Sen. Joe Biden D-Del., spoke at a fundraiser Tuesday for State Rep. Lisa Heddens, D-Ames, focusing mainly on the challenges facing the next president of the United States.

The next president, Biden said, would have “no margin of error.”

When Biden was asked about his idea for resolving the situation in Iraq, which consists of the country dividing into three separate states (Kurdish, Sunni and Shiite states), Biden said he was unique among other presidential candidates in proposing a political solution to the conflict.

Even after the situation in Iraq reaches a solution, Biden said, “a myriad of incredibly difficult problems” will still exist for whomever will be in office.

The next decade, Biden said, will be very difficult internationally, and the president should have the breadth and depth of knowledge necessary to deal with that reality.

One of the problems, Biden said, was the fact that more and more nations are potentially becoming nuclear states.

“America has never been more isolated than she is today,” Biden said.

He said the next U.S. president would have to understand that “the art of diplomacy is not the art of weakness.”

Other than international challenges, Biden also mentioned what he said were the nation’s needs for new energy, health care and education policies.

Aside from merely having ideas about these policies, Biden said it is important as the next president to be able to communicate to the American people that he or she understands what it has been like for politicians the past six years in dealing with these issues.

Biden said he knew he had been criticized for his bluntness, but he said he thought Americans could appreciate it as a sign of authenticity.

Heddens introduced Biden, saying she was proud to officially endorse the candidate because of his work on issues related to education, health care and people with disabilities.

Biden’s experience with international issues also made him a good candidate, she said.

“I really feel that he is prepared to lead our country,” Heddens said.