- Joined
- 15 May 2008
- Posts
- 733
- Reactions
- 2
Joe Biden is an astute, articulate, committed gentleman - I began this thread which is over due and would like others to contribute.
"Joseph Robinette "Joe" Biden, Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is the senior United States Senator from Delaware. He is both the Democratic vice presidential nominee for the November 2008 election and a candidate for re-election in the U.S. Senate.
Biden was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania and lived there for ten years prior to moving to Delaware. He became an attorney in 1969 and was elected to a county council in 1970. Biden was first elected to the Senate in 1972, and became the fifth-youngest senator in U.S. history. He was re-elected to the Senate in 1978, 1984, 1990, 1996, and 2002, and has served for the sixth-longest period among current senators.
Biden is a long-time member and current chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee. His strong advocacy helped bring about U.S. military assistance and intervention during the Bosnian War. He initially supported the Iraq War, but later proposed resolutions to alter U.S. strategy there. He has served as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, dealing with issues related to drug policy, crime prevention, and civil liberties, and led creation of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act and Violence Against Women Act. He chaired the Judiciary Committee during the contentious U.S. Supreme Court nominations of Robert Bork and Clarence Thomas.
Biden unsuccessfully sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 1988 and 2008, both times dropping out early in the process. Barack Obama selected Biden to be the Democratic Party nominee for Vice President in the 2008 U.S. election.
Biden was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, the son of Joseph Robinette Biden, Sr. (1915–2002) and Catherine Eugenia "Jean" Finnegan (born 1918). He was the first of four siblings and is of English heritage on his father's side and Irish heritage on his mother's side. He has two brothers, James Brian Biden and Francis W. Biden, and a sister, Valerie (Biden) Owens.
The Scranton area was in economic decline during the 1950s, and Biden's father could not find enough work.The Biden family moved to Claymont, Delaware, when Biden was 10 years old, and he grew up in suburban New Castle County, Delaware. His father then prospered as a car salesman and the family's circumstances were middle class. One of his grandfathers was a member of the Pennsylvania State Senate. Biden suffered from stuttering through much of his childhood and into his twenties; he overcame it via long hours spent reciting poetry in front of a mirror. Biden attended the Archmere Academy in Claymont, where he was athletically, not academically, oriented and a natural leader among the students. He graduated in 1961.
Biden attended the University of Delaware in Newark, where by his own later description he was a lazy student. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts with a double major in history and political science in 1965....
A few weeks after the election, Biden's wife and year-old daughter were killed in an automobile accident while Christmas shopping in Hockessin, Delaware on December 18, 1972.(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.) Biden's two sons, Beau and Hunter, were critically injured in the accident, but both eventually made full recoveries. Biden considered resigning in order to care for them; persuaded not to by Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield; he was sworn into office from one of their bedsides. The accident left Biden 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."
Biden began the practice of commuting an hour and a half each day on the train from his home in the Wilmington suburbs to Washington, D.C., which he continues to do. 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.A single father for five years, Biden left standing orders that he be interrupted in the Senate at any time if his sons called. In remembrance of the accident, Biden does not work on December 18.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Born November 20, 1942 (1942-11-20) (age 65)
Scranton, Pennsylvania
Political party Democratic
Spouse Neilia Hunter (deceased; m. 1966 – 1972)
Jill Tracy Jacobs (m. 1977)
Children Joseph Biden III
Robert Hunter Biden
Naomi Christina Biden
Ashley Blazer Biden
Residence Wilmington, Delaware
Alma mater University of Delawar
Syracuse University College of Law
Profession Lawyer, Politician
Religion Roman Catholic "
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Biden
http://biden.senate.gov/
"Joseph Robinette "Joe" Biden, Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is the senior United States Senator from Delaware. He is both the Democratic vice presidential nominee for the November 2008 election and a candidate for re-election in the U.S. Senate.
Biden was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania and lived there for ten years prior to moving to Delaware. He became an attorney in 1969 and was elected to a county council in 1970. Biden was first elected to the Senate in 1972, and became the fifth-youngest senator in U.S. history. He was re-elected to the Senate in 1978, 1984, 1990, 1996, and 2002, and has served for the sixth-longest period among current senators.
Biden is a long-time member and current chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee. His strong advocacy helped bring about U.S. military assistance and intervention during the Bosnian War. He initially supported the Iraq War, but later proposed resolutions to alter U.S. strategy there. He has served as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, dealing with issues related to drug policy, crime prevention, and civil liberties, and led creation of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act and Violence Against Women Act. He chaired the Judiciary Committee during the contentious U.S. Supreme Court nominations of Robert Bork and Clarence Thomas.
Biden unsuccessfully sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 1988 and 2008, both times dropping out early in the process. Barack Obama selected Biden to be the Democratic Party nominee for Vice President in the 2008 U.S. election.
Biden was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, the son of Joseph Robinette Biden, Sr. (1915–2002) and Catherine Eugenia "Jean" Finnegan (born 1918). He was the first of four siblings and is of English heritage on his father's side and Irish heritage on his mother's side. He has two brothers, James Brian Biden and Francis W. Biden, and a sister, Valerie (Biden) Owens.
The Scranton area was in economic decline during the 1950s, and Biden's father could not find enough work.The Biden family moved to Claymont, Delaware, when Biden was 10 years old, and he grew up in suburban New Castle County, Delaware. His father then prospered as a car salesman and the family's circumstances were middle class. One of his grandfathers was a member of the Pennsylvania State Senate. Biden suffered from stuttering through much of his childhood and into his twenties; he overcame it via long hours spent reciting poetry in front of a mirror. Biden attended the Archmere Academy in Claymont, where he was athletically, not academically, oriented and a natural leader among the students. He graduated in 1961.
Biden attended the University of Delaware in Newark, where by his own later description he was a lazy student. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts with a double major in history and political science in 1965....
A few weeks after the election, Biden's wife and year-old daughter were killed in an automobile accident while Christmas shopping in Hockessin, Delaware on December 18, 1972.(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.) Biden's two sons, Beau and Hunter, were critically injured in the accident, but both eventually made full recoveries. Biden considered resigning in order to care for them; persuaded not to by Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield; he was sworn into office from one of their bedsides. The accident left Biden 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."
Biden began the practice of commuting an hour and a half each day on the train from his home in the Wilmington suburbs to Washington, D.C., which he continues to do. 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.A single father for five years, Biden left standing orders that he be interrupted in the Senate at any time if his sons called. In remembrance of the accident, Biden does not work on December 18.
Senior Senator
from Delaware
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 3, 1973
Serving with Tom Carper
Preceded by J. Caleb Boggs
from Delaware
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 3, 1973
Serving with Tom Carper
Preceded by J. Caleb Boggs
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary
In office
January 4, 1987 – January 3, 1995
Preceded by Strom Thurmond
Succeeded by Orrin Hatch
In office
January 4, 1987 – January 3, 1995
Preceded by Strom Thurmond
Succeeded by Orrin Hatch
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
In office
January 3 – January 20, 2001
Preceded by Jesse Helms
Succeeded by Jesse Helms
In office
June 6, 2001 – January 3, 2003
Preceded by Jesse Helms
Succeeded by Dick Lugar
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 4, 2007
Preceded by Dick Lugar
--------------------------------------------------------------------------In office
January 3 – January 20, 2001
Preceded by Jesse Helms
Succeeded by Jesse Helms
In office
June 6, 2001 – January 3, 2003
Preceded by Jesse Helms
Succeeded by Dick Lugar
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 4, 2007
Preceded by Dick Lugar
Member of the New Castle County Council
In office
1970 – 1972
In office
1970 – 1972
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Born November 20, 1942 (1942-11-20) (age 65)
Scranton, Pennsylvania
Political party Democratic
Spouse Neilia Hunter (deceased; m. 1966 – 1972)
Jill Tracy Jacobs (m. 1977)
Children Joseph Biden III
Robert Hunter Biden
Naomi Christina Biden
Ashley Blazer Biden
Residence Wilmington, Delaware
Alma mater University of Delawar
Syracuse University College of Law
Profession Lawyer, Politician
Religion Roman Catholic "
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Biden
http://biden.senate.gov/
:
