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86-610: Founded by 12 women, the membership grew to several hundred. In 1996 they were described as "the single most-powerful entertainment group" in politics, based on their total donations. The group disbanded in April 1997 after the rise of Clintonism : the centrist compromises made by Bill Clinton, abandoning HWPC and the Left. During its 12 years of operation, HWPC donated a total of $ 6 million for political causes. Singer/actress Barbra Streisand had long been active in politics, taking part in

172-505: A Fordham Law Review article with inadequate citations. He was required to repeat the course and passed with high marks. At Biden's request the Delaware Supreme Court's Board of Professional Responsibility reviewed the incident and concluded that he had violated no rules. Biden has made several false or exaggerated claims about his early life: that he had earned three degrees in college, that he attended law school on

258-686: A Juris Doctor from Syracuse University in 1968. He was elected to the New Castle County Council in 1970 and the U.S. Senate in 1972 . As a senator , Biden drafted and led the effort to pass the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act and the Violence Against Women Act . He also oversaw six U.S. Supreme Court confirmation hearings, including the contentious hearings for Robert Bork and Clarence Thomas . Biden ran unsuccessfully for

344-496: A University of Oklahoma law school professor, had accused Thomas of making unwelcome sexual comments when they had worked together. Biden had known of some of these charges, but initially shared them only with the committee because Hill was then unwilling to testify. The committee hearing was reopened and Hill testified, but Biden did not permit testimony from other witnesses, such as a woman who had made similar charges and experts on harassment. The full Senate confirmed Thomas by

430-487: A public defender and then at a law firm headed by a locally active Democrat, who named him to the Democratic Forum, a group trying to reform and revitalize the state party; Biden subsequently reregistered as a Democrat. He and another attorney also formed a law firm. Corporate law did not appeal to him, and criminal law did not pay well. He supplemented his income by managing properties. Biden ran for

516-685: A seminar on constitutional law at Widener University School of Law . He sometimes flew back from overseas to teach the class. Secretary of the Senate Francis R. Valeo swore Biden in at the Delaware Division of the Wilmington Medical Center in January 1973. Present were his sons Beau (whose leg was still in traction from the automobile accident) and Hunter and other family members. At age 30, he

602-521: A "mistake", but did not push for withdrawal. He supported the appropriations for the occupation, but argued that the war should be internationalized, that more soldiers were needed, and that the Bush administration should "level with the American people" about its cost and length. By late 2006, Biden's stance had shifted considerably. He opposed the troop surge of 2007 , saying General David Petraeus

688-399: A 1976 passage by Hubert Humphrey . Biden responded that politicians often borrow from one another without giving credit, and that one of his rivals for the nomination, Jesse Jackson , had called him to point out that he (Jackson) had used the same material by Humphrey that Biden had used. A few days later, an incident was publicized in which, while in law school, Biden had taken text from

774-814: A 52–48 vote, with Biden opposed. Liberal legal advocates and women's groups felt strongly that Biden had mishandled the hearings and not done enough to support Hill. In 2019, he told Hill he regretted his treatment of her, but Hill said afterward she remained unsatisfied. Biden was a longtime member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee . He became its ranking minority member in 1997 and chaired it from June 2001 to 2003 and 2007 to 2009. His positions were generally liberal internationalist . He collaborated effectively with Republicans and sometimes went against elements of his own party. During this time he met with at least 150 leaders from 60 countries and international organizations, becoming

860-422: A Bachelor of Arts degree with a double major in history and political science in 1965. Biden had a stutter and has mitigated it since his early twenties. He has described his efforts to reduce it by reciting poetry before a mirror. Biden married Neilia Hunter , a student at Syracuse University , on August 27, 1966, after overcoming her parents' disinclination for her to wed a Catholic. Their wedding

946-576: A Democratic floor manager for the successful passage of the Comprehensive Crime Control Act in 1984. His supporters praised him for modifying some of the law's worst provisions, and it was his most important legislative accomplishment to that time. In 1994, Biden helped pass the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act , which included a ban on assault weapons , and the Violence Against Women Act , which he has called his most significant legislation. The 1994 crime law

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1032-694: A class of 85 students. He was admitted to the Delaware bar in 1969. Biden clerked at a Wilmington law firm headed by prominent local Republican William Prickett in 1968 and, he later said, "thought of myself as a Republican". He disliked incumbent Democratic Delaware governor Charles L. Terry 's conservative racial politics and supported a more liberal Republican, Russell W. Peterson , who defeated Terry in 1968. Local Republicans attempted to recruit Biden, but he registered as an Independent because of his distaste for Republican presidential candidate Richard Nixon . In 1969, Biden practiced law, first as

1118-580: A cold day in hell" before another independent counsel would be granted similar powers. He voted to acquit during the impeachment of President Clinton . During the 2000s, Biden sponsored bankruptcy legislation sought by credit card issuers. Clinton vetoed the bill in 2000, but it passed in 2005 as the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act , with Biden being one of only 18 Democrats to vote for it, while leading Democrats and consumer rights organizations opposed it. As

1204-468: A fact which angered many in the HWPC. In various other ways, Clinton was signaling a further shift to the right which would later be described as Clintonism . The HWPC convened discussion groups about this problem, and no consensus emerged for a solution. They voted to disband in April 1997, fulfilling contractual obligations through the end of June when they finally closed their doors. During its heyday, HWPC

1290-476: A full scholarship, that he had graduated in the top half of his class, and that he had marched in the civil rights movement . The limited amount of other news about the presidential race amplified these disclosures and on September 23, 1987, Biden withdrew his candidacy, saying it had been overrun by "the exaggerated shadow" of his past mistakes. After exploring the possibility of a run in several previous cycles, in January 2007, Biden declared his candidacy in

1376-578: A middle-class lifestyle. At Archmere Academy in Claymont, Biden played baseball and was a standout halfback and wide receiver on the high school football team. Though a poor student, he was class president in his junior and senior years. He graduated in 1961. At the University of Delaware in Newark , Biden briefly played freshman football, and, as an unexceptional student, received

1462-570: A point of not resigning from the Senate before he was sworn in for his seventh term in January 2009. He cast his last Senate vote on January 15, supporting the release of the second $ 350   billion for the Troubled Asset Relief Program , and resigned from the Senate later that day, after which Ted Kaufman took office as his successor. In October 2010, Biden said Obama had asked him to remain as his running mate for

1548-479: A proposed constitutional amendment banning busing entirely. Biden supported a 1976 measure forbidding the use of federal funds for transporting students beyond the school closest to them. He co-sponsored a 1977 amendment closing loopholes in that measure, which President Carter signed into law in 1978. Biden became ranking minority member of the Senate Judiciary Committee in 1981. He was

1634-538: A rightward turn led by Newt Gingrich 's Contract with America . The HWPC raised $ 4 million for the successful 1996 campaign to reelect President Bill Clinton , but a number of HWPC members were unhappy with his policies. Clinton had just signed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act , a gesture of mollification to Gingrich and others on the right who were urging welfare reform . The new laws hurt low income women disproportionately,

1720-462: A senator, Biden strongly supported increased Amtrak funding and rail security. In February 1988, after several episodes of increasingly severe neck pain, Biden underwent surgery to correct a leaking intracranial berry aneurysm . While recuperating, he suffered a pulmonary embolism , a serious complication. After a second aneurysm was surgically repaired in May, his recuperation kept him away from

1806-421: A sister, Valerie , and two brothers, Francis and James . The Biden surname traces back to William Biden, an ancestor of his who emigrated from England to Maryland around 1820. Biden's father had been wealthy and the family purchased a home in the affluent Long Island suburb of Garden City in the fall of 1946, but he suffered business setbacks around the time Biden was seven years old, and for several years

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1892-449: A time when most draftees were sent to the war. Based on a physical examination, he was given a conditional medical deferment in 1968; in 2008, a spokesperson for Biden said his having had " asthma as a teenager" was the reason for the deferment. Biden defeated Republican incumbent J. Caleb Boggs to become the junior U.S. senator from Delaware in 1972. He was the only Democrat willing to challenge Boggs and, with minimal campaign funds, he

1978-656: A well-known Democratic voice on foreign policy. Biden voted against authorization for the Gulf War in 1991, siding with 45 of the 55 Democratic senators. He said the U.S. was bearing almost all the burden in the anti-Iraq coalition . Biden became interested in the Yugoslav Wars after hearing about Serbian abuses during the Croatian War of Independence in 1991. Once the Bosnian War broke out, Biden

2064-476: Is Biden gonna say something stupid?", he asked. Obama campaign staffers called Biden's blunders "Joe bombs" and kept Biden uninformed about strategy discussions, which in turn irked Biden. Relations between the two campaigns became strained for a month, until Biden apologized on a call to Obama and the two built a stronger partnership. As the 2007–2008 financial crisis reached a peak in September 2008, and

2150-402: Is also thought to encompass many other prominent people, including campaign consultant Dick Morris , journalist Sidney Blumenthal , Democratic National Committee Chairman Steven Grossman , politician and governor Bill Richardson , Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Henry Cisneros , Treasury Department Secretary Robert Rubin and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright . While

2236-474: The 1988 and 2008 Democratic presidential nominations . In 2008, Obama chose Biden as his running mate, and he was a close counselor to Obama during his two terms as vice president. In the 2020 presidential election , the Democratic Party nominated Biden for president. He selected Kamala Harris as his running mate, and they defeated Republican incumbents Donald Trump and Mike Pence . He became

2322-421: The 2012 presidential election , but with Obama's popularity on the decline, White House Chief of Staff William M. Daley conducted some secret polling and focus group research in late 2011 on the idea of replacing Biden on the ticket with Hillary Clinton. The notion was dropped when the results showed no appreciable improvement for Obama, and White House officials later said Obama himself had never entertained

2408-590: The Defense of Marriage Act , which prohibited the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages, thereby barring individuals in such marriages from equal protection under federal law and allowing states to do the same. In 2015, the act was ruled unconstitutional in Obergefell ;v. Hodges . Biden was critical of Independent Counsel Ken Starr during the 1990s Whitewater controversy and Lewinsky scandal investigations, saying "it's going to be

2494-534: The Democratic primaries , became the party's presumptive nominee in the 2024 presidential election . Concerns about Biden's age and health persisted throughout his first term, with renewed scrutiny after his performance during the first presidential debate on June 27. On July 21, he withdrew his candidacy , becoming the first U.S. president to decline to seek reelection after securing enough delegates to win renomination. Biden endorsed Vice President Harris to be

2580-547: The Social Democratic Party in Germany under Chancellor Gerhard Schröder . According to Vanity Fair , Clintonism is foundationally "based on the baby boomer credo that you truly can have it all". Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. ( / ˈ r ɒ b ɪ n ɪ t ˈ b aɪ d ən / ROB -in-it BY -dən ; born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who has been

2666-435: The U.S. invasion of Iraq . As chair of the committee, he assembled a series of witnesses to testify in favor of the authorization. They gave testimony grossly misrepresenting the intent, history, and status of Saddam and his secular government, which was an avowed enemy of al-Qaeda , and touted Iraq's fictional possession of weapons of mass destruction . Biden eventually became a critic of the war and called his vote and role

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2752-923: The Women Strike for Peace of 1961, and helping the George McGovern 1972 presidential campaign by performing at the Four for McGovern concert. Actress/activist Jane Fonda and her husband, activist/politician Tom Hayden , created the Campaign for Economic Democracy (CED) in 1976 to fund Hayden's 1982 run for the California State Senate , and to champion progressive political causes. After Hayden won, CED promoted solar power, opposed nuclear power, and promoted women's rights; all paid for by Fonda's very popular workout book and videos . In 1984, President Ronald Reagan , strongly conservative ,

2838-836: The oldest president in U.S. history and the first to serve with a female vice president. As president, Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent recession . He signed bipartisan bills on infrastructure and manufacturing . He proposed the Build Back Better Act , which failed in Congress, but aspects of which were incorporated into the Inflation Reduction Act that he signed into law in 2022. Biden appointed Ketanji Brown Jackson to

2924-542: The 2008 elections . During his campaign, Biden focused on the Iraq War , his record as chairman of major Senate committees, and his foreign-policy experience. Biden was noted for his one-liners during the campaign; in one debate he said of Republican candidate Rudy Giuliani , "There's only three things he mentions in a sentence: a noun, and a verb and 9/11 ." Biden had difficulty raising funds, struggled to draw people to his rallies, and failed to gain traction against

3010-604: The 46th and current president of the United States since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party , he served as the 47th vice president from 2009 to 2017 under President Barack Obama and represented Delaware in the U.S. Senate from 1973 to 2009. Born in Scranton, Pennsylvania , Biden moved with his family to Delaware in 1953. He received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Delaware in 1965 and

3096-437: The 4th district seat on the New Castle County Council in 1970 on a liberal platform that included support for public housing in the suburbs. The seat had been held by Republican Henry R. Folsom, who was running in the 5th District following a reapportionment of council districts. Biden won the general election, defeating Republican Lawrence T. Messick, and took office on January 5, 1971. He served until January 1, 1973, and

3182-834: The Brandywine in Greenville, Delaware . In 1981, the couple had a daughter, Ashley Biden . She is a social worker and married to physician Howard Krein . Jill helped raise her stepsons, Hunter and Beau, who were seven and eight respectively at the time of her marriage. Hunter has worked as a Washington lobbyist and investment adviser; his business dealings, personal life , and legal troubles have come under significant scrutiny during his father's presidency. Beau became an Army judge-advocate in Iraq and later Delaware attorney general ; he died of brain cancer in 2015. From 1991 to 2008, as an adjunct professor , Biden co-taught

3268-474: The Democratic presidential nominee. Harris lost the presidential election to Trump. Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. was born on November 20, 1942, at St. Mary's Hospital in Scranton, Pennsylvania , to Catherine Eugenia "Jean" Biden ( née  Finnegan ; 1917–2010) and Joseph Robinette Biden Sr. (1915–2002) The oldest child in a Catholic family of mostly Irish descent, along with English and French; he has

3354-424: The HWPC policy statement, "We are committed to an economic policy based on every citizen's full participation in our country's economic wealth." HWPC decided to fund six Democratic challengers in the 1986 Senate races, in an effort to take majority control of the Senate. Streisand and the HWPC held a fund-raising benefit concert at Streisand's Malibu home in September 1986, raising a surprising $ 1.5 million for

3440-506: The Republican incumbent. Bergthold said that HWPC's gay-friendly position on LGBT issues was based on the group's established stance regarding civil rights in general. In January 1996, the HWPC "went cyber" by establishing a webpage, which was unusual for the time. Even so, they still kept their fax machines to pass information to politicians. The HWPC suffered a setback in 1994 when years' worth of New Left advances were swept aside in

3526-637: The Senate Foreign Relations Committee's objections. He received considerable attention when he excoriated Secretary of State George Shultz at a Senate hearing for the Reagan administration's support of South Africa despite its continued policy of apartheid . In a congressional hearing in 1984, he objected to the Strategic Defense Initiative plan to construct autonomous systems of ICBM defense. In

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3612-542: The Senate for seven months. Biden was a longtime member of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary . He chaired it from 1987 to 1995 and was a ranking minority member from 1981 to 1987 and again from 1995 to 1997. As chair, Biden presided over two highly contentious U.S. Supreme Court confirmation hearings. When Robert Bork was nominated in 1988, Biden reversed his approval‍—‌given in an interview

3698-507: The Senate, but the idea failed to gain traction. Biden formally declared his candidacy for the 1988 Democratic presidential nomination on June 9, 1987. He was considered a strong candidate because of his moderate image, his speaking ability, his high profile as chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee at the upcoming Robert Bork Supreme Court nomination hearings, and his appeal to Baby Boomers ; he would have been

3784-473: The Streisand Foundation but resigned from the HWPC, handing the reins to Lara Bergthold. After Mondale–Ferraro lost to Reagan–Bush, the HWPC felt that Mondale had not moved far enough to the left, and had failed to engage or excite liberal voters. They decided to declare a strong New Left stance. The HWPC drew up a list of principles in early 1985, determining which political issues were to be

3870-640: The Supreme Court . He worked with congressional Republicans to resolve the 2023 debt-ceiling crisis by negotiating a deal to raise the debt ceiling . In his foreign policy , Biden restored America's membership in the Paris Agreement . He oversaw the complete withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan that ended the war in Afghanistan , leading to the collapse of the Afghan government and

3956-778: The Taliban seizing control . He responded to the Russian invasion of Ukraine by imposing sanctions on Russia and authorizing civilian and military aid to Ukraine . During the Israel–Hamas war , Biden condemned the actions of Hamas as terrorism, announced military support for Israel and sent humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip . His administration brokered a ceasefire agreement in the Israel–Hezbollah conflict . In April 2023, Biden announced his reelection campaign and, after

4042-749: The Year of the Woman was 72 years ago when women got the vote. Boy, time sure flies when you’re being oppressed." A total of $ 375,000 was raised for the nine candidates. In 1994, the HWPC spent $ 10,000 to oppose two anti-gay bills in other states, Oregon's Ballot Measure 13 , and a similar one in Idaho . These efforts were victorious, unlike the funding of Rick Zbur 's campaign during the 1996 U.S. House of Representatives elections in California . Zbur, running as an openly gay man, won his Democratic primary but lost to

4128-532: The campaigns of Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer to assist them in winning the special election and the regular U.S. Senate election in California , respectively. This was the first time both U.S. senators from one state were women. In July 1992 at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel , the HWPC hosted a fundraising dinner for nine women candidates running for U.S. Senate. Lily Tomlin was master of ceremonies , and Streisand delivered

4214-428: The debate overall. On November 4, Obama and Biden were elected with 53% of the popular vote and 365 electoral votes to McCain and Palin's 173. At the same time Biden was running for vice president, he was also running for reelection to the Senate, as permitted by Delaware law. On November   4, he was reelected to the Senate, defeating Republican Christine O'Donnell . Having won both races, Biden made

4300-505: The election, Biden trailed Boggs by almost thirty percentage points, but his energy, attractive young family, and ability to connect with voters' emotions worked to his advantage, and he won with 50.5% of the vote. A few weeks after Biden was elected senator, his wife Neilia and one-year-old daughter Naomi were killed in an automobile accident while Christmas shopping in Hockessin, Delaware , on December 18, 1972. Neilia's station wagon

4386-470: The era of his presidency in the United States . The Democratic Leadership Council , a pro- Democratic Party establishment, argues that Clintonism "stands for economic growth and opportunity ; for fiscal responsibility ; for work , not welfare ; for preventing crime and punishing criminals ; and for non- bureaucratic , empowering government" and further says that "these policies are key to

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4472-518: The family lived with Biden's maternal grandparents in Scranton. Scranton fell into economic decline during the 1950s and Biden's father could not find steady work. Beginning in 1953 when Biden was ten, the family lived in an apartment in Claymont, Delaware , before moving to a house in nearby Mayfield, Delaware . Biden Sr. later became a successful used-car salesman , maintaining the family in

4558-466: The field to Senator Joe Biden from Delaware, and Senator Gary Hart from Colorado. Hart was briefly the frontrunner but his campaign was sunk by revelations of his womanizing. Biden dropped out after charges of plagiarism in his speeches. The Democratic Convention settled on Michael Dukakis , who lost to George H. W. Bush . In 1992 to help implement the Year of the Woman , HWPC donated almost $ 200,000 to

4644-436: The focus. They included abortion rights , nuclear weapons freeze , anti- nuclear power , anti- pollution , and more. Though Fonda was not involved in day-to-day operations, her influence was felt. Bergthold noticed in 1992 when she joined the group that many of the staffers had previous experience working on political campaigns with Fonda and Hayden. And the issues pursued by CED were many of the same confronting HWPC, especially

4730-400: The formulation on previous occasions, but did not on two occasions in late August. Kinnock himself was more forgiving; the two men met in 1988, forming an enduring friendship. Earlier that year, Biden had also used passages from a 1967 speech by Robert F. Kennedy (for which his aides took blame) and a short phrase from John F. Kennedy's inaugural address ; two years earlier he had used

4816-469: The high-profile candidacies of Obama and Senator Hillary Clinton . He never rose above single digits in national polls of the Democratic candidates . In the first contest on January 3, 2008, Biden placed fifth in the Iowa caucuses , garnering slightly less than one percent of the state delegates. He withdrew from the race that evening. Despite its lack of success, Biden's 2008 campaign raised his stature in

4902-562: The keynote speech, saying, "It’s time we had a place at the table where the life and death decisions of the country, the world and the planet are made." HWPC co-founder Marilyn Bergman composed a song for the dinner with Marvin Hamlisch ; "Common Threads" was performed by a chorus of HWPC singers, and women from the First African Methodist Episcopal Church . Tomlin joked, "The last time we celebrated

4988-513: The members were younger than 45. Men were not allowed to join but they could attend public meetings. A policy committee of 14 members determined the group agenda. Activist Margery Tabankin ran HWPC; she was later appointed by Streisand as executive director of the Barbra Streisand Foundation, holding both positions. In 1994 when filmmaker Steven Spielberg appointed Tabankin to his Oskar Schindler Foundation, she stayed with

5074-609: The mid-1970s, Biden was one of the Senate's strongest opponents of race-integration busing . His Delaware constituents strongly opposed it, and such opposition nationwide later led his party to mostly abandon school integration policies. In his first Senate campaign, Biden had expressed support for busing to remedy de jure segregation , as in the South, but opposed its use to remedy de facto segregation arising from racial patterns of neighborhood residency, as in Delaware; he opposed

5160-616: The mid-1990s his "proudest moment in public life" related to foreign policy. In 1999, during the Kosovo War , Biden supported the 1999 NATO bombing of FR Yugoslavia . He and Senator John McCain co-sponsored the McCain-Biden Kosovo Resolution, which called on Clinton to use all necessary force, including ground troops, to confront Milošević over Yugoslav actions toward ethnic Albanians in Kosovo . Biden

5246-473: The political world. In particular, it changed the relationship between Biden and Obama. Although they had served together on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee , they had not been close: Biden resented Obama's quick rise to political stardom, while Obama viewed Biden as garrulous and patronizing. Having gotten to know each other during 2007, Obama appreciated Biden's campaign style and appeal to working-class voters, and Biden said he became convinced Obama

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5332-399: The press devoted far more coverage to the Republican nominee, Alaska governor Sarah Palin . Under instructions from the campaign, Biden kept his speeches succinct and tried to avoid offhand remarks, such as one he made about Obama's being tested by a foreign power soon after taking office, which had attracted negative attention. Privately, Biden's remarks frustrated Obama. "How many times

5418-468: The previous year‍—‌of a hypothetical Bork nomination. Conservatives were angered, but at the hearings' close Biden was praised for his fairness, humor, and courage. Rejecting the arguments of some Bork opponents, Biden framed his objections to Bork in terms of the conflict between Bork's strong originalism and the view that the U.S. Constitution provides rights to liberty and privacy beyond those explicitly enumerated in its text. Bork's nomination

5504-701: The primary qualification is being aligned with or part of the inner circle associated with the Clintons, the ideology can be said in broad outline to favor certain policies: The ideology is sometimes thought of as part of the Third Way , a brand of politics that is said to include (at the time or since) Prime Minister Tony Blair 's New Labour in the United Kingdom, the Liberal Party in Canada and

5590-477: The proposed Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 became a major factor in the campaign, Biden voted for the $ 700   billion Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 , which passed in the Senate, 74–25. On October 2, he participated in the vice-presidential debate with Palin at Washington University in St. Louis . Post-debate polls found that while Palin exceeded many voters' expectations, Biden had won

5676-467: The second-youngest person elected president, after John F. Kennedy . He raised more in the first quarter of 1987 than any other candidate. By August his campaign's messaging had become confused due to staff rivalries, and in September, he was accused of plagiarizing a speech by British Labour Party leader Neil Kinnock . Biden's speech had similar lines about being the first person in his family to attend university. Biden had credited Kinnock with

5762-566: The six close races. Five of the six were elected, and with other wins, the Democratic Party became the majority party in Congress, serving as a counterbalance to Reagan's policies. Typically, the HWPC backed the issues more than individual candidates; they were not pragmatic political players who would easily compromise. They wanted hard proof of a politician's commitment to their principles, and they did not accept promises without action. But in 1986 they began looking at potential Democratic Party presidential candidates to run in 1988, and they narrowed

5848-484: The strategy behind the choice reflected a desire to fill out the ticket with someone with foreign policy and national security experience. Others pointed out Biden's appeal to middle-class and blue-collar voters. Biden was officially nominated for vice president on August 27 by voice vote at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver . Biden's vice-presidential campaigning gained little media attention, as

5934-642: The successes in the beginning of the 21st century." On the other hand, some critics of Clinton associate Clintonism with "coddling big money (except guns and tobacco), financial scandals, winning at any cost, flip-flopping and prevaricating". Clintonism refers to the centrist or neoliberal wing of the United States Democratic Party centered on former President Bill Clinton and his wife, former First Lady , Senator , Secretary of State and 2016 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, both in their times in office and subsequently. It

6020-413: Was "dead, flat wrong" in believing the surge could work. Biden instead advocated dividing Iraq into a loose federation of three ethnic states. Rather than continue the existing approach or withdrawing, the plan called for "a third way": federalizing Iraq and giving Kurds , Shiites , and Sunnis "breathing room" in their own regions. In September 2007, a non-binding resolution endorsing the plan passed

6106-419: Was "the real deal". Shortly after Biden withdrew from the presidential race, Obama privately told him he was interested in finding an important place for Biden in his administration. In early August, Obama and Biden met in secret to discuss the possibility, and developed a strong personal rapport. On August 22, 2008, Obama announced that Biden would be his running mate . The New York Times reported that

6192-519: Was a strong supporter of the War in Afghanistan , saying, "Whatever it takes, we should do it." As head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he said in 2002 that Iraqi president Saddam Hussein was a threat to national security and there was no other option than to "eliminate" that threat. In October 2002, he voted in favor of the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq , approving

6278-465: Was among the first to call for the " lift and strike " policy. The George H. W. Bush administration and Clinton administration were both reluctant to implement the policy, fearing Balkan entanglement. In April 1993, Biden held a tense three-hour meeting with Serbian leader Slobodan Milošević . Biden worked on several versions of legislative language urging the U.S. toward greater involvement. Biden has called his role in affecting Balkan policy in

6364-675: Was filled with anger and religious doubt. He wrote that he "felt God had played a horrible trick" on him and had trouble focusing on work. Biden met teacher Jill Tracy Jacobs in 1975 on a blind date . They married at the United Nations chapel in New York on June 17, 1977, and spent their honeymoon at Lake Balaton in the Hungarian People's Republic . Biden credits her with the renewal of his interest in politics and life. The couple attends Mass at St. Joseph's on

6450-501: Was first elected in 1970, until Roth was defeated in 2000. As of 2024 , he was the 19th-longest-serving senator in U.S. history. During his early years in the Senate, Biden focused on consumer protection and environmental issues and called for greater government accountability. In a 1974 interview, he described himself as liberal on civil rights and liberties, senior citizens' concerns and healthcare, but conservative on other issues, including abortion and military conscription . Biden

6536-532: Was held in a Catholic church in Skaneateles, New York . They had three children: Joseph R. "Beau" Biden III , Robert Hunter Biden , and Naomi Christina "Amy" Biden. Biden earned a Juris Doctor from Syracuse University College of Law in 1968. In his first year of law school, he failed a course because he plagiarized a law review article for a paper he wrote, but the failing grade was later stricken. His grades were relatively poor, and he graduated 76th in

6622-446: Was hit by a semi-trailer truck as she pulled out from an intersection. Their sons Beau (aged 3) and Hunter (aged 2) were in the car and were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, Beau with a broken leg and other wounds and Hunter with a minor skull fracture and other head injuries. Biden considered resigning to care for them, but Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield persuaded him not to. Biden contemplated suicide and

6708-409: Was rejected in the committee by a 5–9 vote and then in the full Senate, 42–58. During Clarence Thomas's nomination hearings in 1991, Biden's questions on constitutional issues were often convoluted to the point that Thomas sometimes lost track of them, and Thomas later wrote that Biden's questions were akin to " beanballs ". After the committee hearing closed, the public learned that Anita Hill ,

6794-494: Was running for reelection. In speeches, he referred to Hollywood as "my town" and "my people". A group of liberal women in Hollywood were vexed by Reagan's assumption that Hollywood was conservative, and they discussed ways of promoting the idea that Hollywood was strong in liberal politics. On July 12, 1984, Democratic Party presidential nominee Walter Mondale chose Geraldine Ferraro as his vice presidential running mate; she

6880-459: Was seen as "the most dominant political force in Hollywood," according to political strategist Andy Spahn . Spahn said the women of the PAC "were certainly a counterforce to the right. They held the candidate's feet to the fire. They provided pressure to keep them on the left." Clintonism Clintonism refers to the political and economic policies of Bill and Hillary Clinton , as well as

6966-552: Was succeeded by Democrat Francis R. Swift. During his time on the county council, Biden opposed large highway projects, which he argued might disrupt Wilmington neighborhoods. Biden had not openly supported or opposed the Vietnam War until he ran for Senate and opposed Richard Nixon's conduct of the war. While studying at the University of Delaware and Syracuse University, Biden obtained five student draft deferments at

7052-421: Was the seventh-youngest senator in U.S. history . To see his sons, Biden traveled by train between his Delaware home and D.C. —74 minutes each way—and maintained this habit throughout his 36 years in the Senate. Elected to the U.S. Senate in 1972 , Biden was reelected in 1978 , 1984 , 1990 , 1996 , 2002 , and 2008 , regularly receiving about 60% of the vote. He was junior senator to William Roth , who

7138-599: Was the first U.S. senator to endorse Jimmy Carter for president in the 1976 Democratic primary . Carter went on to win the Democratic nomination and defeat incumbent Republican President Gerald Ford in the 1976 election . Biden also worked on arms control . After Congress failed to ratify the SALT II Treaty signed in 1979 by Soviet general secretary Leonid Brezhnev and President Jimmy Carter, Biden met with Soviet foreign minister Andrei Gromyko to communicate American concerns and secured changes that addressed

7224-646: Was the first female vice presidential candidate from a major political party. The Hollywood women were catalyzed into action to support her campaign. They filed papers in August to form the Hollywood Women's Political Committee, raising $ 750,000 for the Mondale–Ferraro ticket. From 12 original members, the HWPC grew to 70 women in 1987, 140 in 1988, 200 women in 1990 and 300 in 1996. Older members paid $ 1,500 yearly, while those under 30 paid $ 500. A majority of

7310-564: Was thought to have no chance of winning. Family members managed and staffed the campaign, which relied on meeting voters face-to-face and hand-distributing position papers, an approach made feasible by Delaware's small size. He received help from the AFL-CIO and Democratic pollster Patrick Caddell . His platform focused on the environment, withdrawal from Vietnam, civil rights, mass transit, equitable taxation, health care and public dissatisfaction with "politics as usual". A few months before

7396-428: Was unpopular among progressives and criticized for resulting in mass incarceration; in 2019, Biden called his role in passing the bill a "big mistake", citing its policy on crack cocaine and saying that the bill "trapped an entire generation". Biden voted for a 1993 provision that deemed homosexuality incompatible with military life, thereby banning gay people from serving in the armed forces. In 1996, he voted for

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