Joseph R. Biden

Why He Matters

Biden prides himself on being an average Joe. He grew up in a middle-class home in Scranton, Pa., and was a mediocre student in college and law school. He has never bought a house in Washington, D.C., instead taking the train home each night to Delaware.

But this everyman is also a bona fide Washington insider — he has spent more than half of his life in the nation’s capital. The six-term Senator and former chairman of the Senate Judiciary and Foreign Relations committees is famous for his cringe-inducing gaffes and propensity for wordiness. But colleagues say he is a gifted legislator who knows how to get laws passed. Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) called him “a superb strategist” who has sponsored landmark anti-crime legislation, overseen two Supreme Court nominations and shaped a slew of foreign policy issues.Lizza, Ryan, “Biden’s Brief: Obama picked his running mate to help him govern,” New Yorker, Oct. 20, 2008

The vice president’s life has been punctuated by great tragedy. His first wife was killed in a car accident just weeks after the 29-year-old Biden was elected to the Senate in 1972. His 1988 presidential campaign was derailed by accusations of plagiarism.

Biden sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 2007, but low fundraising and lower poll numbers forced him out of the race a day after the Iowa caucuses. He kept his dream of a White House position alive, however, by lobbying for the role of vice president publicly and privately. President Barack Obama announced that Biden was his choice for running mate on Aug. 24, 2008.

Though Biden has made his share of verbal missteps, he has become a trusted presidential adviser. The vice president was put in charge of some of the administration's biggest goals, including implementing Obama's $787 billion stimulus packageObama Taps Biden to Oversee Stimulus Package Implementation," FOX News, Feb. 23, 2009, supervising the U.S. mission in Iraq and helping pushing health-care reform through Congress.Nicholas, Peter and Richter, Paul, "Despite fumbles, Biden's a Player," Los Angeles Times, Aug. 18, 2009

Path to Power

Biden was born on Nov. 20, 1942, in Scranton, Pa., the oldest of four children. His father suffered a series of business setbacks that eventually forced the family to move in with Biden’s grandparents.

The Bidens moved to the suburbs of Wilmington, Del., when Biden was a teenager. There, he practiced speeches night after night with his sister Valerie Biden Owens to get over a stutter. Valerie also ran her brother’s first political campaign — for student council president — which he won. Biden wasn’t a gifted student in high school, but he was an outstanding athlete.

Biden received his undergraduate degree from the University of Delaware. While on spring break in the Bahamas his senior year, he met Neilia Hunter on a beach. He fell, as he described it, “ass over tin cup in love,” and enrolled in Syracuse Law School, where she was a student.Bumiller, Elisabeth, “Biden Campaigning With Ease After Hardships,” New York Times, Dec. 14, 2007

Biden struggled from his early days in upstate New York. In his first semester, he failed a class because he didn’t cite a law review article in a paper. He claimed the borrowing of material was a mistake and was allowed to retake the course. The school eventually included a letter attesting to his honesty in his permanent file. Still, he graduated near the bottom of his class in 1968.

Biden returned to Wilmington with Neilia, his new bride.  He worked for a few years as a criminal defense lawyer before turning to politics. In 1970, he won his first campaign for a position on the New Castle County Council. In that position, he made friends with prominent local Democrats, who eventually asked him to serve as the sacrificial lamb in running against popular Senate incumbent J. Caleb Boggs (R).

In 1972, when he wasn’t even legally old enough to be a Senator, Biden launched his improbable Senate campaign with his family in key roles, because, Owens said, “we were the only ones who thought he had a chance.” Influential Wilmington Democrat Ted Kaufman told Biden flat-out that he couldn’t win.Bumiller, Elisabeth, “Biden Campaigning With Ease After Hardships,” New York Times, Dec. 14, 2007

A Labor Day poll that showed Biden down by 35 points didn’t dampen the nascent campaign’s spirits, or their grassroots organizing. Slowly, Biden charmed Kaufman and others, who agreed to help. On election night, he won with 51 percent of the vote.

A few weeks later, Biden was interviewing potential staffers for his Washington, D.C., office when he received a call: his family had been in a deadly car accident. His wife and 13-month-old daughter Naomi were killed immediately by a drunk driver while out Christmas shopping. Beau and Hunter, Biden’s two sons, were seriously injured.

Biden refused to leave his sons’ sides for the next several weeks. He only slipped out of the hospital once - to attend his wife’s memorial service – and was sworn into his Senate seat in their recovery room.

Biden considered resigning from the Senate before even officially starting, but his family encouraged him to go to the Capitol. The new Senator’s sister moved in with her brother to help him care for his boys, and Biden’s brother, Jimmy, drove him back and forth to Washington. Kaufman helped Biden put his political affairs in order, and accepted a temporary chief of staff position.Broder, John, “Father’s Tough Life an Inspiration for Biden,” New York Times, Oct. 24, 2008

Biden took to the Senate, quickly rising in its ranks. However, he never strayed too far from Delaware, returning home from Washington, D.C., every night first by car and then eventually by train.

Biden considered running for president in 1980 and 1984, even filling out paperwork for the New Hampshire primary. However, he decided to wait until Ronald Reagan’s second term finished before tossing his hat into the ring.Murray, Shailagh, “Familiar Faces at Biden’s Side,” Washington Post, July 21, 2007

The Delaware Democrat became Judiciary Committee Chairman in 1987, just in time to chair the Robert Bork and Clarence Thomas Supreme Court confirmation hearings with their attendant controversies. That same year, he launched his first presidential campaign. Biden’s compelling personal story and youthful energy made him an early favorite, but his run was quickly bogged down by controversy.

During one campaign event, Biden forgot to attribute a quote in his stump speech to the author. His staff decided not to address the issue, assuming that reporters would understand that it was a slip-up. However, opponent Michael Dukakis quickly circulated a memo highlighting the mistake. Things only got worse when opponents dug up the cheating charges from his law school years. The story dominated the news for the next several days with critics charging he was a plagiarist.

Biden also struggled to balance his campaign obligations with his demands as Senate Judiciary Committee chairman, where he was overseeing the unsuccessful and controversial Bork nomination hearings. Biden ended his run in September 1987, explaining that his campaign had been overtaken by “the exaggerated shadow of past mistakes” and that he wanted to focus on defeating Bork’s nomination.Dionne Jr., E. J.,“Biden Withdraws from Bid for President in Wake of Furor,” New York Times, Sept. 24, 1987

Just a few weeks later, Biden was rushed to the hospital with a cranial aneurysm that almost killed him. After ending his presidential bid, Biden spent the next several years recovering his reputation. He cut back on speaking engagements and television appearances, instead meeting with foreign leaders and developing his foreign policy portfolio. Though he opposed the first Gulf War in 1991, Biden worked throughout the 1990s to make Democrats more comfortable with the idea of using military force. He lobbied President Bill Clinton to stop the slaughter of Serbians in the former Yugoslavia. In doing so, he helped popularize the mainstream Democratic foreign policy view of liberal interventionism.Lizza, Ryan, “Biden’s Brief: Obama picked his running mate to help him govern,” New Yorker, Oct. 20, 2008

He was named the ranking minority member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 1997, and became the panel’s chairman in 2001.

The Issues

In a series of interviews with the New Yorker, Biden sketched out his vision for the vice presidency. He says he would like to play a role in all key policy decisions and serve as chief liaison to Congress.Lizza, Ryan, “Biden’s Brief: Obama picked his running mate to help him govern,” New Yorker, Oct. 20, 2008

Six months in, that has largely turned out to be the case. Biden was tasked with convincing six Republicans to support the administration's economic stimulus package. He was able to convince three to do so, which made the difference between passage and failure.  In February 2009, Obama named Biden to oversee the implementation of the $787 billion economic stimulus package."Obama Taps Biden to Oversee Stimulus Package Implementation," FOX News, Feb. 23, 2009

Biden also played a key role in convincing Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) to switch his party affiliation.Smith, Ben, "Specter Switches Parties," Politico, April 28, 2009 And Obama has tapped the former Senator to push hard for healthcare.Nicholas, Peter and Richter, Paul, "Despite fumbles, Biden's a Player," Los Angeles Times, Aug. 18, 2009

Though foreign policy is one of Biden’s strengths, he has not been given a lead role.Cooper, Helene, "For Biden, No Portfolio but the Role of a Counselor," New York Times, Nov. 26, 2008 But his allies say Biden is in the room for all major policy decisions.

The Network

Biden’s three decades in the Senate have allowed him to develop close ties with many fellow Senators. He called Christopher J. Dodd, (D-Conn.) his “closest personal friend in public life” and said he has known Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and her husband President Bill Clinton for more than 20 years. The three are quite close — Clinton once told Biden: “I think you and Bill were separated at birth.”Murray, Shailagh, “Familiar Faces at Biden’s Side,” Washington Post, July 21, 2007

He and Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass) have also been called best friends.

Biden is famous in Washington, D.C., for his loyalty; many members of his staff have been around since his early days in the Senate and affectionately refer to themselves as “the family.” No one is closer to Biden than Valerie Biden Owens, his older sister who ran every Biden campaign from his first for student council president. Other insiders include Ted Kaufman, who in 2008 was nominated to replace Biden in the Senate, John Marttila, who worked on Biden's first Senate campaign in 1972, Mark Gitenstein, who is co-heading his vice presidential transition effort, Ron Klain, his vice presidential chief of staff, and Thomas Donilon, who will be his counsel.Lizza, Ryan, “Biden’s Brief: Obama picked his running mate to help him govern,” New Yorker, Oct. 20, 2008

Despite the partisan rhetoric on the campaign trail, 2008 presidential nominee John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Biden are good friends. They served together for several decades in the Senate and share an interest in foreign policy. During the 2008 campaign Biden told a small group of donors “I love John McCain … John’s been my friend long before he was a Senator.” If Biden can tap into these old ties, McCain might prove a valuable ally in Biden’s efforts to create a bipartisan bridge to lawmakers.

He is also close to Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), the ranking Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee, and former Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.).Lizza, Ryan, “Biden’s Brief: Obama picked his running mate to help him govern,” New Yorker, Oct. 20, 2008

(photos courtesy White House / Pete Souza)