What Makes Joe Biden Go?

The New Republic: Underdog Democratic Hopeful Relishes Life On The Campaign Trail

(The New Republic)  This column was written by Michael Crowley.

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Thirty-five years in the Senate, and here Joe Biden is: in a room called "The Cheap Seats," in the back of a sports bar called Benchwarmers. It's a cold Sunday night, and around 200 people have packed into a space that's typically reserved for chicken wing gorge-athons and Minnesota Vikings game viewing parties. They have come to see a man languishing in the polls, ignored by the media, and campaigning with all the energy of a front-runner. What's more, they love him.

Biden's megawatt grin illuminates the room like a klieg light, and soon his lyrical rhetoric has the crowd in a reverential hush. Dapper in a dark suit, his body language blazing confidence, Biden rips into George W. Bush's post-9/11 leadership. "We had the world in the palm of our hand. The palm of our hand," he says, sounding genuinely plaintive. "Europe declared that the attack on us was an attack on all of us. There were forty thousand Iranians - Iranians! - who showed up at the boarded-up U.S. embassy with candles and flowers and notes. We had the world in the palm of our hands. And what did this guy do? He and Cheney literally went out there and divided the world. They literally divided it." And when the moment called for national sacrifice, Biden scoffs, "This guy told us to fly, and to go shopping!"

The crowd listens in rapt fascination until - like a moment from a Frank Capra movie - a voice actually rings out: "Tell it like it is, Joe!" On comes the klieg light.

Anyone who's watched the 2008 race via the national media and the televised debates can be forgiven for wondering how Joe Biden carries on. The press ignores him. In debates, he speaks little and doesn't leave much of an impression - except for his occasional, and not-entirely-in-character, bursts of anger. Meanwhile, his campaign is struggling to gain traction: The latest ABC-Washington Post poll has Biden registering an anemic four percent in Iowa.

On the trail, however, Biden is someone else entirely. Leave aside his substantive credentials for now - the 35 years of Washington experience, the grasp of foreign policy - Biden is the 2008 campaign's true rhetorical master. Where his rivals drone mechanically, he rolls out a series of oratorical tricks: the dramatic pause; the hushed, faux-confidential voice; the poetic flourishes. (Who else would denounce "the iron grip of the oligarchs of oil"?) He's funny, too: Asked about the No Child Left Behind bill, Biden notes that his wife, a teacher, hates the law. "Even if I did like No Child Left Behind," he cracks, "I'd be sleeping alone!"

Most people haven't seen this side of Biden because it requires a room like The Cheap Seats. Just as Barack Obama shines brightest before a cheering throng, Biden thrives on intimacy and feedback. When he takes questions from the crowd, he leaves his stage and wades in close to his questioner - something other candidates rarely do.

Podium-bound and time-limited, the debates haven't allowed Biden to be Biden. In part, that's a good thing. Biden's pathological talkaholism is a tragic and very real flaw. But his advisors insist he's learned to tame it, as evidenced by the early debate moment when Biden was asked whether he has the discipline to stop babbling. His perfect one-word answer: "Yes." Unfortunately, Biden's rhetorical flights require a lot of runway before they can soar. (And sometimes they never take off at all.) Forcing Biden to be terse is like trying to make a marathoner into a sprinter.

And so while Biden may dazzle at individual campaign events like this one, he's not bowling over the masses who may only recognize him, if at all, from the debates. Still, his campaign remains optimistic. Aides note that, after Obama and Hillary Clinton, he leads the field in endorsements among Iowa state legislators - community pillars who can sway uncertain votes on caucus night. One senior Iowa-based aide for a first-tier Democrat concedes there are "pockets" of Iowa where "Joe Biden is incredibly strong." And in Ankeny, I'm struck by the devotion of the people who turn out to see Biden. These are not window-shoppers. When I ask Urbandale resident Nancy Vetter what she likes about Biden she replies, "Oh, everything."

As Biden works the crowd after his remarks, Iowa House majority leader Kevin McCarthy, a Biden backer, says "to get a ticket out of Iowa you need to be in the top three. We're a solid fourth." But the ABC-Post poll shows Biden in fifth, four points behind Bill Richardson's eight percent. Biden's last hope may be for a front-running Democrat to collapse after Iowa. If John Edwards should come in third, for instance, in New Hampshire Biden might scoop up some of Edwards's populist, union-oriented voters (people who would be partial to Biden's middle class-focused rhetoric) and find new life.

But that's a long shot, and he knows it. For a man who has chaired two Senate committees, who has endured horrific personal tragedy, who thwarted Robert Bork's Supreme Court nomination and has appeared on about 10,000 Sunday talk shows - who has paid his dues - Biden doesn't seem trapped by the grim specter of his poll standing. He seems to be having ... fun. The kind of face-to-face interaction that the trail offers - a chore for many candidates - is what seems to make him feel alive. (In this sense Biden is much like Bill Clinton, and nothing like Hillary.) After his remarks at the Benchwarmer, he schmoozes every voter as though that person alone will decide the caucus outcome. He spends close to five minutes explaining to one man why he dropped out of the 1988 presidential race, what Bork had to do with it, and how the decision may have saved his life (because Biden later discovered he was suffering from brain aneurysms). By the end the voter looks a little stunned by the verbal geyser that has been unleashed.

Earlier in the evening, Biden had offered his crowd an assurance: "I have the same passion and enthusiasm I had for this the day I walked on the Senate floor 35 years ago." As he stands amid a dwindling circle of voters, clearly prepared to chat until nobody's left, in the pursuit of a goal that barely seems attainable, you get the feeling he must really mean it.

[looking4hope]

I believe Senator Biden has the ability to reach out to people in a genuine way. It is not a show. I think people respond because they can discern authenticity. I believe he has real solutions and the background to acomplish them. Diana was the people''s princess, and Senator Biden will be the people''s president. His compassion and ability to heal the nation will be his legacy.

[kad7777]

I met Joe Biden about a month ago and was able to speak with him for a little while. He introduced himself and reached out his hand, I told him my name and he seemed to recognize who I was (or I''d like to think so), maybe because of my video I produced to show my support for him. He put his arm around my shoulder and pulled me in. I was not in awe of the man per say, and that is a reflection of how Joe puts you at ease. Instead, I felt an enormous respect. A profound respect for who he is as a man, a father, and a servant. He instills what seems to be a deep trust that can''t be specifically explained, but indeed it is there and it is inspiring. I told him I was a struggling actor, and he told me a story about when he was first running for the Senate, and how difficult it was to be rejected, and put down often during his young campaign.

I must say, to be in the room with someone like Joe Biden, you feel like America still has a chance to be great again. You walk away with a deep yearning in your heart to do whatever you can...whatever you can to lift Joe Biden up to our nation''s highest office because America deserves him...needs him. He is...one of the best we have. And I do not have a single doubt that Joe Biden will mend our broken nation, and build it back to greatness...and the rest of the world will follow.

People of Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina...America''s future is in your hands.

James DiSalvatore NY, NY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtGCaqOdIJ4

[missntexas]

I drove to Iowa to see Joe Biden. He is the real deal! I am so sick of the fighting that goes on between the dems and republicans. Hillary can''t fix that. They hate her. Can you imagine going through 8 years of Rush beating up on Hillary? I want someone who can face the republicans without hating him. JOE BIDEN is your man. He normally gets bipartisan support. Isn''t that what we want? Iowa and New Hampshire, the ball is in your court!

[cyber6565]

i had previously been a supporter of another candidate. But after I listened to Joe Biden speak I switched. I also found with the other candidates they are always saying we "need to do this or that. But with Biden, for instance when the other candidates said what we need to put pressure on the CIA concerning the tapes, Biden called for an investigation. I really believe he is the best candidate that will be able to reach across the isle and get the votes needed to get things done. It takes a relationship-a good relationship with members of congress to get anything passed. Most of the other candidates have only a few years or no relationship with members of congress to persuade them to vote for their plans. If one of the other candidates becomes our president, I fear that not much will get done.

[whichwich]

I live thousands of miles away from the early primary states. Therefore, my only exposure to Joe has been through TV, i.e. the televised debates. Biden''s debate performances (exceptional in my eyes) were what moved me to look more into his candidacy. And, I''m so glad I did. Not only does Biden have the skill, but he also has incredible experience, experience we need in 2008 and beyond.

You mention Joe''s "pathological talkaholism". The bottom line is, Joe tells it like it is, he tells the truth. Whether through a short answer or elaborate prose, Joe tells the truth.

I have come to the conclusion that some Americans just don''t want to hear the truth. We live in complicated times and deal with complicated issues every day, both domestic and foreign. Some people find it easier to just tune out the truth because so often these days, the truth is hard to swallow.

It almost seems like people would rather dismiss Joe''s oration as "pathological talkaholism" or "Joe talks too much", than accept reality.

America needs a president who tells the truth.

God bless Joe Biden and God bless America.

[lynne222]

Joe Biden was swift-boated.(plagiarism)See Dukakis/Sasso. He was cleared of any wrong doing in 1989. He had neglected to credit Kinnock''s work, one time, which was caught on tape by a Dukakis aid, who was fired over it. He has fully owned up the the ERROR, yet, so many people fail to realize that it was an oversight. And, of course, some idiots never go beyond the spin to find out the truth. Here is a link to the article, from 1989, clearing him of any wrong doing.
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE1DD1230F93AA15756C0A96F948260

Amazing how simple minded people can be...


He is the best candidate the democrats have, and people better wake up soon.

[frb01]

I was also fixated on the plagerism thing, until I found out the tragedy that killed his first wife and young daughter and how he recovered from that, and later the two brain surgeries. Not sure I would support him, but I gained some respect for what he bounced back from.

[vastr-wcon]

.
Ever hear of someone breathing their own exhaust?

Then you know what fuels Biden - the undisputed mater of plagiarism.

.

[zeboshoes-2009]

I too have to disagree with the comment about debates. Debates are where I *found* Joe Biden. He made all the others look like amateurs. I had given up on this election until I found Joe. Thanks for reporting on him. The public needs to hear about all the candidates.

[lisajanetx]

Fantastic and well written article about the best politician in America today. However, I must disagree with the proposition that Sen. Biden didn''t leave much of an impression during the debates. I thought he typically (and consistently) performed better than all the others with the exception perhaps of Sen. Dodd. America needs to wake up and listen to Joe as he is certainly the best candidate from either side of the aisle. He''s got the wisdom, intellect and courage to lead our country and help restore it''s standing in the world.