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馬龍發表於 2019-7-29 09:36 | 只看該作者

[轉貼] 美國總統Joe Biden喬·拜登命盤

喬·拜登[編輯]

維基百科，自由的百科全書
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喬·拜登
Joe Biden
Biden 2013.jpg
 美國第47任副總統
任期
2009年1月20日－2017年1月20日
總統貝拉克·歐巴馬
前任迪克·切尼
繼任邁克·彭斯
德拉瓦州聯邦參議員
任期
1973年1月3日－2009年1月15日
前任卡萊布·博格斯
繼任特德·考夫曼
參議院外交委員會主席
任期
2007年1月4日－2009年1月3日
前任理察·魯格
繼任約翰·克里
任期
2001年6月6日－2003年1月3日
前任傑西·赫爾姆斯
繼任理察·魯格
任期
2001年1月3日－2001年1月20日
前任傑西·赫爾姆斯
繼任傑西·赫爾姆斯
參議院禁毒黨團主席
任期
2007年1月4日－2009年1月3日
前任查克·格拉斯利
繼任黛安娜·范斯坦
參議院司法委員會主席
任期
1987年1月6日－1995年1月3日
前任斯特羅姆·瑟蒙德
繼任奧林·哈奇
個人資料
出生1942年11月20日（76歲）
 美國賓夕法尼亞州斯克蘭頓聖瑪麗醫院
政黨民主黨 民主黨
配偶內莉亞·亨特（1966年–1972年）
吉爾·雅各布斯（1977年—）
兒女約瑟夫·R·三世（1969–2015） 
R·亨特（1970年—） 
娜奧米·C（1971–1972） 
阿什利·B（1981年—）艾希莉·拜登
居住地德拉瓦州威爾明頓（私人）
母校德拉瓦大學（學士）
雪城大學（法律博士）
專業律師
宗教信仰羅馬天主教
簽名Cursive signature in ink
網站Vice President Joe Biden
Joe Biden (Facebook)
@Joe Biden (Twitter)

小約瑟夫·羅比內特·「喬」·拜登（Joseph Robinette "Joe" Biden Jr.，1942年11月20日－），是美國民主黨籍政治家，前美國副總統。德拉瓦州的前任資深聯邦參議員。拜登連任六屆任期，是該州服務時間最長的參議員。他是美國第110屆國會的參議院外交委員會主席，且曾經擔任參議院司法委員會主席。

拜登參加了1988年美國總統選舉民主黨內初選，但最後失敗。[1]他於2007年1月30日向聯邦選舉委員會備案，正式參加2008年美國總統選舉。2008年1月3日，在艾奧瓦州初選失利後退出。2008年8月23日，美國民主黨總統候選人、聯邦參議員歐巴馬宣布選擇喬·拜登為他在2008年美國總統選舉中的競選夥伴；一般認為歐巴馬有意借重拜登豐富的外交事務和國家安全經驗，補齊自己被外界批評不足的區塊。

生平[編輯]

早期生活與家庭[編輯]

2009年9月，拜登與歐巴馬的官方合影
2008年8月23日，拜登夫婦與歐巴馬夫婦在競選現場

拜登生於賓夕法尼亞州斯克蘭頓的聖瑪麗醫院，是老約瑟夫·R·拜登與凱薩琳·歐根尼婭·「簡」·福納根之子。[2][3]他是四個兄弟姐妹之中的老大[3]，家族是愛爾蘭裔的天主教徒。喬有兩個弟弟，詹姆斯·布萊恩·拜登，和弗朗西斯·W·拜登，與一個妹妹瓦萊里·拜登。[4]

當拜登10歲的時候，他們全家搬到了德拉瓦州克萊蒙特[3]，拜登在紐卡斯爾縣長大。在那裡，他的父親有一個作為售車員的職業。1961年時，拜登從克萊蒙特的阿克米爾學院畢業[3]，1965年時，從紐瓦克的德拉瓦大學畢業[5]，在那裡，他選修了歷史學與政治學的雙學位。[3]在1968年他繼續在雪城大學法學院修習法律博士學位，並於1969年獲許進入德拉瓦律師會。[5][6]

1966年，當拜登還在法學院時，他娶了內利亞·亨特（1942年7月28日－1972年12月18日）。他們有三個孩子：約瑟夫·R·「寶」·拜登三世，羅伯特·亨特和內奧米。在1972年拜登被選舉至美國參議院後不久，他的妻子和當時還是嬰兒的女兒在一場交通事故中去世了。他的兩個年輕的兒子，寶和亨特，也受了重傷，不過最後都完全康復了。拜登在他們的病床旁做了就職宣誓。為了關照他的兒子，他曾想辭去公職，但他最終被說服留任。於是他每天都需要從他在威爾明頓的寓所搭乘一個半小時的火車到華盛頓特區，直到現在也這樣做。

1977年，拜登迎娶了吉爾·特蕾西·雅各布斯（Jill，出生於1951年6月5日），並有了一個女兒阿什利，組成一個天主教家庭。

1988年2月，忍受了頸痛的拜登接受了救命的治療與護理，以切除他的兩個腦動脈瘤，其中有一個已經開始漏出。[7]這些護理與康復使得拜登有七個月未能到參議院工作。

1981年，拜登獲得了一個聖約瑟夫大學的榮譽學位[8]。1991年起，拜登在維德納法學院做助理教授，負責教授憲法的課程。

成為參議員[編輯]

1969年，拜登於德拉瓦州威爾明頓進入法律界，並很快入選紐卡斯爾縣縣議會，並從1970年至1972年在此工作。

1972年美國國會參議院選舉賦予了拜登一個極好的機會。由於知名共和黨現任參議院議員博格斯正考慮退休，導致眾議員皮特·杜邦和威爾明頓市長哈里·哈斯科爾關係不和，兩人發生直接的爭鬥。為了緩和兩人的對立，美國總統理察·尼克森應邀參加一個會議，說服博格斯在全共和黨的支持下再次工作，博格斯被說服，可是拜登最終勝利。

拜登於1973年1月3日上任，時年30歲，是美國歷史上排名第六的最年輕的參議員。拜登30歲以極小的年齡成為美國參議員，並且非常順利的贏得了之後的連任，於1978年戰勝詹姆斯 H.巴克斯特，1984年戰勝約翰 M.巴瑞斯，1990年戰勝M.簡 布雷迪，1996年和2002年兩次勝過雷蒙德 J.克萊特沃斯，並且其支持率通常高於60%。他是德拉瓦州在任時間最長的美國參議員。拜登2008年當選副總統時，依然在競選連任。

1974年，拜登這位新上任的參議員就被當時的時代雜誌評為「200個未來有所作為的新面孔」。[9]

拜登曾任職於美國第110屆國會的下列委員會：

  • 美國參議院外交委員會（主席）
作為主席，拜登是該委員會所屬各分委員會的當然成員。
  • 美國參議院司法委員會
美國參議院反托拉斯、競爭政策與消費者權利分委員會；
美國參議院犯罪與毒品分委員會（主席）；
美國參議院人權與法律分委員；
美國參議院移民、邊境安全與難民分委員會；
美國參議院恐怖主義、技術與國土安全分委員。
  • 美國參議院國際麻醉品管制小組會議（聯合主席）

總統選舉[編輯]

拜登曾參與1988年及2008年民主黨黨內總統選舉，但並未獲得提名。

副總統[編輯]

2009年1月20日拜登在最高法院大法官約翰·保羅·史蒂文斯主持下宣誓就職。

2008年6月22日拜登在NBC節目中Meet the Press表示接受副總統提名。[10]

2008年，拜登先前已登記競選連任聯邦參議員，後又被歐巴馬選為副總統候選人，因此他同時參與兩場選舉，均獲當選。由於聯邦法律禁止任何人同時擔任行政官員與國會議員，他必須辭去參議員才能就任副總統。他表示將在2009年1月3日參加新一屆國會就職宣誓後辭職。由於副總統就職在1月20日，因此並不違法。德拉瓦州州長蘿絲·安·麥勒宣布他將任命拜登的助手Ted Kaufman接替拜登留下的參議員職位。

2009年1月20日，拜登在最高法院大法官約翰·保羅·史蒂文斯主持下宣誓就職。

2012年11月6日，拜登和歐巴馬成功連任美國正、副總統，2013年1月20日，再次宣誓就職。

拜登認為美國對中國的政策應是與之共事（engagement）及融合（integrate）中國到國際秩序中。他同時強調必須推動中國遵循法律和政治方面的國際準則，以及鞏固現有聯盟以提防中國異常地侵犯美國及其盟國的根本利益。他反對把中國視為敵人，也不以中國為盟友，而是認識到中美之間既有競爭也有共同利益。他認為能源及環境是對中關係的兩個特別重要的領域。[11] 作為聯邦參議院外交委員會主席，他於2007年要求議會研究服務（Congressional Research Service）全面研究中國在亞非拉正在增長的軟勢力， [12] 並於次年主持了參議院「全球化時代的美中關係」聽證會，[11]對中國的國情及外交有較一般美國政治家更廣泛，深入的認識及思考。

2014年2月7日，美國副總統拜登7日接受美國媒體訪問時坦言，稱他看不出什麼明顯的原因，讓其不參加2016年美國總統選舉的角逐。拜登在接受美國有線電視新聞網的訪問時說，他將在2015年夏季作出正式決定。拜登表示，他將根據對自己的評估作出決定——他是否是最有資格治理國家的人。「這並不意味著我是唯一一個符合條件的人」。[13]2015年10月21日，拜登正式宣布不參與角逐2016年民主黨總統候選人的提名。

2017年1月，美國副總統拜登在卸任前夕獲總統歐巴馬頒授國民最高榮譽的總統自由勳章，感動得當場流淚[14]。

拜登和總統歐巴馬之間情誼密切、合作無間，稱呼彼此為「好兄弟」[15]，並誓言對其畢生支持[16]。

卸任後[編輯]

2017年6月1日，美國前副總統拜登宣布組成一個政治行動委員會（PAC）「美國可能性」（American Possibilities），這可能是他考慮參與2020年美國總統選舉的一個跡象[17][18]。

2019年4月25日，拜登於推特發布競選影片，正式宣布投入民主黨總統初選[19]。

著書[編輯]

  • Administration’s Missile Defense Program and the ABM Treaty: Hearing Before the Committee on Foreign Relations, U.S. Senate Joseph R. Biden Jr. (Diane Publishing, December 2004) ISBN 978-0-7567-1959-3
  • Examining The Theft Of American Intellectual Property At Home And Abroad: Hearing before the Committee On Foreign Relations, U.S. Senate Joseph R. Biden Jr. (Diane Publishing, May 2004) ISBN 978-0-7567-4177-8
  • Hearings to Examine Threats, Responses, and Regional Considerations Surrounding Iraq: Hearing before the Committee on Foreign Relations, U.S. Senate Joseph R. Biden Jr. (Diane Publishing, November 2003) ISBN 978-0-7567-2823-6
  • Strategies for Homeland Defense: A Compilation by the Committee on Foreign Relations, U.S. Senate Joseph R. Biden Jr. (Diane Publishing, September 2003) ISBN 978-0-7567-2623-2
  • Putin Administration's Policies toward Non-Russian Regions of the Russian Federation: Hearing before the Committee on Foreign Relations, U.S. Senate Joseph R. Biden Jr. (Diane Publishing, September 2003) ISBN 978-0-7567-2624-9
  • Threat of Bioterrorism and the Spread of Infectious Diseases: Hearing before the Committee on Foreign Relations, U.S. SenateJoseph R. Biden Jr. (Diane Publishing, September 2003) ISBN 978-0-7567-2625-6
  • How Do We Promote Democratization, Poverty Alleviation, and Human Rights to Build a More Secure Future: Hearing before the Committee on Foreign Relations, U.S. Senate Joseph R. Biden Jr. (Diane Publishing, June 2003) ISBN 978-0-7567-2478-8
  • Political Future of Afghanistan: Hearing before the Committee on Foreign Relations, U.S. Senate Joseph R. Biden Jr. (Diane Publishing, January 2003) ISBN 978-0-7567-3039-0
  • International Campaign Against Terrorism: Hearing before the Committee on Foreign Relations, U.S. Senate Joseph R. Biden Jr. (Diane Publishing, January 2003) ISBN 978-0-7567-3041-3
  • Halting the Spread of HIV/AIDS: Future Efforts in the U.S. Bilateral & Multilateral Response: Hearings before the Comm. on Foreign Relations, U.S. Senate edited by Joseph R. Biden Jr. (Diane Publishing, 2002) ISBN 978-0-7567-3454-1
  • Hague Convention On International Child Abduction: Applicable Law And Institutional Framework Within Certain Convention Countries Report To The Senate by Jesse Helms，Joseph R. Biden Jr. (Diane Publishing, April 2000) ISBN 978-0-7567-2250-0
  • Homeland security law and policy edited by William C. Nicholson with a foreword by Joseph Biden (C. C Thomas, c2005)
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馬龍(Malon)

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Rank: 9Rank: 9Rank: 9

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馬龍發表於 2019-7-29 09:38 | 只看該作者

Joe Biden

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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"Biden" redirects here. For other uses, see Biden (disambiguation).
Joe Biden
Biden 2013.jpg
47th Vice President of the United States
In office
January 20, 2009 – January 20, 2017
PresidentBarack Obama
Preceded byDick Cheney
Succeeded byMike Pence
United States Senator
from Delaware
In office
January 5, 1973 – January 15, 2009
Preceded byJ. Caleb Boggs
Succeeded byTed Kaufman
Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
In office
January 3, 2007 – January 3, 2009
Preceded byRichard Lugar
Succeeded byJohn Kerry
In office
June 6, 2001 – January 3, 2003
Preceded byJesse Helms
Succeeded byRichard Lugar
Chair of the International Narcotics Control Caucus
In office
January 3, 2007 – January 3, 2009
Preceded byChuck Grassley
Succeeded byDianne Feinstein
Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee
In office
January 3, 1987 – January 3, 1995
Preceded byStrom Thurmond
Succeeded byOrrin Hatch
Member of the New Castle County Council
In office
1970–1972
Personal details
Born
Joseph Robinette Biden Jr.

November 20, 1942 (age 76)
Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic (1969–present)
Other political
affiliations		Independent (1968–1969)
Spouse(s)
Neilia Hunter
(m. 1966; died 1972)

Jill Jacobs (m. 1977)
Children
EducationUniversity of Delaware (BA)
Syracuse University (JD)
AwardsGold Medal of Freedom (2009)
residential_Medal_of_Freedom_with_Distinction_(ribbon).PNG" class="image" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction (ribbon).PNG Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction (2017)
Signature
WebsiteCampaign website
Joe Biden 2013.jpg
This article is part of 
a series about
Joe Biden
U.S. Senator from Delaware
Vice President of the United States
Presidential campaigns
Obama presidential campaigns
Seal of the Vice President of the United States.svg

Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (/ˌrɒbɪˈnɛt ˈbaɪdən/;[1] born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who served as the 47th vice president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. Biden also represented Delaware in the U.S. Senate from 1973 to 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, Biden is acandidate for President in the 2020 election.

Biden was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and lived there for ten years before moving with his family to Delaware. He became a lawyer in 1969 and was elected to the New Castle County Councilin 1970. He was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1972, when he became the sixth-youngest senator in American history. Biden was re-elected six times and was the fourth most senior senatorwhen he resigned to assume the vice presidency in 2009. Biden was a long-time member and former chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee. He opposed the Gulf War in 1991, but advocated U.S. and NATO intervention in the Bosnian War in 1994 and 1995. He voted in favor of the resolution authorizing the Iraq War in 2002 but opposed the surge of U.S. troops in 2007. He has also served as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, dealing with issues related to drug policy, crime prevention, and civil liberties. Biden led the efforts to pass theViolent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, and theViolence Against Women Act. He also chaired the Judiciary Committee during the contentious U.S. Supreme Courtnominations of Robert Bork and Clarence Thomas. Biden unsuccessfully sought the Democratic presidential nomination in1988 and in 2008.

In 2008, Biden was the running mate of Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama. As vice president, Biden oversawinfrastructure spending aimed at counteracting the Great Recession and helped formulate U.S. policy toward Iraq through the withdrawal of U.S. troops in 2011. His ability to negotiate with congressional Republicans helped the Obama administration pass legislation such as the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010, which resolved a taxation deadlock; the Budget Control Act of 2011, which resolved that year's debt ceiling crisis; and the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, which addressed the impendingfiscal cliff. Obama and Biden were re-elected in 2012.

In October 2015, after months of speculation, Biden announced he would not seek the presidency in the 2016 elections. In January 2017, Obama awarded Biden the Presidential Medal of Freedom with distinction.[2] After completing his second term as vice president, Biden joined the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania, where he was named the Benjamin Franklin Professor of Presidential Practice.[3] He announced his 2020 run for president on April 25, 2019.[4]


Early life (1942–1965)

Biden was born on November 20, 1942, at St. Mary's Hospital in Scranton, Pennsylvania,[5] to Catherine Eugenia Biden (née Finnegan)[6] and Joseph Robinette Biden Sr.[7] He was the first of four siblings in a Catholicfamily, with a sister and two brothers.[8] His mother was of Irish descent, with roots variously attributed toCounty Louth[9] or County Londonderry.[10][11] His paternal grandparents, Mary Elizabeth (Robinette) and Joseph H. Biden, an oil businessman from Baltimore, Maryland, were of English, French, and Irish ancestry.[11][12] His paternal third great-grandfather, William Biden, was born in Sussex, England, and immigrated to the United States. His maternal great-grandfather, Edward Francis Blewitt,[13] was a member of the Pennsylvania State Senate.[14]

Biden's father had been wealthy earlier in his life but suffered several financial setbacks by the time his son was born. For several years, the family had to live with Biden's maternal grandparents, the Finnegans.[15] When the Scranton area fell into economic decline during the 1950s, Biden's father could not find sustained work.[16] In 1953, the Biden family moved into an apartment in Claymont, Delaware, where they lived for several years before again moving to a house in Wilmington, Delaware.[15] Joe Biden Sr. became a successful used car salesman, and the family's circumstances were middle class.[15][16][17]

Biden while a student at Archmere Academy in the 1950s.

Biden attended the Archmere Academy in Claymont[18] where he was a standouthalfback/wide receiver on the high school football team; he helped lead a perennially losing team to an undefeated season in his senior year.[15][19] He played on the baseball team as well.[15] During these years, he participated in an anti-segregationsit-in at a Wilmington theatre.[20] Academically, he was an above-average student, was considered a natural leader among the students, and was elected class president during his junior and senior years.[21][22] He graduated in 1961.[21]

He earned his bachelor's in 1965 from the University of Delaware, with a double major in history and political science,[23] graduating with a class rank of 506 out of 688.[24] His classmates were impressed by his cramming abilities,[20] and he played halfback with the Blue Hens freshman football team.[19] In 1964, while on spring break in the Bahamas,[25] he met and began dating Neilia Hunter, who was from an affluent background in Skaneateles, New York, and attended Syracuse University.[15][26] He told her that he aimed to become a senator by the age of 30 and then President.[27] He dropped a junior year plan to play for the varsity football team as a defensive back, enabling him to spend more time visiting out of state with her.[19][28]

He then entered Syracuse University College of Law, receiving a half scholarship based on financial need with some additional assistance based on academics.[29] By his own description, he found law school to be "the biggest bore in the world" and pulled many all-nighters to get by.[20][30] During his first year there, he was accused of having plagiarized five of 15 pages of a law review article. Biden said it was inadvertent due to his not knowing the proper rules of citation, and he was permitted to retake the course after receiving an "F" grade, which was subsequently dropped from his record. This incident would later attract attention when further plagiarism accusations emerged in 1987.[30][31] He received his Juris Doctor in 1968,[32] graduating 76th of 85 in his class.[29] Biden was admitted to the Delaware bar in 1969.[32]

Biden received student draft deferments during this period, at the peak of the Vietnam War,[33] and in 1968, he was reclassified by the Selective Service System as not available for service due to having had asthma as a teenager.[33][34] He never took part in anti-war demonstrations, later saying that at the time he was preoccupied with marriage and law school, and "wore sports coats ... not tie-dyed".[35]

Negative impressions of drinking alcohol in the Biden and Finnegan families and in the neighborhood led to Biden becoming a teetotaler.[15][36] He suffered from stuttering through much of his childhood and into his twenties,[37] and says he overcame it by spending many hours reciting poetry in front of a mirror.[22]

Early political career and family life (1966–1972)

On August 27, 1966, while Biden was still a law student, he married Neilia Hunter.[23] They overcame her parents' initial reluctance for her to wed a Roman Catholic, and the ceremony was held in a Catholic church inSkaneateles.[38] They had three children, Joseph R. "Beau" Biden III in 1969, Robert Hunter in 1970, and Naomi Christina in 1971.[23]

During 1968, Biden clerked for six months at a Wilmington law firm headed by prominent local RepublicanWilliam Prickett and, as he later said, "thought of myself as a Republican".[27][39] He disliked the conservative racial politics of incumbent Democratic Governor of Delaware Charles L. Terry and supported a more liberal Republican, Russell W. Peterson, who defeated Terry in 1968.[27] The local Republicans tried to recruit him, but he resisted due to his distaste for Republican presidential candidate Richard Nixon, and registered as anIndependent instead.[27]

In 1969, Biden resumed practicing law in Wilmington, first as a public defender and then at a firm headed by Sid Balick, a locally active Democrat.[20][27] Balick named him to the Democratic Forum, a group trying to reform and revitalize the state party,[40] and Biden switched his registration to Democrat.[27] He also started his own firm, Biden and Walsh.[20] Corporate law, however, did not appeal to him and criminal law did not pay well.[15]He supplemented his income by managing properties.[41]

Later in 1969, Biden ran as a Democrat for the New Castle County Council on a liberal platform that included support for public housing in the suburban area.[20] He won by a solid, two-thousand vote margin in the usually Republican district and in a bad year for Democrats in the state.[20][42] Even before taking his seat, he was already talking about running for the U.S. Senate in a couple of years.[42] He served on the County Council from 1970 to 1972[32] while continuing his private law practice.[43] Biden represented the 4th district on the county council.[44] Among issues he addressed on the council was his opposition to large highway projects that might disrupt Wilmington neighborhoods, including those related to Interstate 95.[45]

1972 U.S. Senate campaign

Biden's entry into the 1972 U.S. Senate election in Delaware presented a unique circumstance. Longtime Delaware political figure and Republican incumbent Senator J. Caleb Boggs was considering retirement, which would likely have left U.S. Representative Pete du Pont and Wilmington Mayor Harry G. Haskell Jr. in a divisiveprimary fight. To avoid that, U.S. President Richard Nixon helped convince Boggs to run again with full party support. No other Democrat wanted to run against Boggs.[20] Biden's campaign had virtually no money and was given no chance of winning.[15] It was managed by his sister Valerie Biden Owens (who would go on to manage his future campaigns) and staffed by other family members, and relied upon handed-out newsprint position papers and meeting voters face-to-face;[46] the small size of the state and lack of a major media market made the approach feasible.[41] He did receive some assistance from the AFL–CIO and Democratic pollster Patrick Caddell.[20] His campaign issues focused on withdrawal from Vietnam, the environment, civil rights, mass transit, more equitable taxation, health care, the public's dissatisfaction with politics-as-usual, and "change".[20][46] During the summer, he trailed by almost 30 percentage points,[20] but his energy level, his attractive young family, and his ability to connect with voters' emotions gave the surging Biden an advantage over the ready-to-retire Boggs.[17] He won the November 7, 1972 election in an upset by a margin of 3,162 votes.[46]

Family deaths

On December 18, 1972, a few weeks after the election, Biden's wife and one-year-old daughter Naomi were killed in an automobile accident while Christmas shopping in Hockessin, Delaware.[23] Neilia Biden's station wagon was hit by a tractor-trailer as she pulled out from an intersection; the truck driver was cleared of any wrongdoing.[47][nb 1] Biden's sons Beau and Hunter survived the accident and were taken to the hospital in fair condition, Beau with a broken leg and other wounds, and Hunter with a minor skull fracture and other head injuries.[49] Doctors soon said both would make full recoveries.[50] Biden considered resigning to care for them,[17] but was persuaded not to by Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield.[51] Subsequent to the accident, Biden commented that the truck driver had been drinking alcohol before the collision, but these allegations were denied by the driver's family and were never substantiated by the police.[52][53]

United States Senate (1973–2009)

Recovery and new family

Joe Biden met his second wife Jill, in 1975, and they married in 1977. (Here seen dancing together in 2009.)

Biden was sworn into office on January 5, 1973, by Francis R. Valeo, the Secretary of the Senate in a small chapel at the Delaware Division of the Wilmington Medical Center.[49][54] Beau was wheeled in with his leg still in traction; Hunter, who had already been released, was also there, as were other members of the extended family.[49][54] Witnesses and television cameras were also present and the event received national attention.[49][54]

At age 30 (the minimum age required to hold the office), Biden became the sixth-youngest senator in U.S. history, and one of only 18 senators who took office before reaching the age of 31.[55][56] But the accident left him filled with both anger and religious doubt: "I liked to [walk around seedy neighborhoods] at night when I thought there was a better chance of finding a fight ... I had not known I was capable of such rage ... I felt God had played a horrible trick on me."[57] To be at home every day for his young sons,[58] Biden began the practice of commuting every day by Amtrak train for 90 minutes each way from his home in the Wilmington suburbs to Washington, D.C., which he continued to do throughout his Senate career.[17] In the aftermath of the accident, he had trouble focusing on work and appeared to just go through the motions of being a senator. In his memoirs, Biden notes that staffers were taking bets on how long he would last.[26][59] A single father for five years, he left standing orders that he be interrupted in the Senate at any time if his sons called.[51] In remembrance of his wife and daughter, Biden does not work on December 18, the anniversary of the accident.[60]

Biden's elder son, Beau, became Delaware Attorney General and an Army Judge Advocate who served in Iraq;[61] his younger son, Hunter, became a Washington attorney and lobbyist.[62] On May 30, 2015, Beau died at the age of 46 after a two-year battle with brain cancer.[63][64] At the time of his death, Beau had been widely seen as the frontrunner to be the Democratic nominee for Governor of Delaware in 2016.[65][66]

In 1975, Biden met Jill Tracy Jacobs, who grew up in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, and would become a teacher in Delaware.[67] They had met on a blind date arranged by Biden's brother, although it turned out that Biden had already noticed a photograph of her in an advertisement for a local park in Wilmington, Delaware.[67] Biden would credit her with renewing his interest in both politics and life.[68] On June 17, 1977, Biden and Jacobs were married by a Catholic priest at the Chapel at the United Nations in New York.[25][69] Jill Biden has a bachelor's degree from the University of Delaware; two master's degrees, one from West Chester University and the other from Villanova University; and a doctorate in education from the University of Delaware.[67] They have one daughter together, Ashley Blazer (born 1981),[23] who became a social worker and staffer at the Delaware Department of Services for Children, Youth, and Their Families.[70] Biden and his wife are Roman Catholics and regularly attend Mass at St. Joseph's on the Brandywine in Greenville, Delaware.[71]

Early Senate activities

Biden with President Jimmy Carter in the Oval Office

During his first years in the Senate, Biden focused on legislation regarding consumer-protection and environmental issues and called for greater accountability on the part of government.[72] In mid-1974, freshman Senator Biden was named one of the 200 Faces for the Future by Time magazine, in a profile that mentioned what had happened to his family and characterized Biden as "self-confident" and "compulsively ambitious".[72]

In 1974, Biden was one of the Senate's leading opponents of desegregation busing, a then frequently court-ordered practice of racially integrating schools. Biden said that he supported the aim of school desegregation, but not the practice of busing, which his white constituents bitterly opposed.[73]Such opposition would later lead his party to mostly abandon school desegregation policies.[74]

Biden became ranking minority member of the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary in 1981. In 1984, he was Democratic floor manager for the successful passage of the Comprehensive Crime Control Act. Over time, the tough-on-crime provisions of the legislation became controversial on the left and among criminal justice reform proponents, and in 2019, Biden characterized his role in passing the legislation as a "big mistake".[75][76]Biden and his supporters praised him for modifying some of the Act's worst provisions, and it was his most important legislative accomplishment at that point in time.[77] He first considered running for president in that year, after he gained notice for giving speeches to party audiences that simultaneously scolded and encouraged Democrats.[78]

Senator Biden, SenatorFrank Church and President of Egypt Anwar el-Sadat after signing the Egyptian–Israeli Peace Treaty, 1979

Regarding foreign policy, during his first decade in the Senate, Biden focused on arms control issues.[79][80] In response to the refusal of the U.S. Congressto ratify the SALT II Treaty signed in 1979 by Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnevand President Jimmy Carter, he took the initiative to meet the Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko, educated him about American concerns and interests, and secured several changes to address objections of the Foreign Relations Committee.[81] When the Reagan administration wanted to interpret the 1972 SALT I Treaty loosely in order to allow the Strategic Defense Initiative to proceed, Biden argued for strict adherence to the treaty's terms.[79]He clashed again with the Reagan administration in 1986 over economic sanctions against South Africa;[80] he received considerable attention when he excoriated Secretary of StateGeorge P. Shultz at a Senate hearing because of the administration's support of that country, which continued to practice the apartheid system.[27]

1988 presidential campaign

Main article: Joe Biden 1988 presidential campaign

Biden ran for the 1988 Democratic presidential nomination, formally declaring his candidacy at the Wilmington train station on June 9, 1987.[82] He was attempting to become the youngest president since John F. Kennedy.[27] When the campaign began, he was considered a potentially strong candidate because of his moderate image, his speaking ability on the stump, his appeal to Baby Boomers, his high-profile position as chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee at the upcoming Robert Bork Supreme Court nomination hearings, and his fundraising appeal.[83][84] He raised $1.7 million in the first quarter of 1987, more than any other candidate.[83][84]

By August 1987, Biden's campaign, whose messaging was confused due to staff rivalries,[85] had begun to lag behind those of Michael Dukakis and Dick Gephardt,[83] although he had still raised more funds than all candidates but Dukakis, and was seeing an upturn in Iowa polls.[84][86] In September 1987, the campaign ran into trouble when he was accused of plagiarizing a speech that had been made earlier that year by Neil Kinnock, leader of the British Labour Party.[87] Kinnock's speech included the lines:

Why am I the first Kinnock in a thousand generations to be able to get to university? [Then pointing to his wife in the audience] Why is Glenys the first woman in her family in a thousand generations to be able to get to university? Was it because all our predecessors were thick?

While Biden's speech included the lines:

I started thinking as I was coming over here, why is it that Joe Biden is the first in his family ever to go to a university? [Then pointing to his wife in the audience] Why is it that my wife who is sitting out there in the audience is the first in her family to ever go to college? Is it because our fathers and mothers were not bright? Is it because I'm the first Biden in a thousand generations to get a college and a graduate degree that I was smarter than the rest?

Biden had in fact cited Kinnock as the source for the formulation on previous occasions.[88][89] But he made no reference to the original source at the August 23 Democratic debate at the Iowa State Fair being reported on,[90]nor in an August 26 interview for the National Education Association.[89] Moreover, while political speeches often appropriate ideas and language from each other, Biden's use came under more scrutiny because he fabricated aspects of his own family's background in order to match Kinnock's.[17][91] Biden was soon found to have earlier that year lifted passages from a 1967 speech by Robert F. Kennedy (for which his aides took the blame), and a short phrase from the 1961 inaugural address of John F. Kennedy; and in two prior years to have done the same with a 1976 passage from Hubert H. Humphrey.[92]

A few days later, Biden's plagiarism incident in law school came to public light.[30] Video was also released showing that when earlier questioned by a New Hampshire resident about his grades in law school, he had stated that he had graduated in the "top half" of his class, that he had attended law school on a full scholarship, and that he had received three degrees in college,[29][93] each of which was untrue or exaggerations of his actual record.[29] Advisers and reporters pointed out that he falsely claimed to have marched in the Civil Rights Movement.[94]

The Kinnock and school revelations were magnified by the limited amount of other news about the nomination race at the time,[95] when most of the public were not yet paying attention to any of the campaigns; Biden thus fell into what The Washington Post writer Paul Taylor described as that year's trend, a "trial by media ordeal".[96]He lacked a strong demographic or political group of support to help him survive the crisis.[86][97] He withdrew from the nomination race on September 23, 1987, saying his candidacy had been overrun by "the exaggerated shadow" of his past mistakes.[98]

After Biden withdrew from the race, it was revealed that the Dukakis campaign had secretly made a video highlighting the Biden–Kinnock comparison and distributed it to news outlets.[99] Later in 1987, the Delaware Supreme Court's Board of Professional Responsibility cleared Biden of the law school plagiarism charges regarding his standing as a lawyer, saying Biden had "not violated any rules".[100]

In February 1988, after suffering from several episodes of increasingly severe neck pain, Biden was taken by long-distance ambulance to Walter Reed Army Medical Center and given lifesaving surgery to correct anintracranial berry aneurysm that had begun leaking;[101][102] the situation was serious enough that a priest had administered last rites at the hospital.[103] While recuperating, he suffered a pulmonary embolism, which represented a major complication.[102] Another operation to repair a second aneurysm, which had caused no symptoms but was also at risk from bursting, was performed in May 1988.[102][104] The hospitalization and recovery kept Biden from his duties in the U.S. Senate for seven months.[60] Biden has had no recurrences or effects from the aneurysms since then.[102] In retrospect, Biden's family came to believe that the early end to his presidential campaign had been a blessing in disguise, for had he still been campaigning in the midst of the primaries in early 1988, he might well have not have stopped to seek medical attention and the condition might have become unsurvivable.[105]

Senate Judiciary Committee

Joe Biden, U.S. Senate photo

Biden was a long-time member of the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary. He chaired it from 1987 until 1995 and he served as ranking minority member on it from 1981 until 1987 and again from 1995 until 1997.

While chairman, Biden presided over two of the most contentious U.S. Supreme Court confirmation hearings in history, those for Robert Bork in 1987 and Clarence Thomas in 1991.[17] In the Bork hearings, he stated his opposition to Bork soon after the nomination, reversing an approval in an interview of a hypothetical Bork nomination he had made the previous year and angering conservatives who thought he could not conduct the hearings dispassionately.[106] At the close, he won praise for conducting the proceedings fairly and with good humor and courage, as his 1988 presidential campaign collapsed in the middle of the hearings.[106][107] Rejecting some of the less intellectually honest arguments that other Bork opponents were making,[17] Biden framed his discussion around the belief that the U.S. Constitution provides rights to liberty and privacy that extend beyond those explicitly enumerated in the text, and that Bork's strong originalism was ideologically incompatible with that view.[107] Bork's nomination was rejected in the committee by a 9–5 vote,[107] and then rejected in the full Senate by a 58–42 margin.[108]

In the Thomas hearings, Biden's questions on constitutional issues were often long and convoluted, sometimes such that Thomas forgot the question being asked.[109] Viewers of the high-profile hearings were often annoyed by Biden's style.[110] Thomas later wrote that despite earlier private assurances from the senator, Biden's questions had been akin to a beanball.[111] The nomination came out of the committee without a recommendation, with Biden opposed.[17] In part due to his own bad experiences in 1987 with his presidential campaign, Biden was reluctant to let personal matters enter into the hearings.[109] Biden initially shared with the committee, but not the public, Anita Hill's sexual harassment charges, on the grounds she was not yet willing to testify.[17] After she did, Biden did not permit other witnesses to testify further on her behalf, such as Angela Wright (who made a similar charge) and experts on harassment.[112] Biden said he was striving to preserve Thomas's right to privacy and the decency of the hearings.[109][112] The nomination was approved by a 52–48 vote in the full Senate, with Biden again opposed.[17] During and afterward, Biden was strongly criticized by liberal legal groups and women's groups for having mishandled the hearings and having not done enough to support Hill.[112] Biden subsequently sought out women to serve on the Judiciary Committee and emphasized women's issues in the committee's legislative agenda.[17] In April 2019, Biden called Hill to express regret over his treatment of her; after the conversation, Hill said that she remained deeply unsatisfied.[113]

Biden was involved in crafting many federal crime laws. He spearheaded the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, also known as the Biden Crime Law, which included the Federal Assault Weapons Ban, which expired in 2004 after its ten-year sunset period and was not renewed.[114][115] It also included the landmark Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which contains a broad array of measures to combat domestic violence.[116] In 2000, the Supreme Court ruled in United States v. Morrison that the section of VAWA allowing a federal civil remedy for victims of gender-motivated violence exceeded Congress's authority and therefore was unconstitutional.[117] Congress reauthorized VAWA in 2000 and 2005.[118] Biden has said, "I consider the Violence Against Women Act the single most significant legislation that I've crafted during my 35-year tenure in the Senate."[119] In 2004 and 2005, Biden enlisted major American technology companies in diagnosing the problems of the Austin, Texas-based National Domestic Violence Hotline, and to donate equipment and expertise to it in a successful effort to improve its services.[120][121]

Biden was critical of the actions of Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr during the 1990s Whitewater controversyand Lewinsky scandal investigations, and said "it's going to be a cold day in hell" before another Independent Counsel is granted the same powers.[122] Biden voted to acquit on both charges during the impeachment of President Clinton.[123]

As chairman of the International Narcotics Control Caucus, Biden wrote the laws that created the U.S. "Drug Czar", who oversees and coordinates national drug control policy. In April 2003, he introduced the controversial Reducing Americans' Vulnerability to Ecstasy Act, also known as the RAVE Act. He continued to work to stop the spread of "date rape drugs" such as flunitrazepam, and drugs such as Ecstasy and Ketamine. In 2004, he worked to pass a bill outlawing steroids like androstenedione, the drug used by many baseball players.[17]

Biden's "Kids 2000" legislation established a public/private partnership to provide computer centers, teachers, Internet access, and technical training to young people, particularly to low-income and at-risk youth.[124]

Senate Foreign Relations Committee

Senator Biden travels with President Clinton and other officials to Bosnia in 1997

Biden was a long-time member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. In 1997, he became the ranking minority member and chaired the committee in January 2001 and from June 2001 through 2003. When Democrats re-took control of the Senate following the 2006 elections, Biden again assumed the top spot on the committee in 2007.[125] Biden was generally a liberal internationalist in foreign policy.[79][126] He collaborated effectively with important Republican Senate figures such as Richard Lugarand Jesse Helms and sometimes went against elements of his own party.[125][126] Biden was also co-chairman of the NATO Observer Group in the Senate.[127] A partial list covering this time showed Biden meeting with some 150 leaders from nearly 60 countries and international organizations.[128] Biden held frequent hearings as chairman of the committee, as well as holding many subcommittee hearings during the three times he chaired the Subcommittee on European Affairs.[79]

Biden gives an opening statement and questions at aSenate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Iraq in 2007

Biden became interested in the Yugoslav Wars after hearing about Serbianabuses during the Croatian War of Independence in 1991.[79] Once theBosnian War broke out, Biden was among the first to call for the "lift and strike" policy of lifting the arms embargo, training Bosnian Muslims and supporting them with NATO air strikes, and investigating war crimes.[79][125]Both the George H. W. Bush administration and Clinton administration were reluctant to implement the policy, fearing Balkan entanglement.[79][126] In April 1993, Biden spent a week in the Balkans and held a tense three-hour meeting with Serbian leader Slobodan Milošević.[129] Biden related that he told Milošević, "I think you're a damn war criminal and you should be tried as one."[129] Biden wrote an amendment in 1992 to compel the Bush administration to arm the Bosnians, but deferred in 1994 to a somewhat softer stance preferred by the Clinton administration, before signing on the following year to a stronger measure sponsored by Bob Dole and Joe Lieberman.[129] The engagement led to a successful NATO peacekeeping effort.[79] Biden has called his role in affecting Balkans policy in the mid-1990s his "proudest moment in public life" that related to foreign policy.[126] In 1999, during the Kosovo War, Biden supported the NATO bombing campaign against Serbia and Montenegro,[79] and co-sponsored with his friend John McCain the McCain-Biden Kosovo Resolution, which called on President Clinton to use all necessary force, including ground troops, to confront Milosevic over Serbian actions in Kosovo.[126][130] In 1998, Congressional Quarterly named Biden one of "Twelve Who Made a Difference" for playing a lead role in several foreign policy matters, including NATO enlargement and the successful passage of bills to streamline foreign affairs agencies and punish religious persecution overseas.[131]

Biden had voted against authorization for the Gulf War in 1991,[126] siding with 45 of the 55 Democratic senators; he said the U.S. was bearing almost all the burden in the anti-Iraq coalition.[132] Biden was a strong supporter of the 2001 war in Afghanistan, saying "Whatever it takes, we should do it."[133] Regarding Iraq, Biden stated in 2002 that Saddam Hussein was a threat to national security, and that there was no option but to eliminate that threat.[134] In October 2002, Biden voted in favor of the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq, justifying the Iraq War.[126] While he soon became a critic of the war and viewed his vote as a "mistake", he did not push to require a U.S. withdrawal.[126][129] He supported the appropriations to pay for the occupation, but argued repeatedly that the war should be internationalized, that more soldiers were needed, and that the Bush administration should "level with the American people" about the cost and length of the conflict.[125][130]

By late 2006, Biden's stance had shifted, and he opposed the troop surge of 2007,[126][129] saying GeneralDavid Petraeus was "dead, flat wrong" in believing the surge could work.[135] Biden was instead a leading advocate for dividing Iraq into a loose federation of three ethnic states.[136] In November 2006, Biden andLeslie H. Gelb, President Emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations, released a comprehensive strategy to end sectarian violence in Iraq.[137] Rather than continuing the present approach or withdrawing, the plan called for "a third way": federalizing Iraq and giving Kurds, Shiites, and Sunnis "breathing room" in their own regions.[138] In September 2007, a non-binding resolution passed the Senate endorsing such a scheme.[137]However, the idea was unfamiliar, had no political constituency, and failed to gain traction.[135] Iraq's political leadership united in denouncing the resolution as a de facto partitioning of the country, and the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad issued a statement distancing itself.[137]

In March 2004, Biden secured the brief release of Libyan democracy activist and political prisoner Fathi Eljahmi, after meeting with leader Muammar Gaddafi in Tripoli.[139][140] In May 2008, Biden sharply criticized PresidentGeorge W. Bush for his speech to Israel's Knesset in which he suggested that some Democrats were acting in the same way some Western leaders did when they appeased Hitler in the runup to World War II. Biden stated: "This is bullshit. This is malarkey. This is outrageous. Outrageous for the president of the United States to go to a foreign country, sit in the Knesset ... and make this kind of ridiculous statement." Biden later apologized for using the expletive. Biden further stated, "Since when does this administration think that if you sit down, you have to eliminate the word 'no' from your vocabulary?"[141]

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Delaware matters

Biden receiving a 1997 tour of a new facility at Delaware'sDover Air Force Base

Biden was a familiar figure to his Delaware constituency, by virtue of his daily train commuting from there,[17] and generally sought to attend to state needs.[142] Biden was a strong supporter of increased Amtrak funding and rail security;[142] he hosted barbecues and an annual Christmas dinner for the Amtrak crews, and they would sometimes hold the last train of the night a few minutes so he could catch it.[41][142] He earned the nickname "Amtrak Joe" as a result (and in 2011, Amtrak's Wilmington Station was named the Joseph R. Biden Jr. Railroad Station, in honor of the over 7,000 trips he made from there).[143][144] He was an advocate for Delaware military installations, including Dover Air Force Base and New Castle Air National Guard Base.[145]

In 1975, Biden broke from liberal orthodoxy when he took legislative action to limit desegregation busing.[77] In doing so, he said busing was a "bankrupt idea [that violated] the cardinal rule of common sense," and that his opposition would make it easier for other liberals to follow suit.[77] Three years later, Wilmington's federally mandated cross-district busing plan generated much turmoil, and in trying to legislate a compromise solution, Biden found himself alienating both black and white voters for a while.[146]

Beginning in 1991, Biden served as an adjunct professor at the Widener University School of Law, Delaware's only law school, teaching a seminar on constitutional law.[147][148] The seminar was one of Widener's most popular, often with a waiting list for enrollment.[148] Biden 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.[149][150]

Biden was a sponsor of bankruptcy legislation during the 2000s, which was sought by MBNA, one of Delaware's largest companies, and other credit card issuers.[17] Biden allowed an amendment to the bill to increase the homestead exemption for homeowners declaring bankruptcy and fought for an amendment to forbid anti-abortion felons from using bankruptcy to discharge fines; the overall bill was vetoed by Bill Clinton in 2000 but then finally passed as the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act in 2005, with Biden supporting it.[17]

Biden held up trade agreements with Russia when that country stopped importing U.S. chickens. The downstateSussex County region is the nation's top chicken-producing area.[142]

In 2007, Biden requested and gained $67 million worth of projects for his constituents through congressional earmarks.[151]

Reputation

Biden's official Senate photo (2005)

Following his initial election in 1972, Biden was re-elected to six additional terms, in the elections of 1978, 1984, 1990, 1996, 2002, and 2008, usually getting about 60 percent of the vote.[142] He did not face strong opposition; Pete du Pont, then governor, chose not to run against him in 1984.[77] Biden spent 28 years as a junior senator due to the two-year seniority of his Republican colleague William V. Roth Jr.After Roth was defeated for re-election by Tom Carper in 2000, Biden became Delaware's senior senator. He then became the longest-serving senator in Delaware history[152] and, as of 2018, was the 18th longest serving senator in the history of the United States.[153] In May 1999, Biden became the youngest senator to cast 10,000 votes.[131]

With a net worth between $59,000 and $366,000, and almost no outside income or investment income, Biden was consistently ranked as one of the least wealthy members of the Senate.[154][155][156] Biden stated that he was listed as the second-poorest member in Congress; he was not proud of the distinction, but attributed it to having been elected early in his career.[157]Biden realized early in his senatorial career how vulnerable poorer public officials are to offers of financial contributions in exchange for policy support, and he pushed campaign finance reform measures during his first term.[77] Biden earned $15.6 million in 2017-2018.[158] By 2019, Biden's middle class status was referred to as a "state of mind".[159] Biden's assets increased to between $2.2 million and $8 million.[160]

During his years as a senator, Biden amassed a reputation for loquaciousness,[161][162][163] with his questions and remarks during Senate hearings being known as long-winded.[164][165] He has been a strong speaker and debater and a frequent and effective guest on Sunday morning talk shows.[165] In public appearances, he is known to deviate from prepared remarks at will.[166] According to political analyst Mark Halperin, he has shown "a persistent tendency to say silly, offensive, and off-putting things";[165] The New York Times writes that Biden's "weak filters make him capable of blurting out pretty much anything".[163] Journalist James Traub has written that "Biden's vanity and his regard for his own gifts seem considerable even by the rarefied standards of the U.S. Senate."[135]

The political writer Howard Fineman has said, "Biden is not an academic, he's not a theoretical thinker, he's a great street pol. He comes from a long line of working people in Scranton—auto salesmen, car dealers, people who know how to make a sale. He has that great Irish gift."[41] olitical columnist David S. Broder has viewed Biden as having grown since he came to Washington and since his failed 1988 presidential bid: "He responds to real people—that's been consistent throughout. And his ability to understand himself and deal with other politicians has gotten much much better."[41] Traub concludes that "Biden is the kind of fundamentally happy person who can be as generous toward others as he is to himself."[135]

2008 presidential campaign

Main article: Joe Biden 2008 presidential campaign
Biden's 2008 campaign logo

Biden had thought about running for president again ever since his failed 1988 bid.[nb 2]

Biden declared his candidacy for President on January 31, 2007, after having discussed running for months prior.[169] Biden made a formal announcement to Tim Russert on Meet the Press, stating he would "be the best Biden I can be".[170] In January 2006, Delaware newspaper columnist Harry F. Themal wrote that Biden "occupies the sensible center of the Democratic Party".[171] 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".[171]

Biden campaigning at ahouse party in Creston, Iowa, July 2007

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,[172]Biden rejected the notion of accepting the position of 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.'"[173] Other candidates' comments that "Joe is right" in the Democratic debates were converted into a Biden campaign theme and ad.[174] 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."[175] Biden also said that Obama was copying some of his foreign policy ideas.[135] Biden was noted for his one-liners on the campaign trail, saying of Republican then-frontrunner Rudy Giuliani at the debate on October 30, 2007, in Philadelphia, "There's only three things he mentions in a sentence: a noun, and a verb and 9/11."[176] Overall, Biden's debate performances were an effective mixture of humor, and sharp and surprisingly disciplined comments.[177]

Biden made remarks during the campaign that attracted controversy. On the day of his January 2007 announcement, 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."[178][nb 3] This comment undermined his campaign as soon as it began and significantly damaged his fund-raising capabilities;[177] it later took second place on Time magazine's list of Top 10 Campaign Gaffes for 2007.[180] 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."[181] Biden later said the remark was not intended to be derogatory.[181][nb 4]

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 Clinton;[183] 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.[184] Biden withdrew from the race that evening, saying "There is nothing sad about tonight. ... I feel no regret."[185]

Despite the lack of success, Biden's stature in the political world rose as the result of his 2008 campaign.[177] In particular, it changed the relationship between Biden and Obama. Although the two had served together on theSenate Foreign Relations Committee, they had not been close, with Biden having resented Obama's quick rise to political stardom,[135][186] and Obama having viewed Biden as garrulous and patronizing.[187] Now, having gotten to know each other during 2007, Obama appreciated Biden's campaigning style and appeal to working class voters, and Biden was convinced that Obama was "the real deal".[186][187]

2008 vice presidential campaign

Main articles: Barack Obama 2008 presidential campaign and 2008 Democratic Party vice presidential candidate selection
Joe Biden speaking at the August 23, 2008 vice presidential announcement inSpringfield, Illinois, while presidential nominee Barack Obama listens

Since shortly following Biden's withdrawal from the presidential race, Obama had been privately telling Biden that he was interested in finding an important place for him in a possible Obama administration.[188] Biden declined Obama's first request to vet him for the vice presidential slot, fearing the vice presidency would represent a loss in status and voice from his Senate position, but subsequently changed his mind.[135][189] 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.[190] In early August, Obama and Biden met in secret to discuss a possible vice-presidential relationship,[188] and the two developed a strong personal rapport.[186] On August 22, 2008, Barack Obama announced that Biden would be his running mate.[191][192] The New York Times reported that the strategy behind the choice reflected a desire to fill out the ticket with someone who has foreign policyand national security experience—and not to help the ticket win a swing state or to emphasize Obama's "change" message.[193] 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.[194][195] In accepting Obama's offer, Biden ruled out to him the possibility of running for president again in 2016[188] (although comments by Biden in subsequent years seemed to back off that stance, with Biden not wanting to diminish his political power by appearing uninterested in advancement).[196][197][198] Biden was officially nominated for vice president on August 27 by voice vote at the2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado.[199]

After his selection as a vice presidential candidate, Biden was criticized by his own Roman Catholic Diocese of Wilmington Bishop Michael Saltarelli for not opposing abortion.[200] The diocese confirmed that even if elected vice president, Biden would not be allowed to speak at Catholic schools.[201] 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;[202] however, Biden did continue to receive Communion at his local Delaware parish.[201] 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.[203] Biden said he believed that life began at conception but that he would not impose his personal religious views on others.[204] Bishop Saltarelli had previously stated regarding stances similar to Biden's: "No one today would accept this statement from any public servant: 'I am personally opposed to human slavery and racism but will not impose my personal conviction in the legislative arena.' Likewise, none of us should accept this statement from any public servant: 'I am personally opposed to abortion but will not impose my personal conviction in the legislative arena.'"[201]

Biden is nominated as the Democratic vice presidential candidate during the third night of the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado.

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.[163][205] During one week in September 2008, for instance, the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalismfound that Biden was included in only five percent of the news coverage of the race, far less than for the other three candidates on the tickets.[206] Biden nevertheless focused on campaigning in economically challenged areas ofswing states and trying to win over blue-collar Democrats, especially those who had supported Hillary Clinton.[135][163] Biden attacked McCain heavily, despite a long-standing personal friendship;[nb 5] he would say, "That guy I used to know, he's gone. It literally saddens me."[163] As the financial crisis of 2007–2010 reached a peak with the liquidity crisis of September 2008 and the proposed bailout of the United States financial system became a major factor in the campaign, Biden voted in favor of the $700 billionEmergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, which passed the Senate 74–25.[208]

On October 2, 2008, Biden participated in the campaign's one vice presidential debate with Palin. Post-debate polls found that while Palin exceeded many voters' expectations, Biden had won the debate overall.[209] On October 5, Biden suspended campaign events for a few days after the death of his mother-in-law.[210] 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.[211][212][213] He also campaigned in some normally Republican states, as well as in areas with large Catholic populations.[213]

Under instructions from the Obama campaign, Biden kept his speeches succinct and tried to avoid off-hand remarks, such as one about Obama's being tested by a foreign power soon after taking office, which had attracted negative attention.[211][212] rivately, Obama was frustrated by Biden's remarks, saying "How many times is Biden gonna say something stupid?"[214] Obama campaign staffers referred to Biden blunders as "Joe bombs" and kept Biden uninformed about strategy discussions, which in turn irked Biden.[198] 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.[214] ublicly, Obama strategist David Axelrod said that any unexpected comments had been outweighed by Biden's high popularity ratings.[215] Nationally, Biden had a 60 percent favorability rating in a Pew Research Center poll, compared to Palin's 44 percent.[211]

On November 4, 2008, Obama was elected President and Biden was elected Vice President of the United States.[216] The Obama–Biden ticket won 365 Electoral College votes to McCain–Palin's 173,[217] and had a 53–46 percent edge in the nationwide popular vote.[218]

Biden had continued to run for his Senate seat as well as for Vice President,[219] as permitted by Delaware law.[142][nb 6] On November 4, Biden was also re-elected as senator, defeating Republican Christine O'Donnell.[220] Having won both races, Biden made a point of holding off his resignation from the Senate so that he could be sworn in for his seventh term on January 6, 2009.[221] He became the youngest senator ever to start a seventh full term, and said, "In all my life, the greatest honor bestowed upon me has been serving the people of Delaware as their United States senator."[221] Biden cast his last Senate vote on January 15, supporting the release of the second $350 billion for the Troubled Asset Relief Program.[222] Biden resigned from the Senate later that day;[nb 7] in emotional farewell remarks on the Senate floor, where he had spent most of his adult life, Biden said, "Every good thing I have seen happen here, every bold step taken in the 36-plus years I have been here, came not from the application of pressure by interest groups, but through the maturation of personal relationships."[226]

Vice Presidency (2009–2017)

Post-election transition

Vice President-elect Biden meets with Vice President Dick Cheney at Number One Observatory Circle on November 13, 2008

On November 4, 2008, Biden was elected Vice President of the United States as Obama's running mate.

Soon after the election, he was appointed chairman of President-elect Obama's transition team. During the transition phase of the Obama administration, Biden said he was in daily meetings with Obama and that McCain was still his friend.[227] The U.S. Secret Service codename given to Biden is "Celtic", referencing his Irish roots.[228]

Biden chose veteran Democratic lawyer and aide Ron Klain to be his chief of staff,[229] and Time Washington bureau chief Jay Carney to be his director of communications.[230] Biden intended to eliminate some of the explicit roles assumed by the vice presidency of his predecessor, Dick Cheney,[231] who had established himself as an autonomous power center.[135] Otherwise, Biden said he would not emulate any previous vice presidency, but would instead seek to provide advice and counsel on every critical decision Obama would make.[232] Biden said he was closely involved in all the cabinet appointments that were made during the transition.[232] Biden was also named to head the new White House Task Force on Working Families, an initiative aimed at improving the economic well being of the middle class.[233] In his last act as Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, Biden went on a trip to Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan during the second week of January 2009, meeting with the leadership of those countries.[234]

First term (2009–2013)

Biden is sworn into office by Associate Justice John Paul Stevens, January 20, 2009

On January 20, 2009, at noon, Biden became the 47th Vice President of the United States, sworn into the office by Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens.[235] Biden is the first United States Vice President from Delaware[236] and the first Roman Catholic to attain that office.[237]

President Obama walking with Vice President Biden at theWhite House, February 2009

In the early months of the Obama administration, Biden assumed the role of an important behind-the-scenes counselor.[238] One role was to adjudicate disputes between Obama's "team of rivals".[135] The president compared Biden's efforts to a basketball player "who does a bunch of things that don't show up in the stat sheet".[238] Biden played a key role in gaining Senate support for several major pieces of Obama legislation, and was a main factor in convincing Senator Arlen Specter to switch from the Republican to the Democratic party.[239] Biden lost an internal debate to Secretary of StateHillary Clinton regarding his opposition to sending 21,000 new troops to thewar in Afghanistan.[240][241] His skeptical voice was still considered valuable within the administration,[189] however, and later in 2009 Biden's views achieved more prominence within the White House as Obama reconsidered his Afghanistan strategy.[242]

Biden made visits to Iraq about once every two months,[135] including trips to Baghdad in August and September 2009 to listen to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and reiterate U.S. stances on Iraq's future;[243] by this time he had become the administration's point man in delivering messages to Iraqi leadership about expected progress in the country.[189] More generally, overseeing Iraq policy became Biden's responsibility: the president is said to have put it as "Joe, you do Iraq".[244] Biden said Iraq "could be one of the great achievements of this administration".[245] Biden's January 2010 visit to Iraq in the midst of turmoil over banned candidates from the upcoming Iraqi parliamentary election resulted in 59 of the several hundred candidates being reinstated by the Iraqi government two days later.[246] By 2012, Biden had made eight trips there, but his oversight of U.S. policy in Iraq receded with the exit in 2011 of U.S. troops.[247][248]

Biden was also in charge of the oversight role for infrastructure spending from the Obama stimulus packageintended to help counteract the ongoing recession, and stressed that only worthy projects should get funding.[249]He talked with hundreds of governors, mayors, and other local officials in this role.[247] During this period, Biden was satisfied that no major instances of waste or corruption had occurred,[189] and when he completed that role in February 2011, he said that the number of fraud incidents with stimulus monies had been less than one percent.[250]

Biden speaks to Navy SEALtrainees, NAB Coronado, California, May 2009
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President Obama congratulates Biden for his role in shaping the debt ceiling deal that led to the Budget Control Act of 2011.
Biden, Obama and the U.S. national security team gathered in the White House Situation Room to monitor the progress of the May 2011 U.S. mission to kill Osama bin Laden.

It took some time for the cautious Obama and the blunt, rambling Biden to work out ways of dealing with each other.[198] In late April 2009, Biden's off-message response to a question during the beginning of the swine flu outbreak, that he would advise family members against travelling on airplanes or subways, led to a swift retraction from the White House.[251] The remark revived Biden's reputation for gaffes,[252] and led to a spate of late-night television jokes themed on him being a loose-talking buffoon.[242][253][254] In the face of persistently rising unemployment through July 2009, Biden acknowledged that the administration had "misread how bad the economy was" but maintained confidence that the stimulus package would create many more jobs once the pace of expenditures picked up.[255] The same month, Secretary of State Clinton quickly disavowed Biden's remarks disparaging Russia as a power, but despite any missteps, Biden still retained Obama's confidence and was increasingly influential within the administration.[256] On March 23, 2010, a microphone picked up Biden telling the president that his signing of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was "a big ... deal", using an adjective beginning with "f", during live national news telecasts. White House press secretary Robert Gibbs replied via Twitter "And yes Mr. Vice President, you're right ..."[257] Despite their different personalities, Obama and Biden formed a friendship, partly based around Obama's daughter Sasha and Biden's granddaughter Maisy, who attended Sidwell Friends Schooltogether.[198]

Biden's most important role within the administration was to question assumptions, playing a contrarian role.[135][242] Obama said that "The best thing about Joe is that when we get everybody together, he really forces people to think and defend their positions, to look at things from every angle, and that is very valuable for me."[189] Another senior Obama advisor said Biden "is always prepared to be the skunk at the family picnic to make sure we are as intellectually honest as possible".[189] On June 11, 2010, Biden represented the United States at the opening ceremony of the World Cup, attended the England v. U.S. game which was tied 1–1, and visited Egypt, Kenya, and South Africa.[258] Throughout, Joe and Jill Biden maintained a relaxed atmosphere at their official residence in Washington, often entertaining some of their grandchildren, and regularly returned to their home in Delaware.[259]

Biden campaigned heavily for Democrats in the 2010 midterm elections, maintaining an attitude of optimism in the face of general predictions of large-scale losses for the party.[260] Following large-scale Republican gains in the elections and the departure of White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, Biden's past relationships with Republicans in Congress became more important.[261][262] He led the successful administration effort to gain Senate approval for the New START treaty.[261][262] In December 2010, Biden's advocacy within the White House for a middle ground, followed by his direct negotiations with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, were instrumental in producing the administration's compromise tax package that revolved around a temporaryextension of the Bush tax cuts.[262][263] Biden then took the lead in trying to sell the agreement to a reluctant Democratic caucus in Congress,[262][264] which was passed as the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010.

In foreign policy, Biden supported the NATO-led military intervention in Libya in 2011.[265] Biden has supported closer economic ties with Russia.[266]

In March 2011, Obama detailed Biden to lead negotiations between both houses of Congress and the White House in resolving federal spending levels for the rest of the year, and avoiding a government shutdown.[267] By May 2011, a "Biden panel" with six congressional members was trying to reach a bipartisan deal on raising theU.S. debt ceiling as part of an overall deficit reduction plan.[268][269] The U.S. debt ceiling crisis developed over the next couple of months, but it was again Biden's relationship with McConnell that proved to be a key factor in breaking a deadlock and finally bringing about a bipartisan deal to resolve it, in the form of the Budget Control Act of 2011, signed on August 2, 2011, the same day that an unprecedented U.S. default had loomed.[270][271][272] Biden had spent the most time bargaining with Congress on the debt question of anyone in the administration,[271] and one Republican staffer said, "Biden's the only guy with real negotiating authority, and [McConnell] knows that his word is good. He was a key to the deal."[270]

It has been reported that Biden was opposed to going forward with the May 2011 U.S. mission to kill Osama bin Laden,[247][273] lest failure adversely affect Obama's chances for a second term.[274][275] He took the lead in notifying Congressional leaders of the successful outcome.[276]

2012 re-election campaign

Main article: Barack Obama 2012 presidential campaign

In October 2010, Biden stated that Obama had asked him to remain as his running mate for the 2012 presidential election.[260] With Obama's popularity on the decline, however, in late 2011 White House Chief of Staff William M. Daley conducted some secret polling and focus group research into the idea of Secretary of State Clinton replacing Biden on the ticket.[277] The notion was dropped when the results showed no appreciable improvement for Obama,[277] and White House officials later said that Obama had never entertained the idea.[278]

Biden's May 2012 statement that he was "absolutely comfortable" with same-sex marriage gained considerable public attention in comparison to President Obama's position, which had been described as "evolving".[279]Biden made his statement without administration consent, and Obama and his aides were quite irked, since Obama had planned to shift position several months later, in the build-up to the party convention, and since Biden had previously counseled the president to avoid the issue lest key Catholic voters be offended.[198][280][281][282] Gay rights advocates seized upon the Biden stance,[280] and within days, Obama announced that he too supported same-sex marriage, an action in part forced by Biden's unexpected remarks.[283] Biden apologized to Obama in private for having spoken out,[281][284] while Obama acknowledged publicly it had been done from the heart.[280] The incident showed that Biden still struggled at times withmessage discipline;[198] as Time wrote, "everyone knows [that] Biden's greatest strength is also his greatest weakness."[247] Relations were also strained between the campaigns when Biden appeared to use his to bolster fundraising contacts for a possible run on his own in the 2016 presidential election, and the vice president ended up being excluded from Obama campaign strategy meetings.[277]

Biden with President Barack Obama, July 2012

The Obama campaign nevertheless still valued Biden as a retail-level politician who could connect with disaffected, blue collar workers and rural residents, and he had a heavy schedule of appearances in swing states as the Obama re-election campaignbegan in earnest in spring 2012.[110][247] An August 2012 remark before a mixed-race audience that proposed Republican relaxation of Wall Street regulations would "put y'all back in chains" led to a similar analysis of Biden's face-to-face campaigning abilities versus tendency to go off track.[110][285][286] The Los Angeles Times wrote, "Most candidates give the same stump speech over and over, putting reporters if not the audience to sleep. But during any Biden speech, there might be a dozen moments to make press handlers cringe, and prompt reporters to turn to each other with amusement and confusion."[285] Time magazine wrote that Biden often goes too far and that "Along with the familiar Washington mix of neediness and overconfidence, Biden's brain is wired for more than the usual amount of goofiness."[110]

Biden was officially nominated for a second term as vice president on September 6 by voice vote at the 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina.[287] He faced his Republican counterpart, Representative Paul Ryan, in the lone 2012 vice presidential debate on October 11 in Danville, Kentucky. There he made a feisty, emotional defense of the Obama administration's record and energetically attacked the Republican ticket, in an effort to regain campaign momentum lost by Obama's unfocused debate performance against Republican nominee Mitt Romney the week before.[288][289]

On November 6, 2012, the president and vice president were elected to second terms.[290] The Obama–Biden ticket won 332 Electoral College votes to Romney–Ryan's 206 and had a 51–47 percent edge in the nationwide popular vote.[291]

Post-election

Biden speaks during theU.S.–China Strategic and Economic Dialogue, in Washington, D.C., July 2013

In December 2012, Biden was named by Obama to head the Gun Violence Task Force, created to address the causes of gun violence in the United States in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.[292]Later that month, during the final days before the country fell off the "fiscal cliff", Biden's relationship with McConnell once more proved important as the two negotiated a deal that led to the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012being passed at the start of 2013.[293][294] It made permanent much of the Bush tax cuts but raised rates on upper income levels.[294]

Second term (2013–2017)

Biden was inaugurated to a second term in the early morning of January 20, 2013, at a small ceremony in his official residence with Justice Sonia Sotomayor presiding (a public ceremony took place on January 21).[295] He continued to be in the forefront as, in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, the Obama administration put forth executive orders and proposed legislation towards new gun control measures[115] (the legislation failed to pass).[296]

During the discussions that led to the October 2013 passage of the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2014, which resolved the U.S. federal government shutdown of 2013 and the U.S. debt-ceiling crisis of 2013, Biden played little role. This was due to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and other Democratic leaders cutting the vice president out of any direct talks with Congress, feeling that Biden had given too much away during previous negotiations.[297][298][299]

Biden meeting Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, December 31, 2014. Biden said that Kurdish PKK is a "terrorist group"[300]

Biden's Violence Against Women Act was reauthorized again in 2013. The act led to further related developments in the creation of the White House Council on Women and Girls, begun in the first term, as well as the White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault, begun in January 2014 with Biden as co-chair along with Jarrett.[301][302] Biden has a strong stance on sexual assault.[303] For example, Biden stated to a victim of sexual assault at Stanford University, "you did it ... in the hope that your strength might prevent this crime from happening to someone else. Your bravery is breathtaking."[303]He has also taken legality into the situation. Biden issued federal guidelines while presenting a speech at the University of New Hampshire. He stated that "No means no, if you're drunk or you're sober. No means no if you're in bed, in a dorm or on the street. No means no even if you said yes at first and you changed your mind. No means no."[304][305][306]

Biden favored arming Syria's rebel fighters.[307] As Iraq fell apart during 2014, renewed attention was paid to the Biden-Gelb Iraqi federalization plan of 2006, with some observers suggesting that Biden had been right all along.[308][309] Biden himself said that the U.S. would follow ISIL "to the gates of hell".[310] In October 2014, Biden said that Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates had "poured hundreds of millions of dollars and tens of thousands of tons of weapons into anyone who would fight against Al-Assad, except that the people who were being supplied were al-Nusra, and al Qaeda, and the extremist elements of jihadis coming from other parts of the world."[311]

Biden with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, March 9, 2016. Biden is a staunch supporter of Israel.

By 2015, a series of swearings-in and other events where Biden placed his hands on women and girls and talked closely to them had attracted the attention of both the press and social media.[312][313][314][315] In one case, a senator issued a statement afterward saying about his daughter, "No, she doesn't think the vice president is creepy."[316] On January 17, 2015, Secret Service agents heard shots were fired as a vehicle drove near Biden's Delaware residence at 8:28 p.m. outside the security perimeter, but the vice president and his wife Jill were not home. A vehicle was observed by an agent speeding away.[317]

On December 8, 2015, Biden spoke in Ukraine's parliament in Kiev[318][319] in one of his many visits to set USA aid and policy stance for Ukraine.[320] On February 28, 2016, Biden gave a speech at the 88th Academy Awards to do with awareness for sexual assault; he also introduced Lady Gaga.

In March 2016, Biden spoke at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) olicy Conference inWashington, D.C.[321] In his speech, he stated, "We're all united by our unyielding—I mean literally unyielding—commitment to the survival, the security, and the success of the Jewish State of Israel."[321]

On December 8, 2016, Biden went to Ottawa to meet with the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau.[322]

During his two full terms, Joe Biden never cast a tie-breaking vote in the Senate, making him the longest serving Vice President with this distinction.[citation needed]

Death of Beau Biden

On May 30, 2015, Biden's son, Beau Biden, died at age 46 after having battled brain cancer for several years. In a statement, the Vice President's office said, "The entire Biden family is saddened beyond words."[323] The nature and seriousness of the illness had not been previously disclosed to the public, and Biden had quietly reduced his public schedule in order to spend more time with his son. At the time of his death, Beau Biden had been widely seen as the frontrunner to be the Democratic nominee for Governor of Delaware in 2016.[65][66]

Role in the 2016 presidential campaign

During much of his second term, Biden was said to be preparing for a possible bid for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination.[324] At age 74 on Inauguration Day in January 2017, he would have been the oldest president on inauguration in history.[325] With his family, many friends, and donors encouraging him in mid-2015 to enter the race, and with Hillary Clinton's favorability ratings in decline at that time, Biden was reported to again be seriously considering the prospect and a "Draft Biden 2016" PAC was established.[324][326][327]

As of September 11, 2015, Biden was still uncertain whether or not to run. Biden cited the recent death of his son being a large drain on his emotional energy, and that "nobody has a right ... to seek that office unless they're willing to give it 110% of who they are".[328]

On October 21, speaking from a podium in the Rose Garden with his wife and President Obama by his side, Biden announced his decision not to enter the race for the Democratic presidential nomination in the 2016 election.[329][330][331] In January 2016, Biden affirmed that not running was the right decision, but admitted to regretting not running for President "every day."[332][333]

As of the end of January 2016, neither Biden nor President Barack Obama had endorsed any candidate in the 2016 presidential election. Biden did miss his annual Thanksgiving tradition of going to Nantucket, opting instead to travel abroad and meet with several European leaders. He took time to meet with Martin O'Malley, having previously met with Bernie Sanders, both 2016 candidates. Neither of these meetings was considered an endorsement, as Biden had said that he would meet with any candidate who asked.[334]

Biden meeting with Vice President–elect Mike Pence on November 10, 2016

After Obama endorsed Hillary Clinton on June 9, 2016, Biden endorsed her later the same day.[335] Though Biden and Clinton were scheduled to campaign together in Scranton on July 8, the appearance was canceled by Clinton in light of the shooting of Dallas police officers the previous day.[336]

Following his endorsement of Clinton, Biden publicly displayed his disagreements with the policies of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. On June 20, Biden critiqued Trump's proposal to temporarily ban Muslims from entering the country as well as his stated intent to build a wallbetween the United States and Mexico border, furthering that Trump's suggestion to either torture and or kill family members of terrorists was both damaging to American values and "deeply damaging to our security".[337] During an interview with George Stephanopoulos at the 2016 Democratic National Convention on July 26, Biden asserted that "moral and centered" voters would not vote for Trump.[338]On October 21, the anniversary of his choice to not run, Biden said he wished he was still in high school so he could take Trump "behind the gym".[339] On October 24, Biden clarified he would only have fought Trump if he was still in high school,[340] and the following day, October 25, Trump responded that he would "love that".[341]

Post–Vice Presidency (2017–present)

Biden campaigning for Alabama U.S. Senate candidateDoug Jones in October 2017

In 2017, Biden was named the Benjamin Franklin Presidential Practice professor at the University of Pennsylvania, where he intended to focus on foreign policy, diplomacy, and national security while leading the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement.[3] He also wanted to pursue his "cancer moonshot" agenda,[342] calling the fight against cancer "the only bipartisan thing left in America" in March 2017.[343]

Biden had been close friends with Sen. John McCain for over 30 years. In 2018, Sen. McCain died at the age of 81 after dealing with the same cancer that Joe Biden's late son Beau Biden died of. Biden gave the eulogy at McCain's funeral service in Phoenix, Arizona. He opened with "My name's Joe Biden. I'm a Democrat. And I loved John McCain.",[344] he also called him a "brother".[344] Biden also served as a pallbearer at Sen. McCain's memorial service at the Washington National Cathedral alongside Warren Beatty, and Michael Bloomberg.[345]

Comments on President Trump

While attending the launch of the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement on March 30, 2017, a student asked Biden what "piece of advice" he would give to President Trump, Biden responding that the president should grow up and cease his tweeting so he could focus on the office.[346] During a speech at a May 29, 2017 gathering of Philip D. Murphy supporters at a community center gymnasium, Biden said, "There are a lot of people out there who are frightened. Trump played on their fears. What we haven't done, in my view—and this is a criticism of all us—we haven't spoken enough to the fears and aspirations of the people we come from."[347] On June 17, 2017, Biden predicted the "state the nation is today will not be sustained by the American people" while speaking at a Florida Democratic Party fundraiser in Hollywood.[348] Biden told CBS This Morning that Trump's administration "seems to feel the need to coddle autocrats and dictators" like Saudi Arabian leaders, Russian President Putin, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un or Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte.[349] In October 2018, Biden said if Democrats retake the House of Representatives, "I hope they don't [impeach Trump]. I don't think there's a basis for doing that right now."[350]

Climate change

During an appearance at the Brainstorm Health Conference in San Diego, California on May 2, 2017, Biden said the public "has moved ahead of the administration [on science]".[351] On May 31, Biden tweeted that climate change was an "existential threat to our future" and remaining in the Paris Agreement was the "best way to protect our children and global leadership."[352] The following day, after President Trump announced his withdrawal of the US from the Paris Agreement, Biden tweeted that the choice "imperils US security and our ability to own the clean energy future."[353] While appearing at the Concordia Europe Summit in Athens, Greeceon June 7, Biden said, referring to the Paris Agreement, "The vast majority of the American people do not agree with the decision the president made."[354]

Healthcare

On March 22, 2017, Biden referred to the Republican healthcare bill as a "tax bill" meant to transfer nearly US$1 trillion used for health benefits for the lower classes to wealthy Americans during his first appearance on Capitol Hill since Trump's inauguration.[355] On May 4, after the House of Representatives narrowly voted for theAmerican Health Care Act, Biden tweeted that it was a "Day of shame for Congress", lamenting the loss of pre-existing condition protections.[356] On June 24, in response to Senate Republicans revealing an American Health Care Act draft the previous day, Biden tweeted that the bill "isn't about health care at all—it's a wealth transfer: slashes care to fund tax cuts for the wealthy & corporations".[357] On July 28, in response to the Republican Senate healthcare bill falling through, Biden tweeted, "Thank you to everyone who tirelessly worked to protect the healthcare of millions."[358]

Immigration

On September 5, 2017, after Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that the Trump Administration is rescinding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, Biden tweeted, "Brought by parents, these children had no choice in coming here. Now they'll be sent to countries they've never known. Cruel. Not America."[359]

LGBT rights

On April 14, 2017, Biden released a statement both denouncing the authorities in Chechnya for their rounding up, torturing, and murdering of "individuals who are believed to be gay" and stating his hope that the Trump administration honor a prior pledge to advance human rights by confronting Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrovand Russian leaders over "these egregious violations of human rights".[360] On June 21, during a speech at a Democratic National Committee LGBT gala in New York City, Biden said, "Hold President Trump accountable for his pledge to be your friend."[361]

On July 26, 2017, after Trump announced a ban of transgender people serving in the military, Biden tweeted, "Every patriotic American who is qualified to serve in our military should be able to serve. Full stop."[362]

In March 2019, Biden condemned Brunei's new LGBT death penalty law, tweeting: "Stoning people to death for homosexuality or adultery is appalling and immoral. There is no excuse – not culture, not tradition – for this kind of hate and inhumanity."[363] Biden suggested that the Trump administration's hostility to the rights of LGBT people was sending a poor example to countries like Brunei.[364]

2020 presidential campaign

Main article: Joe Biden 2020 presidential campaign
Biden at his presidential kickoff rally in Philadelphia,Pennsylvania in May 2019

During a tour of the U.S. Senate with reporters before leaving office, on December 5, 2016, Biden refused to rule out a bid for the presidency in the2020 presidential election, after leaving office as Vice President. If he were to run in 2020, Biden would be 77 years old on election day and 78 on inauguration day in 2021.[365][366][367] He reasserted his ambivalence about running on an appearance of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on December 7, in which he stated "never say never" about running for President in 2020, while also acknowledging that he did not see a scenario in which he would run for office again.[368][369] He seemingly announced on January 13, 2017, exactly one week prior to the expiration of his vice presidential term, that he would not run.[370] He then appeared to backtrack four days later, on January 17, stating "I'll run if I can walk."[371] A political action committee known as Time for Biden was formed in January 2018, seeking Biden's entry into the race.[372][373]

Between 2016 and 2019, Biden was mentioned by various media outlets as a potential candidate. He told a forum held in Bogota, Colombia, on July 17, 2018, that he would decide whether or not to formally declare as a candidate by January 2019.[374] On February 4, 2019, with no decision having been forthcoming from Biden, Edward-Isaac Dovere of The Atlantic wrote that Biden was "very close to saying yes" but that some close to him are worried he would have a last-minute change of heart, as he did in 2016.[375] Dovere reported that Biden was concerned about the effect another presidential run could have on his family and reputation, as well as fundraising struggles and perceptions about his age and relative centrism, compared to other declared and potential candidates.[375] Conversely, his "sense of duty," offense at the Trump presidency, the lack of foreign policy experience amongst other Democratic hopefuls and his desire to foster "bridge-building progressivism" in the Party, were said to be factors prompting him to run.[375] In March 2019, he indicated he may run,[376] and ultimately launched his campaign on April 25, 2019.[377] In May 2019, Biden chose Philadelphia to be his 2020 U.S. presidential campaign headquarters.[378]

While at a fundraiser on June 18, 2019, Biden said that one of his greatest strengths was "bringing people together" and pointed to his relationships with Senators James Eastland and Herman Talmadge, twosegregationists as examples. While imitating a Southern drawl, Biden remarked "I was in a caucus with James O. Eastland. He never called me 'boy,' he always called me 'son.'”[379][380] New Jersey Senator Cory Bookerwas one of many Democrats to criticize Biden for the remarks, issuing a statement that said "You don't joke about calling black men 'boys.' Men like James O. Eastland used words like that, and the racist policies that accompanied them, to perpetuate white supremacy and strip black Americans of our very humanity".[380]

During the first Democratic presidential debate, Kamala Harris criticized Biden for his comments regarding his past work with segregationist Senators and his past opposition to desegregation busing that allowed black children like her to attend integrated schools.[381] Biden was widely criticized for his debate performance and support for him dropped 10 points.[382][383][384] resident Trump defended Biden, saying Harris was given "too much credit" for her debate with Biden.[385]

On July 15, 2019, the non-profit Biden Cancer Initiative announced the foundation was ceasing operations for the foreseeable future. Biden and his wife left the initiative's board in April as an ethics precaution before starting his 2020 presidential campaign.[386]

Allegations of inappropriate physical contact

There have been multiple photographs and videos of Biden engaged in what commentators considered to be inappropriate proximity to women and children, including kissing and or touching.[387][388][389] Biden has described himself as a "tactile politician" and admitted that this behavior has caused trouble for him in the past.[390] An image of Biden in close proximity to Stephanie Carter during her husband's swearing in asSecretary of Defense in 2015 resulted in a mocking epithet that was widely repeated. Carter defended Biden's depicted behavior in a 2019 interview.[391]

In March 2019, former Nevada assemblywoman Lucy Flores alleged that Biden kissed her without her consent at a 2014 campaign rally in Las Vegas. In a New York magazine op-ed for The Cut, Flores wrote that Biden had walked up behind her, put his hands on her shoulders, smelled her hair, and kissed the back of her head. Adding that the way he touched her was "an intimate way reserved for close friends, family, or romantic partners – and I felt powerless to do anything about it."[392] In an interview with HuffPost, Flores stated she believed Biden's behavior to be disqualifying for a 2020 presidential run.[393] Biden's spokesman stated that Biden did not recall the behavior described.[394] Two days after Flores, Amy Lappos, a former congressional aide to Jim Himes, said Biden crossed a line of decency and respect when he touched her in a non-sexual, but inappropriate way by holding her head to rub noses with her at a political fundraiser in Greenwich in 2009.[395] The next day, two additional women came forward with allegations of inappropriate conduct. One woman said that Biden placed his hand on her thigh, and the other said he ran his hand from her shoulder down her back.[396][397]

By early April 2019, a total of seven women had made allegations of inappropriate physical contact regarding Biden.[398] At a conference on April 5, Biden apologized for not understanding how individuals would react to his actions, but stated that his intentions were honorable; he went on to say that he was not sorry for anything that he had ever done, which led critics to accuse him of sending a mixed message.[399] He also proclaimed—with each public embrace he gave during the event—that he had received permission for it. Some critics interpreted this as Biden jokingly deflecting criticism, while other observers considered his change in tone responsive to the criticisms received.[400]

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Political positions

Main article: Political positions of Joe Biden
Joe Biden's ratings from advocacy organizations
GroupAdvocacy issue(s)Ratings
LifetimeRecent[401]
RatingDate
AFL–CIOlabor unions85%[402]85%2007
APHApublic health100%2003
CTJprogressive taxation100%2006
NAACPminorities & affirmative action100%2006
LCVenvironmental protection83%[403]64%[403]2008
NEApublic education91%2003
ARAsenior citizens89%2003
CAFenergy security83%2006
PApeace and disarmament80%2003
HRCgay and lesbian rights78%2006
NARALabortion rights~72%[404]75%[405]2007
CUREcriminal rehabilitation71%2000
ACLUcivil and political rights80%[406]91%[407]2007
Catofree trade and libertarianism42%2002
US CoCcorporate interests32%2003
CCAChristian family values16%2003
NTUlowering taxes2%[408]2008
NRLCrestrictions on abortion0%2006
NRAgun ownershipF2003

Biden has been characterized as amoderate Democrat.[409] He has supported deficit spending for fiscal stimulus in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009;[410][411] the increased infrastructure spending proposed by the Obama administration;[411] mass transit, including Amtrak, bus, and subway subsidies;[412] same-sex marriage;[413] and the reduced military spending proposed in the Obama Administration's fiscal year 2014 budget.[414][415]

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).[416] Biden has a lifetime liberal 72 percent score from the ADA through 2004, while the ACU awarded Biden a lifetimeconservative rating of 13 percent through 2008.[417] Using another metric, Biden has a lifetime average liberal score of 77.5 percent, according to a National Journalanalysis that places him ideologically among the center of Senate Democrats as of 2008.[418] 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.[419] This has not changed much over time; his liberal ratings in the mid-1980s were also in the 70–80 percent range.[77]

Various advocacy 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 gives him an 80 percent lifetime score,[406] with a 91 percent score for the 110th Congress.[407] Biden opposes drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and supports governmental funding to find new energy sources.[420] 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.[421] Biden was given an 85 percent lifetime approval rating from the AFL–CIO,[402] and he voted for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).[422]

Distinctions

Biden has received honorary degrees from the University of Scranton (1976),[423] Saint Joseph's University(LL.D 1981),[424] Widener University School of Law (2000),[148] Emerson College (2003),[425] his alma mater the University of Delaware (2004),[426] Suffolk University Law School (2005),[427] and his other alma materSyracuse University (LL.D 2009) [428] University of Pennsylvania (LL.D 2013) [429] Miami Dade College (2014)[430] Trinity College, Dublin (LL.D 2016) [431] Colby College (LL.D 2017) [432] Morgan State University (DPS 2017) [433] University of South Carolina (DPA 2017) [434]

President Barack Obama presents Vice President Joe Biden with the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction during a tribute to the Vice President in the State Dining Room of the White House, January 12, 2017.

Biden also received the Chancellor Medal from his alma mater, Syracuse University, in 1980,[435] and in 2005, he received the George Arents Pioneer Medal—Syracuse's highest alumni award[435]—"for excellence in public affairs."[436]

In 2008, Biden received the Best of Congress Award, for "improving the American quality of life through family-friendly work policies", from Working Mother magazine.[437] Also in 2008, Biden shared with fellow Senator Richard Lugar the Hilal-i-Pakistan award from the Government of Pakistan "in recognition of their consistent support for Pakistan".[438] In 2009, Biden received the Golden Medal of Freedom award from Kosovo, that region's highest award, for his vocal support for their independence in the late 1990s.[439]

Biden is an inductee of the Delaware Volunteer Firemen's Association Hall of Fame.[440] He was named to the Little League Hall of Excellence in 2009.[441]

On June 25, 2016, Joe Biden received the freedom of County Louth in the Republic of Ireland.[442]

On January 12, 2017, Obama surprised Biden by awarding him the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction during a farewell press conference at the White House honoring Biden and his wife. Obama said he was awarding the Medal of Freedom to Biden for "faith in your fellow Americans, for your love of country and a lifetime of service that will endure through the generations".[443][444] It was the first and only time Obama awarded the Medal of Freedom with the additional honor of distinction, an honor which his three predecessors had reserved only for President Ronald Reagan, Colin Powell and Pope John Paul II, respectively.[445]

On December 11, 2018, the University of Delaware renamed their School of Public Policy and Administration after Biden, naming it the Joseph R. Biden, Jr. School of Public Policy and Administration, which also houses the Biden Institute.[446]

Electoral history

Main article: Electoral history of Joe Biden
Election results
YearOfficeElectionVotes for Biden%OpponentPartyVotes%
1970County CouncilmanGeneral10,57355%Lawrence T. MessickRepublican8,19243%
1972U.S. SenatorGeneral116,00650%J. Caleb BoggsRepublican112,84449%
1978General93,93058%James H. Baxter Jr.Republican66,47941%
1984General147,83160%John M. BurrisRepublican98,10140%
1990General112,91863%M. Jane BradyRepublican64,55436%
1996General165,46560%Raymond J. ClatworthyRepublican105,08838%
2002General135,25358%Raymond J. ClatworthyRepublican94,79341%
2008General257,48465%Christine O'DonnellRepublican140,58435%
2008Vice PresidentGeneral69,498,516
365 electoral votes (270 needed)		53%Sarah PalinRepublican59,948,323
173 electoral votes		46%
2012General65,915,796
332 electoral votes (270 needed)		51%Paul RyanRepublican60,933,500
206 electoral votes		47%

Writings by Biden

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桑德斯突宣布退選 民主黨拜登將與川普捉對廝殺

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美國聯邦參議員桑德斯今（9）日宣布退出2020美國總統提名初選，代表前副總統拜登幾乎篤定成為民主黨總統提名人，將挑戰尋求連任的川普。(特約記者戚海倫報導)


78歲的桑德斯先透過視訊會議對競選團隊宣布，退出民主黨的總統提名初選。之後他以視訊發表公開談話，感謝支持者一起努力，桑德斯坦言，通往勝利幾乎已經是不可能的事。桑德斯說，「我們一起改變了人們對國家的認識，在追求正義的鬥爭中，往前邁進了一大步。」


桑德斯說，儘管宣布退選，「選戰到了盡頭，但我們的運動還沒結束」。他除了祝賀拜登，也表態願意與他合作來打敗川普，贏得年底的大選。


桑德斯獲得了許多年輕選民支持，但沒有反映在選票上；此外，新冠肺炎疫情在美國升溫，所有競選與集會活動被迫中止，桑德斯的網路聲量明顯下滑，幾乎消失在媒體上，這也讓他做出退選決定。這是桑德斯第二度參選總統失敗，2016年他敗給了希拉蕊。


在桑德斯退選之後，拜登成為民主黨唯一角逐提名的候選人，這意味著他將能獲得民主黨提名，爭取入主白宮。拜登也稱讚桑德斯，說他是強而有力的聲音，呼籲推動美國變得更公正公平。先前拜登已經承諾，會選擇一位女性擔任副總統候選人。


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才剛獲歐巴馬、桑德斯表態支持 拜登驚傳27年前性侵助理，女方控訴：他把手指伸了進來

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美國前副總統拜登成為民主黨預定的總統候選人，將於11月大選挑戰共和黨籍的現任總統川普，民主黨大咖也紛紛表態支持。同樣呼聲很高的佛蒙特州聯邦參議員桑德斯上週宣布退選，並表態支持拜登，呼籲選民不應讓「美國現代史上最危險的總統連任」。前總統歐巴馬14日也正式替過去的副手背書，強調拜登的性格和從政經驗，可以引領美國度過最黑暗的時刻。

但在成為民主黨共主的重要時刻，拜登（Joe Biden）卻驚爆27年前性侵前助理里德（Tara Reade）。儘管已經過了刑事追訴期，里德上周仍向警方報案，指稱1993年她擔任拜登參議院辦公室助理時，遭到拜登壓在牆角，將手伸進襯衫和裙底。拜登競選辦公室發言人14日發表聲明稱，里德的指控不是事實，完全是子虛烏有，媒體應謹慎審查里德的說法。

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2020年美國總統大選，民主黨內初選參選人，拜登（Joe Biden，左）與桑德斯（Bernie Sanders）（AP）

2020年美國總統大選，民主黨內初選參選人，拜登（Joe Biden，左）與桑德斯（Bernie Sanders）（AP）

桑德斯、歐巴馬力挺拜登

78歲的左派大將桑德斯（Bernie Sanders）14日接受《美聯社》（AP）採訪時說：「我將竭盡所能幫助拜登競選。」他也呼籲自己的支持者投給溫和派的拜登，並稱支持者如果反對拜登，那就「太不負責任了」，任何進步派的不積極投票，都可能會使川普連任。

桑德斯說，他的支持者面臨很簡單的選擇題：「我們要不要在拜登參選時發揮最大的積極性，並盡一切努力使拜登的競選活動有更好的進展？還是我們選擇袖手旁觀，讓美國現代史上最危險的總統連任？」關於是否會布局2024年大選，桑德斯笑說他可能不會再競選總統了，但接著又語帶保留：「不過我們都無法預測未來。」

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2020年4月8日，2020年美國總統大選，桑德斯（Bernie Sanders）宣布退出民主黨內初選（AP）

2020年4月8日，2020年美國總統大選，桑德斯（Bernie Sanders）宣布退出民主黨內初選（AP）

歐巴馬（Barack Obama）14日做出對2020年大選的重要表態，發布12分鐘影片支持拜登擔任美國總統。在川普（Donald Trump）政府防疫政策備受檢視之際，歐巴馬表示，拜登是有經驗的執政者，也有能力領導美國走向團結，在應對新冠病毒大流行與經濟危機的關鍵時期，拜登「可以引領我們度過最黑暗的時代，在漫長的復甦過程中療癒人心。」

歐巴馬暗示，擁有40年公職經驗的拜登更知道如何處理疫情，「過去曾協助我處理新型流感（H1N1）疫情，以及避免伊波拉（Ebola）演變成我們現在所見的全球大流行型態。」他說，疾病大流行使人們看透紛雜的政治鬥爭，「提醒我們什麼是真實的，什麼是重要的。這場危機使我們意識到政府的重要性。這提醒我們，良好的政府至關重要。」

歐巴馬並呼籲所有政治派別的美國人覺醒過來，一同支持民主黨預定的候選人。由於歐巴馬仍然深受民主黨人愛戴，有了他的正式背書，拜登的競選活動無疑將更為有利，也能鞏固黨內支持。

「他的手指伸了進來」 拜登陷入性侵疑雲

拜登獲得民主黨大咖的重要認可的同時，也身陷可能導致競選一敗塗地的性侵疑雲之中。出面指控他的女性是1992年至1993年間擔任他參議院辦公室助理的里德（Tara Reade），她上個月在播客（podcast）中首次指控遭到前老闆拜登性侵，上週正式向華盛頓特區警方投訴，指出1993年3月1日至5月31日之間，她曾遭到拜登以手指侵犯。

里德曾向《美聯社》指出案發細節，有一次她去參議院健身房，幫拜登送健身背包時，拜登一見到她就把她抵在牆上，對她上下其手，甚至「手指伸進」她的陰部。里德說：「他在我耳邊呢喃，並試圖親吻我，他說『你想去別的地方做嗎？』我記得我想叫他停下來，但我不知道我有沒有大聲說出來，或者我只是在腦子裡想。我當時整個嚇壞了。」

里德說她推開了拜登，而她的老闆在被拒絕之後「一臉震驚」地回答：「得了吧，伙計，我聽說妳喜歡我。」（Come on, man, I heard you liked me.）

拜登競選辦公室強烈否認里德的指控，在提供給美國國家廣播公司（NBC）的聲明強調里德陳述的內容「絕對不是事實」，拜登堅信「婦女有被傾聽的權利，並受到尊重。但這些主張也應由獨立媒體認真審查。此說法很明顯絕不是正確的。」

拜登已不是第一次傳出性騷擾糾紛，前內華達州議員佛羅雷斯（Lucy Flores）去年3月指控，2014年在她競選州長的造勢場合中，「拜登把雙手放在我的肩膀上，緊靠在我身後，嗅聞我的頭髮，然後緩緩地深吻我的後腦勺」，突如其來的親暱舉動令她感到相當不適。拜登則指出，他並不記得有這件事，「如果有人指出我這麼做，我會滿懷敬意地傾聽，但那絕非我的本意」。

現任總統川普在2016年競選期間也陷入性暴力疑雲，10多名女性出面指控川普曾經對她們性騷擾，包括毛手毛腳、強吻等等，一捲錄音帶更顯示他曾吹噓自己未經婦女同意就強制觸摸對方生殖器。去年還有女性公開指控川普性侵，紐約專欄作家卡蘿（E. Jean Carroll）在回憶錄中指稱，川普1990年代中期在紐約一家百貨公司的試衣間強姦她。川普則全盤否認這些指控。

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馬龍發表於 2020-5-1 08:44 | 只看該作者

被前助理指控30年前性侵 拜登：反性暴力擁有讓人驕傲歷史

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前助理指控近30年前遭他性侵，黨內外壓力如排山倒海而來之際，美國總統參選人拜登（Joe Biden）今天表示，他在反性暴力方面擁有讓人驕傲的歷史。

現年56歲的前助理李德（Tara Reade）指控，1993年她在擔任拜登辦公室助理期間，遭時任聯邦參議員的拜登性侵，當年她29歲。

拜登競選團隊否認李德指控，但拜登自己並未直接回應，最近接受全國性與地方媒體專訪時，也都未被問及此事。

這位民主黨準總統提名人倒是在今晚出席線上城鎮會議（Twitter Town Hall）被問到有關軍方性侵案的問題時，自吹自擂起聲援受害者的紀錄。

77歲的拜登表示：「如各位所知，我撰寫並倡議反婦女暴力法案（Violence Against Women Act），翻轉了這個國家性侵倖存者得到正義和支持的方法，並領導了校園反性侵運動『你我都有責任（It's On Us）』。作為副總統，我為軍中性侵案受害者爭取律師。」

拜登說話的同時，李德指控引發的軒然大波持續發酵，儘管拜登團隊4月13日即已發出聲明，表示李德口中的事件「絕對從未發生」。

她的指控淹沒了拜登其他新聞，像是他正在尋找副手等消息。拜登先前允諾會選擇女性搭檔參選。

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馬龍發表於 2020-5-3 09:48 | 只看該作者

拜登陷性侵助理爭議 川普建議他挺身對抗不實指控

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美國總統川普曾遭多名女性指控性侵，他1日以過來人身分，建議可望成為民主黨總統候選人的拜登（Joe Biden）挺身「對抗」不實指控。

拜登稍早打破沉默，談到30年前性侵助理爭議。他在微軟國家廣播公司（MSNBC）訪問中說，這「確實」是不實指控。川普之後首度公開給予拜登上述建議。

他在訪問中告訴右翼電台主持人邦奇諾（Dan Bongino）：「我會對拜登說，挺身去對抗吧。你也知道，難免會碰上那種事。」「這是他的問題，但是我會站出來否認。如果指控不實就要否認。」川普還說：「我一直是這類胡說八道的不實指控受害者。」

路透社報導，來自加州的李德（Tara Reade）於1992年12月到1993年8月在拜登的聯邦參議員辦公室擔任助理。李德在媒體訪談中指控，拜登於1993年某天，把她逼到牆邊，手伸到她裙下，用手指侵犯她，當時她29歲。

拜登1日堅決否認性侵。拜登說：「若真有此事，我不知道為何過了27年才爆出這一切。」法新社報導，美國將於11月舉行總統大選，多數民調顯示，拜登支持度領先川普。

https://tw.news.yahoo.com/%E6%8B%9C%E7%99%BB%E9%99%B7%E6%80%A7%E4%BE%B5%E5%8A%A9%E7%90%86%E7%88%AD%E8%AD%B0-%E5%B7%9D%E6%99%AE%E5%BB%BA%E8%AD%B0%E4%BB%96%E6%8C%BA%E8%BA%AB%E5%B0%8D%E6%8A%97%E4%B8%8D%E5%AF%A6%E6%8C%87%E6%8E%A7-074816280.html

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馬龍發表於 2020-6-1 08:50 | 只看該作者

驚！2020年美國總統大選最新民調，拜登大幅領先川普！

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閻紀宇

今年美國總統選舉再過5個月就要投票（11月3日），尋求連任的川普總統遭新冠肺炎疫情重創聲望與形象，民主黨候選人、前副總統拜登以沉穩作風與豐富經驗取勝。《華盛頓郵報》與美國廣播公司（ABC）5月31日公布最新民調，拜登的支持率領先川普已達10個百分點。

根據這份民調，如果今天就投票，美國已登記選民有53%會投給拜登（Joe Biden），支持川普（Donald Trump）的選民僅43%，相差10%是今年開年迄今最大的差距。在「一定會投票」的選民中，拜登也以51%領先川普的46%。不過美國總統選舉採行特殊的「選舉人團」（electoral college）制度，贏得普選票不代表贏得選舉，2016年的希拉蕊．柯林頓（Hillary Clinton）就輸給川普。

川普「基本盤」動員力仍遠高於拜登

不過川普支持者的忠誠與熱忱明顯高於拜登支持者：84%的川普支持者表示11月一定會投給川普，87%表示他們「熱烈支持」川普，「非常熱烈支持」者也高達64%；相較之下，拜登支持者在這3方面只有68%、74%、31%。這顯示川普對「基本盤」的動員力遠高於拜登，也突顯「催票」將是這場選戰的關鍵之一。

對於新冠肺炎疫情，多數選民認為拜登比川普更能控制疫情（50%對42%）；對於振與遭疫情拖累的美國經濟，兩人平分秋色（47%對47%）。

對於川普的整體施政表現，53%選民給予負評，正面評價者僅有45%。對於川普處理新冠肺炎疫情，53%選民給予負評，正面評價者僅有46%。

拜登「誠實、值得信賴、有同理心」

就個人形象而言，拜登與川普都有待加強，但拜登還是略勝一籌。46%選民欣賞拜登，48%不欣賞。42%選民欣賞川普，55%不欣賞。48%選民認為拜登誠實、值得信賴，川普只有35%。45%選民認為拜登有同理心（能理解民眾遭遇的問題），川普只有38%。

65歲以上高齡選民的支持，是川普2016年擊敗希拉蕊的關鍵之一，但目前拜登以54%領先川普的44%。川普2016年在白人女性選票上贏過希拉蕊，如今則以45%對51%落後拜登。

以地域而言，川普在美國南部較受支持，拜登則得到東北部與西部選民青睞。在密西根州、賓州、威斯康辛州、俄亥俄州與愛荷華州等搖擺州（swing states），拜登支持率以51%領先川普的46%。

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馬龍發表於 2020-6-9 08:28 | 只看該作者

川普選情告急！ CNN：拜登支持率達50％ 創下希拉蕊未達里程碑

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新頭殼newtalk |楊清緣 綜合報導

[新頭殼newtalk] 美國總統選舉將於美國時間11月3日舉行，而美國黑人男子佛洛伊德（George Floyd）遭白人警察膝蓋壓頸窒息身亡，引爆美國半世紀來最嚴重社會對立，也為美國總統川普的連任之路投下變數。美國有線電視新聞網（CNN）引述最新民調指出，民主黨總統參選人拜登（Joe Biden）支持率達50%，創下前民主黨總統候選人希拉蕊（Hillary Clinton）未曾達到的里程碑。

美國國家廣播公司新聞網（NBC News）及華爾街日報（Wall Street Journal）的7日民調顯示，拜登的支持率將近50%（49%），領先總統川普（42%）的差距達7個百分點。

CNN政治評論員恩騰（Harry Enten）指出，根據自5月31日以來的平均現場訪問民調，拜登的支持率成功超越50%（51%）。拜登目前擁有過半選民支持，這是不容小覷的重要里程碑。恩騰指出，希拉蕊在2016年總統大選前的平均民調未曾接近50%，遭到川普輕易逆轉。2016年6月平均現場訪問民調顯示，希拉蕊在期間的支持率僅42%。

恩騰進一步表示，希拉蕊在2016年6月的各項民調，沒有任何一項的支持率達50%。事實上，在之後選戰期間，她的平均民調也未曾接近這個數字，川普在大選取得逆轉勝變得相對容易。相較之下，拜登過去一週的3項現場訪問民調中，支持率都至少達到50%。恩騰分析，川普目前面臨艱難選戰，倘若無法奪回轉向支持拜登的選民，勝選機率微乎其微。如果川普今年想順利連任，勢必要有一番作為。

https://tw.news.yahoo.com/%E5%B7%9D%E6%99%AE%E9%81%B8%E6%83%85%E5%91%8A%E6%80%A5-cnn-%E6%8B%9C%E7%99%BB%E6%94%AF%E6%8C%81%E7%8E%87%E9%81%9450-%E5%89%B5%E4%B8%8B%E5%B8%8C%E6%8B%89%E8%95%8A%E6%9C%AA%E9%81%94%E9%87%8C%E7%A8%8B%E7%A2%91-155925874.html


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