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Biden's Solid Base An Asset

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The Associated Press

Published: January 24, 2009

Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. steps into his new job as a senator's senator - steeped in its culture and deeply respectful of its role in Washington's intricate balance of power. There couldn't be a more fitting backdrop than the Capitol dome when he was sworn in as vice president Tuesday.

The Senate has defined Biden's professional life since 1972, when at age 29 he bucked President Richard M. Nixon's re-election landslide and edged out a GOP incumbent, J. Caleb Boggs, to capture the Delaware seat.

Tragedy struck weeks later when Biden's wife, Neilia, and infant daughter, Naomi, were killed in a car accident and his two young sons, Beau and Hunter, were critically injured. Biden was sworn into the Senate at the boys' hospital bedside, but the young father spoke openly of suicide and considered resigning the seat he had just won.
Biden chose to stay in the Senate, forging a 35-year career. He was sworn in for a seventh term Jan. 6 even though the next momentous chapter in his life was to begin in just two weeks. On Tuesday the 66-year-old Biden raised his right hand and took the oath as the nation's 47th vice president.

Not A Typical Insider

Though Biden has spent his professional life here, he isn't a typical creature of Washington. As a single father caring for his sons, Biden early on began a daily commute between Washington and Wilmington, Del. The nightly trek home helped burnish the image of a middle-class everyman, one that has endured despite his tenure on Capitol Hill.

His second wife, Jill, is a professor at Delaware Technical and Community College and has spent little time in Washington.

Despite his strong ties to his home state, Biden's public identity has been honed in the elite confines of the Senate. So has his sometimes windy speaking style - a trademark that has gotten him in hot water at times.

He made headlines late in the campaign when he told supporters that Barack Obama would face an international crisis early in his presidency, designed to "test the mettle of this guy."

This month, he openly criticized the Obama transition team for failing to consult the Senate Intelligence Committee on Obama's choice of Leon Panetta to head the CIA.

"I'm still a Senate man and I always think this way," Biden said.

Respect And Recognition
Biden has long been a respected voice on foreign policy in the Senate. He also distinguished himself as a member of the Judiciary Committee, crafting the landmark Violence Against Women Act and legislation to create the Office of National Drug Control Policy.
Biden became recognizable to television viewers in 1987 while presiding over the controversial Judiciary Committee hearings on President Ronald Reagan's failed nomination of Robert Bork to the Supreme Court. In 1991, he was similarly visible leading the explosive confirmation hearings for President George H.W. Bush's Supreme Court pick, Clarence Thomas, who faced Anita Hill's accusations of sexual harassment.

Biden's first run for president collapsed in 1987 after he acknowledged plagiarizing material from speeches delivered by British Labour Party leader Neil Kinnock. Shortly thereafter, Biden underwent several surgeries for life-threatening brain aneurysms that kept him out of the Senate for seven months.

He ran again for the Democratic nomination in 2008, getting off to a rough start when he was forced to explain his description of Obama as "clean" and "articulate." Biden dropped out of the race early after a poor showing in the Iowa caucuses. But his sharp, witty performances in several nationally televised debates drew the notice of Obama's team in the search for a running mate.

In Biden, the president's aides say they have found the right combination of leadership and everyman appeal that will help to move Obama's plans on Capitol Hill and in the public square.

"Joe Biden has served under seven administrations. He's seen what works and what doesn't work - that's the value of having him," Obama adviser David Axelrod said. "He brings a wealth of experience, not just on issues of substance, but also how to best get things done."

Much Is Changing

After decades of a well-established routine in Washington and Delaware, Biden's life is set to change dramatically.

Besides leaving the Senate, he and his wife are moving from Wilmington into the vice presidential mansion at the Naval Observatory in Washington. Jill Biden has said she hopes to continue teaching in the Washington area.

After Biden's career as his own boss, some of his friends have wondered how he will adjust to a supporting role. Aides say he's handling it well and has willingly relinquished the independence of his old life for the influence his new job confers.

"I think he's completely at peace and very enthusiastic about the possibilities," said John Marttila, a friend and political consultant who has worked with Biden since his first Senate race in 1972.

WHO IS BIDEN?

Joe Biden served in the Senate from 1972 until he relinquished his seat Tuesday to become vice president.

BORN: Nov. 20, 1942, in Scranton, Pa.

EDUCATION: Bachelor's degree in history and political science, University of Delaware, 1965; law degree, Syracuse University, 1968

EXPERIENCE: Senate, 1972 to present; New Castle County Council, 1970 to 1972; sought presidential nomination in 1988 and 2008

FAMILY: Married Neilia Hunter in 1966; three children, Beau, Hunter and Naomi. His wife and daughter Naomi died in a car crash in 1972. Married Jill Jacobs in 1977; one daughter, Ashley.

Source: The Associated Press

THE VICE PRESIDENT'S ROLE

Joe Biden has characterized his new role as one of presidential counselor, there to advise Barack Obama on a broad portfolio of issues.

•Obama has consulted Biden on his Cabinet choices and sought his input in crafting a nearly trillion-dollar economic package

•Obama also has asked Biden to chair a newly created task force aimed at ensuring the administration's economic policies would benefit the middle class.

•Under the Constitution, the vice president presides over the deliberations of the Senate unless it is sitting as a court to impeach the president.

•In the Senate, the vice president casts a vote only in the event of a tie.

•The vice president presides at a joint meeting of the two houses of Congress when electoral votes are counted.

•The duties of the office were expanded during the terms of President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The role has come to include international travel for good will and fact finding, as well as responsibility for special government projects and committees.

Source: The Associated Press and History.com

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