Biden's 2008 campaign logo

Biden campaigning at a Creston, Iowa house party, July 2007

Biden declared his candidacy for president on January 31, 2007, although he had discussed running for months prior,^[97] and first made a formal announcement to Tim Russert on Meet the Press on January 7, stating he would "be the best Biden I can be."^[98] In January 2006, Delaware newspaper columnist Harry F. Themal wrote that Biden "occupies the sensible center of the Democratic Party."^[99] Themal concludes that this is the position Biden desires, and that in a campaign "he plans to stress the dangers to the security of the average American, not just from the terrorist threat, but from the lack of health assistance, crime, and energy dependence on unstable parts of the world."^[99]

During his campaign, Biden focused on the war in Iraq and his support for the implementation of the Biden-Gelb plan to achieve political success. He touted his record in the Senate as the head of major congressional committees and his experience on foreign policy. Despite speculation to the contrary,^[100] Biden rejected the notion of accepting the position of U.S. Secretary of State, focusing only on the presidency. At a 2007 campaign event, Biden said, "I know a lot of my opponents out there say I'd be a great Secretary of State. Seriously, every one of them. Do you watch any of the debates? 'Joe's right, Joe's right, Joe's right.'"^[101] Other candidates commenting that "Joe is right" in the Democratic debates was converted into a Biden campaign theme and ad.^[102] In mid-2007, Biden stressed his foreign policy expertise compared to Obama's, saying of the latter, "I think he can be ready, but right now I don't believe he is. The presidency is not something that lends itself to on-the-job training."^[103] Biden was noted for his one-liners on the campaign trail, saying of Republican then-frontrunner Rudy Giuliani at the October 30, 2007, debate in Philadelphia, "There's only three things he mentions in a sentence: a noun, and a verb and 9/11."^[104]

Biden made remarks during the campaign that attracted controversy. In January 2007, he spoke of fellow Democratic candidate and Senator Barack Obama: "I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy, I mean, that's a storybook, man."^[105] This comment took second place on Time magazine's list of Top 10 Campaign Gaffes for 2007.^[106] Biden had earlier been criticized in July 2006 for a remark he made about his support among Indian Americans: "I've had a great relationship. In Delaware, the largest growth in population is Indian-Americans moving from India. You cannot go to a 7-Eleven or a Dunkin' Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent. I'm not joking."^[107] Biden later said the remark was not intended to be derogatory.^[107][108]

Overall, Biden had difficulty raising funds, struggled to draw people to his rallies, and failed to gain traction against the high-profile candidacies of Obama and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton;^[109] he never rose above single digits in the national polls of the Democratic candidates. In the initial contest on January 3, 2008, Biden placed fifth in the Iowa caucuses, garnering slightly less than one percent of the state delegates.^[110] Biden withdrew from the race that evening, saying "There is nothing sad about tonight.... I feel no regret."^[111]

2008 vice-presidential candidacy

Wikinews has related news:

US candidate Barack Obama announces Joe Biden as his running mate via text message

Joe Biden speaking at the August 23, 2008 vice presidential announcement in Springfield, Illinois, while presidential nominee Barack Obama listens

Joe Biden delivers his acceptance speech at the 2008 Democratic National Convention

In a June 22, 2008, interview on NBC's Meet the Press, Biden confirmed that, although he was not actively seeking a spot on the ticket, he would accept the vice presidential nomination if offered.^[112] On August 22, 2008, Barack Obama announced that Biden would be his running mate.^[113][114] The New York Times reported that the strategy behind the choice reflected a desire to fill out the ticket with someone who has foreign policy and national security experienceβ€”and not to help the ticket win a swing state or to emphasize Obama's "change" message.^[115] Other observers pointed out Biden's appeal to middle-class and blue-collar voters, as well as his willingness to aggressively challenge Republican nominee John McCain in a way that Obama seemed uncomfortable doing at times.^[116]

After his selection as a vice presidential candidate, Biden was criticized by his own Roman Catholic Diocese of Wilmington bishop over his stance on abortion, which goes against the church's pro-life teachings.^[117] The diocese confirmed that even if elected vice president, Biden would not be allowed to speak at Catholic schools.^[118] Biden was soon barred from receiving Holy Communion by the bishop of his original hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania, because of his support for abortion rights;^[119] however, Biden did continue to receive Communion at his local Delaware parish.^[118] Scranton became a flash point in the competition for swing state Catholic voters between the Democratic campaign and liberal Catholic groups, who stressed that other social issues should be considered as much or more than abortion, and many bishops and conservative Catholics, who maintained abortion was paramount.^[120] The New York Times reported that Biden "departed from party doctrine on abortion rights, declaring that as a Catholic, he believes life begins at conception", but Biden said that he would not impose his personal religious views on others.^[121]

In general, Biden's vice presidential campaigning gained little media visibility, as far greater press attention was focused on the Republican running mate, Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin.^[122][74] Biden nevertheless focused on campaigning in economically-challenged areas of swing states and trying to win over blue-collar Democrats, especially those who had supported Hillary Rodham Clinton.^[74] Biden attacked McCain heavily, despite a long-standing personal friendship; he would say, β€œThat guy I used to know, he’s gone. It literally saddens me.”^[74] As the financial crisis of 2007–2008 reached a peak with the liquidity crisis of September 2008 and the proposed bailout of United States financial system became a major factor in the campaign, Biden voted in favor of the $700 billion Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, which passed the Senate 74–25.^[123]

On October 2, 2008, Biden participated in the campaign's one vice presidential debate with Palin. Polling from CNN, Fox and CBS found that while Palin exceeded many voters' expectations, Biden had won the debate overall.^{[124][125][126]} On October 5, Biden suspended campaign events for a few days after the death of his wife's mother.^[127] During the final days of the campaign, Biden focused on less-populated, older, less well-off areas of battleground states, especially in Florida, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, where polling indicated he was popular and where Obama had not campaigned or performed well in the Democratic primaries.^{[128][129][130]} He also campaigned in some normally Republican states, as well as in areas with large Catholic populations.^[130] Under instructions from the Obama campaign, Biden kept his speeches succinct and tried to avoid off-hand remarks, such as one about Obama being tested by a foreign power soon after taking office that had attracted negative attention.^[129][128] Nationally, Biden had a 60 percent favorability rating in a Pew Research Center poll, compared to Palin's 44 percent.^[128]

On November 4, 2008, Obama was elected President and Biden Vice President of the United States.^[131] When inaugurated, he will be the first United States Vice President from Delaware and the first Roman Catholic to attain that office.

2008 Senate candidacy

After ending his 2008 presidential bid in January, Biden focused instead on running for a seventh Senate term against Republican Christine O'Donnell. In late August 2008, he was picked by Obama to be his running mate. Biden nevertheless continued to run for Senate re-election as well as Vice President,^[132] as permitted by Delaware state law.^[35] On November 4, Biden won the vice presidency in addition to being re-elected to the Senate.^[133]

Having won both races, Biden will resign from the Senate before Inauguration Day – January 20, 2009, assuming he chooses to become Vice President.^[132] Delaware's Democratic governor, Ruth Ann Minner, or possibly her successor, will then appoint someone else to serve the first two years of his term.^[132] There has been speculation in the media as to who the appointee might be.^[134][135]

Career outside of government

In 1981, Biden received an honorary degree from Saint Joseph's University.^[136] Since 1991, Biden has served as an adjunct professor at the Widener University School of Law, where has taught a seminar on constitutional law.^[137] Biden has typically co-taught the course with another professor, taking on at least half the course minutes and sometimes flying back from overseas to make one of the classes.^[138][139]

Biden is an inductee of the Delaware Volunteer Firemen's Association Hall of Fame,^[140] and sits on the board of advisors of the Close Up Foundation.^[141]

Political positions

A method that political scientists use for gauging ideology is to compare the annual ratings by the Americans for Democratic Action (ADA) with the ratings by the American Conservative Union (ACU).^[142] Biden has a lifetime liberal 72 percent score from the ADA through 2004, while the ACU awarded Biden a lifetime conservative rating of 13 percent through 2007.^[143] Using another metric, Biden has a lifetime average liberal score of 77.5 percent, according to a National Journal analysis that places him ideologically among the center of Senate Democrats.^[144] The Almanac of American Politics rates congressional votes as liberal or conservative on the political spectrum, in three policy areas: economic, social, and foreign. For 2005–2006, Biden's average ratings were as follows: the economic rating was 80 percent liberal and 13 percent conservative, the social rating was 78 percent liberal and 18 percent conservative, and the foreign rating was 71 percent liberal and 25 percent conservative.^[145] This has not changed much over time; his liberal ratings in the mid-1980s were also in the 70–80 percent range.^[36]

Various interest groups have given Biden scores or grades as to how well his votes align with the positions of each group. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) gives him an 86 percent lifetime score, with a 91 percent score for the current session of Congress.^[146] Biden received a 91 percent voting record from the National Education Association (NEA) showing a pro-teacher union voting record.^[147] Biden opposes drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and supports governmental funding to find new energy sources.^[148] Biden believes action must be taken on global warming. He co-sponsored the Sense of the Senate resolution calling on the United States to be a part of the United Nations climate negotiations and the Boxer-Sanders Global Warming Pollution Reduction Act, the most stringent climate bill in the United States Senate.^[149] Biden cites high health care and energy costs as two major threats to the prosperity of American businesses, and believes that addressing these issues will improve American economic competitiveness. Biden was given a 100 percent approval rating from AFL-CIO indicating a heavily pro-union voting record. Biden is opposed to the privatization of Social Security and was given an 89 percent approval rating from the Alliance for Retired Americans (ARA), an organization of retired union members.

Almanac

Electoral history

Tags: Part 2- Vice President Joe Biden Bio On CaribbeanLinkUp .com The Official Ca

Bookmark: