Biden says he can win in the red states. - Goal: unite 'red' and 'blue' states, big cities and small towns, and Americans of all walks of life.

The Hill reports:

Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.), who is rarely thought of as a centrist, plans to take his presidential campaign to red states and rural voters in a bid to show that he has the quality that many party strategists say is key to winning the 2008 presidential primary: electability.

Biden yesterday announced the formation of a leadership political action committee, Unite Our States, with the purpose of electing a candidate "committed to addressing the challenges facing our country by beginning to unite 'red' and 'blue' states, big cities and small towns, and Americans of all walks of life."

By stressing the importance of unifying Americans, Biden is marching on to territory already being surveyed by Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.), who is also laying the groundwork for a 2008 presidential run.

Democratic strategists' conventional wisdom says the 2008 primary will boil down to a contest between Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), the front-runner, and a "not Hillary" candidate. A strategy emerging among those vying to be the alternative to Clinton, particularly Biden and Bayh, is to emphasize their ability to unite Americans. The implication is that Clinton is a divider.