Joe Biden: Who He Is and What He Stands For ( 08/12/2020 )
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
By Katie GlueckUpdated Aug 12, 2020
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2020 CandidatesPresumptive Democratic Nominee
Joe Biden
The former vice president, now the presumptive Democratic nominee, says he can build on the Obama legacy and unite the country in a challenging time.
Who is Joe Biden?
77 years old
Born in Scranton, Pa.; lives in Wilmington, Del.
Six-term senator from Delaware first elected in 1972; 47th vice president of the United States
Also sought the Democratic nomination for president in '88 and '08
Biden's signature issues
Mr. Biden, who has served in public life for around a half-century, is emphasizing his government experience, seeking to cast himself as a steady, seasoned hand in a dangerous and uncertain world.
As the coronavirus crisis has unfolded, he has looked for ways to help voters picture him as commander in chief, formulating recommendations rooted in advice from health care and economics experts. Those suggestions include making coronavirus tests broadly accessible, and free. He has said there should be no out-of-pocket cost for patients to receive an eventual vaccine, either. And he has been sharply critical of President Trump's response to the virus, accusing him of reacting too slowly.
Mr. Biden served as vice president in the Obama administration during the passage of the Affordable Care Act, and health care remains a top priority for him. It's an issue he often discusses in the context of his family's personal tragedies: He lost his first wife and an infant daughter in a car accident in 1972, and in 2015, his son Beau Biden died of brain cancer. Health care, he said in an early television ad, is "personal" to him. He supports adding a public option to the Affordable Care Act, but opposes "Medicare for all," the sweeping single-payer measure advocated by some progressives in his party, including Senator Bernie Sanders.
Mr. Biden, who served for decades in the Senate, firmly believes in the value of bipartisanship and insists on extending overtures to Republicans even in a moment when many in his own party don't see negotiating partners on the other side. As a former chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he also speaks passionately about asserting and defending America's role as a leader on the global stage.
Three questions about Joe Biden
1. Would Joe Biden be the oldest president in history?
Yes. He would be the oldest president in history at his inauguration, at age 78. Mr. Trump, who is currently 73, would also be the oldest president ever if he wins a second term.
2. Where is Joe Biden from?
Mr. Biden was born in Scranton, Pa., in 1942, and moved to Delaware as a child. As a politician, he has maintained close political ties to both states, though Mr. Trump has accused Mr. Biden of having "deserted" Pennsylvania.
"I was in third grade," Mr. Biden shot back.
He continues to maintain strong ties to Pennsylvania, a critical general election battleground that Mr. Trump won in 2016, and he has based his campaign headquarters in Philadelphia.
3. What role does the Obama era play in Joe Biden's campaign?
A big one. Mr. Obama did not endorse Mr. Biden until the primary race was settled, but he and Mr. Biden forged a close relationship in his administration. Mr. Biden talks about their friendship frequently, as well as the work they did together on issues ranging from health care to foreign policy.
Throughout the primary, some of Mr. Biden's biggest applause at campaign events came as he praised Mr. Obama. And many Democratic voters, especially African-American voters, have cited his relationship with Mr. Obama and nostalgia for that administration in explaining their current support for Mr. Biden. Now that the primary is over, Mr. Biden is also focused on winning the enthusiastic support of Democrats who supported other candidates and are lukewarm toward his candidacy — and his campaign must also think about engaging independent voters and moderate Republicans.
"If we give Donald Trump eight years in the White House, he will forever and fundamentally alter the character of this nation, who we are, and I cannot stand by and watch that happen."
Joe Biden
Video profile of Joe Biden
April 25, 2019
Learn more about Biden
In one week, Bernie Sanders, Barack Obama and Elizabeth Warren endorsed Mr. Biden.
The pandemic is testing Mr. Biden's patience and political imagination as he attempts to win the presidency from his basement.
This Supreme Court battle explains why Mr. Biden firmly believes in bipartisanship.
Here's why many working-class voters view Mr. Biden as one of their own.
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Biden - Harris 2020...
Scary that American Citizens could/would actually pick the LIAR in Chief, over a true American, that actually cares about what happens to America, and Americans.
It's because in their warped reality they equate any politicians misstatement or spin as equivalent to the some 30,000 blatant lies dishonest Donald has told since taking office. You confront them with his mountain of lies and they simply turn up their noses and proclaim "All politicians lie" as if that excuses the thousands and thousands of lies Trump has told. Of course, as soon as a Democrat, liberal or progressive gets caught in a single lie they throw their hands up with disgust and proclaim no Democrats, liberals or progressives can ever be trusted again on anything and they take it as proof that they are on the right side of the debate. Conservative Republican hypocrisy truly knows no bounds.
Both are very family oriented where Trump/Pence are Manson Family oriented....insane in the membrane.
Biden is a true family man. Harris is a true family woman. They are the embodiment of family values
Can trmp say that?
get over yourself
one married man does not equal 3 wives (who trmp cheated on all of them), how many hookers, numerous accusations of sexual misconduct, abuse, and rape, and possibly pedophilia
I love the nick name her kids have for her....Mamala.
Trump can no more honor a marriage contract than he can business ones.
First of all, she did not cheat; it was Willie Brown who cheated. She had an intimate relationship with a married man.
Second, it was 25 years ago. Her relationship with Brown lasted ~1 year.
Seems a few cannot get past this almost meaningless factor in Harris' distant past. Bringing this up time after time suggests that this is the very best they have to try to discredit Harris. ( Since the birther nonsense is over 'cause Trump said so. )
Finally, the hypocrisy is insane. How can anyone endorse Trump while demeaning the opposing VP candidate because she slept with a married man a quarter century ago?
Pure partisan crap.
No it's pee pads and knee pads
Your mentioning Trump is irrelevant. I responded to your hypocritical comment about Harris with this:
Apparently your best criticism of Harris is her 25 year old affair yet you say nothing about the many sexual relationships of Trump who you support and defend. Hypocritical.
Sure, go full mysoginistic. Might as well at this point.
You will not find partisan speak from me.
An odd utterance given you are quite aware that this is not the first exchange we have had.
So that it makes all OK? As for how long ago it happened, it didn't seem to bother Dems when they falsely accused Kavanaugh for some kind of groping that happened 35 years ago.
It's almost like you are willfully ignoring that Harris advanced her career by accepting a governmental appointment from the married man she was sleeping with. Trump did not.
It's public corruption vs private.
Also, you keep mentioning 25 years ago. When people start attacking Trump for things from the 70s, do you make that argument? Funny how the same people who attack Trump for things that happened almost 50 years ago now excuse Biden and Harris for things that happened much more recently.
No. It simply is one historical fact in a human life. We all have said and done things in our past that we do (or should) regret. We all live in glass houses to some degree. Is this dated affair the best people have as a criticism of Harris? If so, the critics are not doing their homework since there are actual substantive criticisms that can be made. This affair criticism is what I would expect from a tabloid, not a serious voter.
So if you found the Ds being unfair to Justice Kavanaugh why are you challenging my comment instead of agreeing with it?
Where did I claim that Willie did not open doors for Harris? Show me. If you cannot show me then you should realize that you just presumed this.
( Note, I have discussed Harris many times and on many occasions have stated flat out that Brown helped her with her career. So your presumption is not only bad form, it is demonstrably false. )
Does that fact bother you Sean? I am reminding people that we all have made mistakes in our past.
Why is it that a select group here cannot make an argument on the facts but instead must make things personal based on no evidence whatsoever?
If people attacked Trump for a single thing he did 25 years ago (say, have sex with a porn star) and that was all anyone had to go on, then I would no doubt criticize that as well. Since Trump is clearly not a moral man, this example breaks down. So, instead, let's go with George Bush. Bush is an alcoholic who had stopped drinking decades ago. Calling Bush a drunk, etc. would be a crap attack just like the attacks on Harris which call her a slut and deem her as 'sleeping her way to the top'. See?
Well, tell you what Sean, how about you ask me about what I have written. You are taking what other people write and presuming I hold their positions. That stereotyping leads to presumption and presumption leads to getting things wrong.
What you have just demonstrated is how to get things dead wrong.
Here’s an interesting video on biden for anyone that cares to watch.
See this is a perfectly reasonable thing to post (albeit dated). It is evidence that challenges the claim of the seed.
This is so much more appropriate than the ugly, partisan crap such as calling Harris a slut.
The same is done to the Trump ladies daily. Their fascination with their boobs especially sets them on a rage.
Do you also take the time to excoriate those comments?
I’ll be the first to admit that i have called her a slut. From what i have read i believe she dated willie brown to further her career. That was a long time ago and since then she’s done well for herself so maybe the willie brown episode in her life didn’t really matter as far as her career. We’ll never know.
I've got to say that Biden is hardly the first person to exaggerate his grades or take someone else's quotes. Both FDR and Churchill said, "There is nothing to fear, but fear itself". Does that make either of them less?
In the nitpicking world that we live in, almost anything is made into fodder. 45 years of service to this country is the record that I have been looking at. A fundamental clue as to how governance works. And if he has lied, it has been no more or less than most other people, never mind people in politics.
Btw.. people should not throw stones at glasshouses. We could do a compare and contrast and see who has the larger lying quotient.
They had a relationship and dated for a year, yet she is the "slut". Funny how that works. What is Willy? And why should an adult relationship even be on the table?
No kidding. Especially when the stones are petty compared to the issues.
Sure we know. Willie Brown opened doors. She walked through them and for 25 years has advanced (demonstrably) her career without Willie in the picture.
People should focus more on relevant evidence instead of just casting aspersions.
Harris was in her late 20’s while brown was 60. Brown wasn’t a looker, or a physical specimen. He was a man in a powerful position. Dating/sleeping with someone to further your career is a slutty move.
Maybe she would’ve walked through the right doors without sleeping with brown? That’s why i said we’ll never know.
It does not matter which side of the aisle, going after people with ugly inferences is a crappy way to operate. Politicians are all fair game for legitimate allegations, but to make personal and ugly allegations such as Harris or Melania or ... is a slut without evidence is slimy partisanship.
Much better to challenge politicians on their platforms and ideology based on supporting evidence than to play tabloid-level games.
Maybe. But my point is that we have 25 years of real evidence showing her career advancement sans Willie Brown. Seems to me that should be pretty convincing that Harris is an intelligent, ambitious, competent woman who can advance on her own merits.
And one does not have to agree with her ideology or policies to acknowledge these qualities.
That was my point as well. She has done well for herself since then. Perhaps she didn’t need to go there?
Gazoo, did it not occur to you that she might have just liked the guy. They did date for a year.
Guess what? There are loads of women who do that. And there is no evidence that she did that to further her career. They dated for over a year.
And since you went there, why would a beautiful woman like Meliana marry Trump? Could his money have something to do with that?
I just find it amazing how you can actually throw stones at glasshouses.
Okay, Gazoo, it seems that we agree that Harris is an intelligent, accomplished woman. I am good with that.
I’m good with it too.
This is so much more appropriate than the ugly, partisan crap such as calling Harris a slut
Of course it's OK for the Dems and their supporters to call Melania that name....and worse.
Of course it's partisan, what do you expect?
Who says it is okay to attack Melania and call her a slut or equivalent? In both (in all) cases this is classless and counterproductive. It takes no intelligence, no analysis to label people.
Partisan attacks are typically mindless parroting of trash talk sourced from political operatives.
Amazing. Right here in the comment to which you replied:
Right in front of your nose and you do not see it.
Also, make an argument instead of making things personal.
Biden is a creepy freak. Not safe to be alone with much less command the nation.
And somehow misses the fact that the man in the White House, bragged about "grabbing pussy" and cheated on 2 of his wives. I find these comments astounding.
But Trump is getting old and doesn’t address Biden’s creepy ass and he is a racist.
Not really. The but Trump here is because it is wrong to condemn a candidate for something while embracing another for doing the same thing.
Oh and this wasn't leaked. Please. That piece is a straight-up propaganda piece, right out the political playbook. You can't post that and not expect to be called out on the obvious.
No it doesn’t apply. The comment is about Biden. Trump is not mentioned or embraced.
The platitude 'But Trump' illustrates the lack of a rebuttal. This is an election year Sunshine. When Biden is discussed, Trump is ipso facto on topic (and vice-versa) because they are in a two person race for the presidency.
These two men will be compared, appropriately, until one of them is elected PotUS. Ideally the comparisons are regarding accomplishments, ideology, policy, etc. rather than tabloid-level allegations.
Ok I will remember that when I am flagged for off topic about Biden. Lol. Can you pn the mods your comment?
You have it backwards. But Trump replies are for those who can only rebute with deflection.
Of course Bill Clinton's perverted sexual escapades, while in office, don't matter to some.
Yeah, big surprise, some people found Clinton's behavior with Lewinsky to be a disgrace to the Office. Some people dismissed it. People are different and if one is thinking like a partisan then whatever is done by a member of one's party is defensible and what is done by members of the other party is inexcusable. Partisan thinking suppresses critical thinking.
How so many hippo crittical clowns can lay down for an Orange Clown...
pathetic !
Partisan politics plays such a large role in a conversation around Joe Biden.
I try to look back at his 47 years of public service and see what he has done as to me actions are more important than words.
These are some of his major accomplishments. Doesn't seem like a lot when you look at 47 years. And doesn't impress me that his ideas are worthy of the highest office.
half a century of selling our jobs to china and doing nothing about our border is all we need to see.
so.... no way joe wins in nov
if joe knew how to fix our economy... why didn't he tell obama? (rhetorical)