Editing Joe Biden (section)

== 1988 and 2008 presidential campaigns ==

=== 1988 campaign ===
{{Main|Joe Biden 1988 presidential campaign}}
[[File:Biden speaks at a presidential campaign event, 1987.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Biden speaks at a campaign event, 1987]]

Biden declared his candidacy for the [[1988 Democratic Party presidential primaries|1988 Democratic presidential nomination]] on June 9, 1987.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dionne |first=E. J. Jr. |author-link=E. J. Dionne |date=June 10, 1987 |title=Biden Joins Campaign for the Presidency |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/06/10/us/biden-joins-campaign-for-the-presidency.html |access-date=January 24, 2021 |archive-date=November 5, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171105150453/https://www.nytimes.com/1987/06/10/us/biden-joins-campaign-for-the-presidency.html |url-status=live}}</ref> He was considered a strong candidate because of his moderate image, his speaking ability, his high profile as chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee at the upcoming [[Robert Bork Supreme Court nomination]] hearings, and his appeal to [[Baby Boomer]]s.<ref name="dmn-87" /><ref name="nyt083187">{{Cite news |last=Toner |first=Robin |date=August 31, 1987 |title=Biden, Once the Field's Hot Democrat, Is Being Overtaken by Cooler Rivals |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/08/31/us/biden-once-the-field-s-hot-democrat-is-being-overtaken-by-cooler-rivals.html |access-date=January 24, 2021 |archive-date=January 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210103084657/https://www.nytimes.com/1987/08/31/us/biden-once-the-field-s-hot-democrat-is-being-overtaken-by-cooler-rivals.html |url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Taylor|1990|p=83}} He raised more in the first quarter of 1987 than any other candidate.<ref name="nyt083187" />{{sfn|Taylor|1990|p=83}}

By August, Biden's campaign messaging had become confused due to staff rivalries,{{sfn|Taylor|1990|pp=108–109}} and in September, he was accused of plagiarizing a speech by [[Labour Party (UK)|British Labour Party]] leader [[Neil Kinnock]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dowd |first=Maureen |author-link=Maureen Dowd |date=September 12, 1987 |title=Biden's Debate Finale: An Echo From Abroad |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/09/12/us/biden-s-debate-finale-an-echo-from-abroad.html |access-date=January 24, 2021 |archive-date=February 15, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170215003637/https://www.nytimes.com/1987/09/12/us/biden-s-debate-finale-an-echo-from-abroad.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Biden had credited Kinnock on previous occasions,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Randolph |first=Eleanor |date=September 13, 1987 |title=Plagiarism Suggestion Angers Biden's Aides |page=A6 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1987/09/13/plagiarism-suggestion-angers-bidens-aides/912bfcf1-b3f3-4850-a14d-e8b0bee1ed63/ |access-date=January 24, 2021 |archive-date=January 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210103081200/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1987/09/13/plagiarism-suggestion-angers-bidens-aides/912bfcf1-b3f3-4850-a14d-e8b0bee1ed63/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="lat-speech" /> but did not on two occasions in August.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Germond|first1=Jack|url=https://archive.org/details/whosebroadstripe00germ|title=Whose Broad Stripes and Bright Stars? The Trivial Pursuit of the Presidency 1988|last2=Witcover|first2=Jules|publisher=[[Warner Books]]|year=1989|isbn=978-0-446-51424-8|author-link=Jack Germond|author-link2=Jules Witcover}}</ref>{{rp|230–232}}<ref name="lat-speech">{{Cite news |last1=Risen |first1=James |author-link=James Risen |last2=Shogan |first2=Robert |date=September 16, 1987 |title=Differing Versions Cited on Source of Passages: Biden Facing New Flap Over Speeches |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-09-16-mn-5412-story.html |access-date=January 24, 2021|archive-date=January 3, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210103081219/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-09-16-mn-5412-story.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Earlier that year, Biden had also used passages from a speech by [[Robert F. Kennedy]] (for which his aides took blame) and [[inaugural address of John F. Kennedy|Kennedy's inaugural address]]; two years earlier he had used a 1976 passage by [[Hubert Humphrey]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dowd |first=Maureen |author-link=Maureen Dowd |date=September 16, 1987 |title=Biden Is Facing Growing Debate On His Speeches |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/09/16/us/biden-is-facing-growing-debate-on-his-speeches.html |access-date=January 24, 2021 |archive-date=January 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210103081135/https://www.nytimes.com/1987/09/16/us/biden-is-facing-growing-debate-on-his-speeches.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Biden responded that politicians often borrow from one another without giving credit, and that one of his rivals for the nomination, [[Jesse Jackson]], had called him to point out that Jackson had used the same material by Humphrey that Biden had used.<ref name="aap08-bio" /><ref name="nyt091887">{{Cite news |last=Dionne | first=E. J. Jr. |author-link=E. J. Dionne |date=September 18, 1987 |title=Biden Admits Plagiarism in School But Says It Was Not 'Malevolent' |work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/09/18/us/biden-admits-plagiarism-in-school-but-says-it-was-not-malevolent.html |access-date=February 4, 2022 |archive-date=April 4, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090404115603/https://www.nytimes.com/1987/09/18/us/biden-admits-plagiarism-in-school-but-says-it-was-not-malevolent.html |url-status=live}}</ref> A few days later, it was publicized that, while in law school, Biden had taken text from a ''[[Fordham Law Review]]'' article with inadequate citations.<ref name="nyt091887" /> At Biden's request the Delaware Supreme Court's Board of Professional Responsibility reviewed the incident and concluded that he had violated no rules.<ref>{{Cite news |date=May 29, 1989 |title=Professional Board Clears Biden In Two Allegations of Plagiarism |work=[[The New York Times]]|agency=[[Associated Press]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/05/29/us/professional-board-clears-biden-in-two-allegations-of-plagiarism.html |access-date=February 4, 2022 |archive-date=July 7, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090707020556/https://www.nytimes.com/1989/05/29/us/professional-board-clears-biden-in-two-allegations-of-plagiarism.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

Biden has made several false or exaggerated claims about his early life: that he had earned three degrees in college, that he attended law school on a full scholarship, that he had graduated in the top half of his class,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dionne |first=E. J. Jr. |author-link=E. J. Dionne |date=September 22, 1987 |title=Biden Admits Errors and Criticizes Latest Report |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/09/22/us/biden-admits-errors-and-criticizes-latest-report.html |access-date=January 24, 2021 |archive-date=January 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210103081243/https://www.nytimes.com/1987/09/22/us/biden-admits-errors-and-criticizes-latest-report.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite AV media |date=August 23, 2008 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1j0FS0Z6ho |title=1988 Road to the White House with Sen. Biden |publisher=[[C-SPAN]] |via=[[YouTube]] |access-date=January 14, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230104111625/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1j0FS0Z6ho |archive-date=January 4, 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref> and that he had marched in the [[civil rights movement]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Flegenheimer |first=Matt |date=June 3, 2019 |title=Biden's First Run for President Was a Calamity. Some Missteps Still Resonate. |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/03/us/politics/biden-1988-presidential-campaign.html |access-date=June 3, 2019 |archive-date=June 3, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190603140340/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/03/us/politics/biden-1988-presidential-campaign.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The limited amount of other news about the presidential race amplified these disclosures,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pomper |first=Gerald M. |url=https://archive.org/details/electionof1988re00pomp/page/37 |title=The Election of 1988 |publisher=Chatham House Publishers |year=1989 |isbn=978-0-934540-77-3 |page=[https://archive.org/details/electionof1988re00pomp/page/37 37] |chapter=The Presidential Nominations |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/electionof1988re00pomp|access-date=August 28, 2021}}</ref> and on September 23, 1987, Biden withdrew his candidacy.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dionne |first=E. J. Jr. |author-link=E. J. Dionne |date=September 24, 1987 |title=Biden Withdraws Bid for President in Wake of Furor |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/09/24/us/biden-withdraws-bid-for-president-in-wake-of-furor.html |access-date=January 24, 2021 |archive-date=December 21, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171221235355/https://www.nytimes.com/1987/09/24/us/biden-withdraws-bid-for-president-in-wake-of-furor.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== 2008 campaign ===
{{Main|Joe Biden 2008 presidential campaign}}
[[File:Sen. Joe Biden attends a Creston house party.jpg|thumb|Biden campaigns at a house party in [[Creston, Iowa]], July 2007.|alt=Photo of Biden, casually dressed, talking with a citizen in a garden]]

After exploring running in several previous cycles, in January 2007, Biden declared [[2008 Democratic Party presidential primaries|his candidacy in the 2008 elections]].<ref name="aap08-366" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=August 12, 2003 |title=Sen. Biden not running for president |publisher=[[CNN]] |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/08/11/biden/index.html |url-status=live |access-date=September 18, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190209123957/https://edition.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/08/11/biden/index.html |archive-date=February 9, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Balz |first=Dan |author-link=Dan Balz |date=February 1, 2007 |title=Biden Stumbles at the Starting Gate |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/31/AR2007013100404.html |url-status=live |access-date=August 23, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171018123657/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/31/AR2007013100404.html |archive-date=October 18, 2017}}</ref> Biden focused on the [[Iraq War]], his record as chairman of major Senate committees, and his foreign-policy experience.<ref>{{Cite news |date=August 19, 2007 |title=Transcript: The Democratic Debate |work=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Decision2008/Story?id=3498294&page=1 |url-status=live |access-date=September 24, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081011185127/https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Decision2008/story?id=3498294&page=1 |archive-date=October 11, 2008}}</ref> Biden was noted for his [[one-line joke|one-liners]] during the campaign; in one debate he said of Republican candidate [[Rudy Giuliani]], "There's only three things he mentions in a sentence: a noun, and a verb and [[Cultural influence of the September 11 attacks|9/11]]."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Farrell |first=Joelle |date=November 1, 2007 |title=A noun, a verb and 9/11 |work=[[Concord Monitor]] |url=https://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071101/NEWS01/711010358/1043/NEWS01 |url-status=dead |access-date=August 23, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080828010554/https://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20071101%2FNEWS01%2F711010358%2F1043%2FNEWS01 |archive-date=August 28, 2008}}</ref>

Biden had difficulty raising funds, struggled to draw people to his rallies, and failed to gain traction against the high-profile candidacies of [[Barack Obama]] and [[Hillary Clinton]].<ref>{{cite web |date=August 25, 2008 |title=Conventions 2008: Sen. Joseph Biden (D) |url=https://www.nationaljournal.com/conventions/co_20080825_3122.php |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080906210353/https://www.nationaljournal.com/conventions/co_20080825_3122.php |archive-date=September 6, 2008 |access-date=September 16, 2008 |website=[[National Journal]]}}</ref> He never rose above single digits in [[Nationwide opinion polling for the Democratic Party 2008 presidential candidates|national polls of the Democratic candidates]]. In the first contest on January 3, 2008, Biden placed fifth in the [[Iowa Democratic caucuses, 2008|Iowa caucuses]], garnering slightly less than one percent of the state delegates.<ref>{{cite web |title=Iowa Democratic Party Caucus Results |url=https://www.iowacaucusresults.com/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081229055041/https://www.iowacaucusresults.com/ |archive-date=December 29, 2008 |access-date=August 28, 2021 |publisher=[[Iowa Democratic Party]]}}</ref> He withdrew from the race that evening.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Murray |first=Shailagh |date=January 4, 2008 |title=Biden, Dodd Withdraw From Race |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/04/AR2008010400260.html |url-status=live |access-date=August 29, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080520022844/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/04/AR2008010400260.html |archive-date=May 20, 2008}}</ref>

Despite its lack of success, Biden's 2008 campaign raised his stature in the political world.<ref name="gamechange">{{Cite book |last1=Heilemann |first1=John |title=Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime |title-link=Game Change |last2=Halperin |first2=Mark |publisher=[[HarperCollins]] |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-06-173363-5 |location=New York |author-link=John Heilemann |author-link2=Mark Halperin}}</ref>{{rp|336}} In particular, it changed the relationship between Biden and Obama. Although they had served together on the [[Senate Foreign Relations Committee]], they had not been close: Biden resented Obama's quick rise to political stardom,<ref name="nytm-traub">{{cite news|last=Traub|first=James|author-link=James Traub|date=November 24, 2009|title=After Cheney |page=MM34 |magazine=[[The New York Times Magazine]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/29/magazine/29Biden-t.html|url-status=live|access-date=January 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210103084703/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/29/magazine/29Biden-t.html|archive-date=January 3, 2021}}</ref>{{sfn|Wolffe|2009|p=218}} while Obama viewed Biden as garrulous and patronizing.<ref name="gamechange" />{{rp|28, 337–338}} Having gotten to know each other during 2007, Obama appreciated Biden's campaign style and appeal to working-class voters, and Biden said he became convinced Obama was "the real deal".{{sfn|Wolffe|2009|p=218}}<ref name="gamechange" />{{rp|28, 337–338}}