement it and have every American troop out of Iraq within a year and leave a stable country behind," Biden tells crowds to sustained applause.

Despite his experience, Biden has had difficulty getting attention -- and money -- against a group of rivals that includes Sen. Clinton, the former first lady seeking to become the first woman U.S. president, Sen. Obama, who could become the first black U.S. president, and former Sen. John Edwards, the party's 2004 vice presidential nominee.

If Biden fails to win the presidency, he's seen as a possible secretary of state in a Democratic administration because of his foreign policy credentials.

"Absolutely not," Biden said when asked if he would take the job. He said he isn't interested in the vice presidency either.

Biden said he would rather remain head of the Foreign Relations Committee where he can challenge and shape policy.

Meanwhile, he is determined to reach out to as many people as possible in Iowa, which holds the first of the state-by-state nominating contests to decide who will represent the two political parties in next November's general election.

Matt Berry, a small-town attorney, had considered backing a number of candidates but he picked Biden after a town hall meeting with the senator in Mason City.

"He has the strength, character and experience we need," Berry said, holding a newly purchased "Biden" bumper sticker.

But Berry said his daughter, Katie, a 22-year-old college student, favors Obama. "She thinks Biden is too old."

That's a challenge Biden faces but he isn't deterred.

"I'm going to win out here," he said. "All I need to do is come in third. If I beat Obama, Hillary or Edwards, it'll be big news. That's all I have to do to be catapulted into New Hampshire."

(Editing by David Alexander and Eric Walsh)