Senator Joe Biden of Delaware must be acutely aware of the media-driven political arena of the 21st century. Forty years ago, Biden would have been a top-tier candidate for the Democratic nomination: he’s in his sixth term in the United States Senate, and has served as chair of both the Judiciary and Foreign Relations committees. But today, he’s overshadowed by the media frenzy over the dynamic of the “Big Three” of Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and John Edwards. Barring a major collapse from all of the front-runners, odds are Biden will be competing mostly for the vice-presidential nomination, a role in which he could boost a top-of-the-ticket candidate who may face knocks for being inexperienced.
Biography
Biden was first elected to the Senate in 1972, after serving as a county councilman in Delaware. That same year, his first wife and infant daughter were killed in a car accident; Biden remarried in 1977. From 1987-95, he chaired the Senate Committee on the Judiciary. He has twice been chair of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, a committee on which he has sat for his entire Senate career.