The media’s almost universal opinion that Sen. Joe Biden simply made just another one of his gaffes — when he warned that the election of the untested Barack Obama would inevitably result in a global crisis where our enemies take measure of the man by confronting him and America with a challenge — was dead wrong.

It was no gaffe; it was a clear warning that Obama will not only be tested, but also that he will not be up to the challenge and will need help in dealing with something he cannot deal with on his own.

I cannot remember a more frightening scenario, especially since it came from Obama’s own running mate and not John McCain or the Republican Party. I have no doubt Biden was sincere in alerting the nation to a very real threat to our national security — the prospect of a totally inexperienced and naive Barack Obama being confronted by an enemy he would rather talk with.That the nation isn’t alarmed by this prospect, which Biden guaranteed would surely come about, is simply bizarre. Here in a post-9/11 world, when America’s foes have proven they’ll stop at nothing to bring America down to our knees, if the polls are correct, voters are on the verge of electing a man to the presidency whose very election will light the spark of an international crisis in a nuclear age.

This is an unprecedented situation, but it’s not the first time the voters have chosen a president who lacked the bona fides required in a leader facing an international threat and a determined enemy.

Unlike Barack Obama, however, John Kennedy had been tested when in harm’s way during WW II and had shown himself capable of acting with both courage and initiative.

Moreover, he had been a first-hand witness at momentous events during his father’s ambassadorship to war-torn Britain and had even written a book, “Why England Slept,” about the crisis England faced because they failed to recognize the threat Hitler posed to their very existence.

Yet even with his experience evident when he won election in 1960, the Soviet Union thought he not only should be tested but was convinced he would fail the test.

As a result, America found itself facing a nuclear war with the Soviets after Soviet dictator Nikita Khrushchev met with JFK, saw what he judged to be his weakness, and confronted America with the Cuban Missile Crisis.

It was only after JFK promised to remove U.S. missiles from Turkey and pledged to halt all efforts to remove Fidel Castro from power that Khrushchev agreed to take his missiles out of Cuba.

We cannot afford another such crisis, yet if Joe Biden is correct, that’s exactly what will happen if Barack Obama wins the presidency on November 4. He’s guaranteed it.

We can expect the challenge to Obama to come from Iran, which has already observed him promising to sit down with their leaders without preconditions and thus meet with them as equals.

Iran has already shown how they react to U.S. presidents who show signs of weakness. They saw weakness in Jimmy Carter, and they seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and held 52 U.S. diplomats hostage for 444 days.

When my father won election in 1980 Iran had no need to test him; they had already taken his measure and he scared the daylights out of them. As a result, minutes after he took the oath of office, the Iranians released the hostages.

A soon-to-be nuclear power, Iran is certain to test what they see as a politician with absolutely no experience. And given his demonstrated willingness to greet hostility with mere words eloquently spoken, we can expect Iran to risk a global crisis by facing him with a direct challenge to his leadership, probably by rattling their nuclear sword.

We had better heed Joe Biden’s warning and vote against an untested politician from Chicago’s rowdy and corrupt political machine.

Mr. Reagan is a syndicated radio talk-show host, author of “Twice Adopted” (Broadman & Holman Publishers) and “The City on a Hill,”and the son of former President Ronald Reagan.