Joe Biden presidential campaign, 1988
Encyclopedia
Joseph Robinette "Joe" Biden, Jr.
, a Democratic
United States Senator
from Delaware
at the time, was a candidate for President of the United States
in the 1988 United States presidential election
.
Biden announced his candidacy in June 1987, and was considered one of the potentially strongest candidates in the field. However, in September 1987, newspaper stories stated he had plagiarized a speech by British politician Neil Kinnock
. Other allegations of past law school plagiarism and exaggerating his academic record soon followed. Biden withdrew from the race later that month.
. He had considered the notion in 1983, urged on by pollster Pat Caddell, who thought there space for a young candidate. A fiery speech he gave to several Democratic audiences had simultaneously scolded Democrats for outdated thinking and encouraged them regarding future directions, and had gained him some notice in the party. But Biden did not enter the race that season. Nonetheless, he won one vote at the 1984 Democratic National Convention
.
Biden was active on the party speaking circuit from 1985 on, and was considered one of the best orators among the potential presidential candidates for 1988. The declared absence of Senator Ted Kennedy
from the field, to whom Biden was sometimes compared, was also encouraging to a possible Biden candidacy.
Biden received considerable attention in the summer of 1986 when he excoriated Secretary of State
George Shultz at a Senate hearing because of the Reagan administration
's support of South Africa
, which continued to support a system of apartheid.
image, his speaking ability on the stump (rated second only to that of Jesse Jackson
), his appeal to Baby Boomer
s, his high profile position as chair of the Senate Judiciary committee, looming for the Robert Bork
confirmation hearings, and his fundraising appeal—his $1.7 million raised in the first quarter of 1987 was more than any other candidate. By the end of April he had raised $2 million, using not just contributions from Delaware but also establishing a base of support among young professionals and Jewish voters in a number of urban- and suburban-oriented states. He had no campaign debt, and Fortune
magazine termed his "most impressive start" a "surprise".
When the campaign began, former Senator Gary Hart
, who had made a strong nomination run four years earlier, was considered the clear front-runner. Indeed, The Wall Street Journal
referred to the eight-person Democratic field as "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs". The field's chances were greatly improved once Hart withdrew from the race in May 1987, following revelations of Donna Rice
and Monkey Business.
However, Biden did not see a rise in his poll numbers immediately after the Hart withdrawal, and was particularly stagnant in polls for the Iowa caucuses. Nevertheless, Biden had confidence that he could prevail; on the eve of his announcement, he said: "I'm going to win this thing. I really am. I just know it, I can feel it in my fingertips." Some political professionals saw Biden as believing that he could simply will himself to win the race, but his continued ability to raise campaign funds gave him credibility as a candidate.
formally declaring his candidacy at the Wilmington train station
on June 9, 1987.
In his speech, Biden said that Americans should rise above "the mere accumulation of material things". In language intended to recall John F. Kennedy
, he said,
"For too long in this society, we have celebrated unrestrained individualism over common community. For too long as a nation, we have been lulled by the anthem of self-interest. For a decade, led by Ronald Reagan, self-aggrandizement has been the full-throated cry of this society: 'I've got mine so why don't you get yours' and 'What's in it for me?' ... We must rekindle the fire of idealism in our society, for nothing suffocates the promise of America more than unbounded cynicism and indifference."
Biden also laid out the platform he was running on, which included a middle stance between protectionism and free trade, opposition to the Reagan Strategic Defense Initiative
, and support for child welfare, reduction of poverty, and the war against illegal drugs. Biden also emphasized the need for integrity in government.
served as the campaign treasurer and principle fundraiser. John Marttila served as a political consultant and Tom Donilon served as another strategist. Biden's sister Valerie Biden Owens also served a major role in running the campaign, as she had in all of his Senate campaigns, and was considered "first among equals" in making decisions.
had inspired his. But that theme was not catching on especially well. Biden was also hurt by his never having been a player in the Washington social scene.
By August 1987, Biden's campaign had begun to lag behind those of Michael Dukakis
and Richard Gephardt, although he had still raised more funds than all candidates but Dukakis, and was seeing an upturn in Iowa polls.
and The Des Moines Register. Biden was accused of plagiarizing
a speech by Neil Kinnock
, then-leader of the British
Labour Party
. Kinnock’s speech included the lines:
While Biden’s speech included the lines:
Though Biden had cited Kinnock as the source for the formulation many times before, he made no reference to the original source at the August 23 Democratic debate at the Iowa State Fair
being reported on or in another appearance. While political speeches often appropriated ideas and language from each other, Biden's use came under more scrutiny because he somewhat distorted his own family's background in order to match Kinnock's.
Following the Kinnock attention, reports came from the San Jose Mercury News
of Biden reusing without credit pieces of speeches from Hubert H. Humphrey and Robert F. Kennedy
. In the Kennedy case – which got the greater attention, since there was film footage of both versions that television news programs could play side-by-side – Pat Caddell stated that the reuse without credit was his own fault, and that he had never informed Biden of the source of the material.
After Biden withdrew from the race, it was learned that he had indeed correctly credited Kinnock on other occasions. But in the Iowa speech that was recorded and distributed to reporters (with a parallel video of Kinnock) by aides to Michael Dukakis
, the eventual nominee, he failed to do so. Dukakis, who disowned any knowledge of the Kinnock video, fired John Sasso
, his campaign manager and long-time Chief of Staff, but Biden's campaign could not recover.
article, which he had cited only once. Biden was allowed to repeat the course and passed with high marks. Though the then-dean of the law school, as well as Biden's former professor, downplayed the incident, they did find that Biden drew "chunks of heavy legal prose directly from" the article in question. Biden said it was inadvertent due to his not knowing the proper rules of citation. After ending his Presidential campaign, Biden requested the Board of Professional Responsibility of the Delaware Supreme Court review the issue. The Board concluded on December 21, 1987, after Biden had withdrawn, that the senator had not violated any rules, although Biden did not release this result until May 1989.
As revealed by a video shown on C-SPAN
, when questioned by a New Hampshire
resident about his grades in law school, Biden had replied "I think I probably have a much higher IQ than you do, I suspect," and then inaccurately recollected graduating in the "top half" of his class when he actually graduated 76th from 85, that he had attended law school on a full scholarship, and had received three degrees in college. In fact, he had earned a single B.A.
with a double major in history and political science, and had received a half scholarship to law school based on financial need with some additional assistance based in part upon academics. During this time, Biden also released his undergraduate grades, which were unexceptional.
Biden withdrew from the nomination race on September 23, 1987, saying his candidacy had been overrun by "the exaggerated shadow" of his past mistakes. His formal campaign had lasted only three and a half months.
defeated Jesse Jackson
, Senators Al Gore
and Paul Simon
, and other longer-standing contenders.
In retrospect, Biden would take the blame for his mistakes during the campaign. On one, he said, "All I had to say was 'Like Kinnock.' If I'd just said those two words, 'Like Kinnock,' and I didn't. It was my fault, nobody else's fault." On another, he ruefully recalled, "'Hey pal, you want to compare IQs?' What an immature thing to say."
Biden had felt poorly physically during parts of the campaign, suffering repeated headaches and at one point in September 1987 having to halt a speech in New Hampshire for 15 minutes after feeling faint. In February 1988, he suffered the first of two brain aneurysms that required life-saving surgery and seven months away from the Senate in order to convalesce from. Biden and others would speculate that had his campaign not ended early, the aneurysms might have been more severe or detected later and that he might not have lived out the year.
In any case, Biden would not run again for the presidency until his 2008 campaign
, twenty years later. This time he made it to the Iowa caucuses, but withdrew after a poor showing. Meanwhile, Biden and Kinnock had become close friends after the plagiarism incident. Meeting in August 2008, after Biden had been chosen by Democratic nominee Barack Obama
as his running mate, Biden introduced Kinnock to his Senate staff by saying: “Hey, you people! Do you know this guy? He used to be my greatest speechwriter.” Obama and Biden proceeded to win the general election against the Republican ticket of John McCain
and Sarah Palin
; Biden's 1988 campaign lapses were never a significant issue in the race, and Biden invited Kinnock to the inauguration.
Joe Biden
Joseph Robinette "Joe" Biden, Jr. is the 47th and current Vice President of the United States, serving under President Barack Obama...
, a Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
United States Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
from Delaware
Delaware
Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
at the time, was a candidate for President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
in the 1988 United States presidential election
United States presidential election, 1988
The United States presidential election of 1988 featured no incumbent president, as President Ronald Reagan was unable to seek re-election after serving the maximum two terms allowed by the Twenty-second Amendment. Reagan's Vice President, George H. W. Bush, won the Republican nomination, while the...
.
Biden announced his candidacy in June 1987, and was considered one of the potentially strongest candidates in the field. However, in September 1987, newspaper stories stated he had plagiarized a speech by British politician Neil Kinnock
Neil Kinnock
Neil Gordon Kinnock, Baron Kinnock is a Welsh politician belonging to the Labour Party. He served as a Member of Parliament from 1970 until 1995 and as Labour Leader and Leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition from 1983 until 1992 - his leadership of the party during nearly nine years making him...
. Other allegations of past law school plagiarism and exaggerating his academic record soon followed. Biden withdrew from the race later that month.
Development of a candidacy
Biden had been mentioned among possible contenders in the 1984 presidential electionUnited States presidential election, 1984
The United States presidential election of 1984 was a contest between the incumbent President Ronald Reagan, the Republican candidate, and former Vice President Walter Mondale, the Democratic candidate. Reagan was helped by a strong economic recovery from the deep recession of 1981–1982...
. He had considered the notion in 1983, urged on by pollster Pat Caddell, who thought there space for a young candidate. A fiery speech he gave to several Democratic audiences had simultaneously scolded Democrats for outdated thinking and encouraged them regarding future directions, and had gained him some notice in the party. But Biden did not enter the race that season. Nonetheless, he won one vote at the 1984 Democratic National Convention
1984 Democratic National Convention
The 1984 National Convention of the U.S. Democratic Party was held at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, California from July 16 to July 19, 1984, to select a candidate for the 1984 United States presidential election. At the convention Walter Mondale was nominated for President and Geraldine...
.
Biden was active on the party speaking circuit from 1985 on, and was considered one of the best orators among the potential presidential candidates for 1988. The declared absence of Senator Ted Kennedy
Ted Kennedy
Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy was a United States Senator from Massachusetts and a member of the Democratic Party. Serving almost 47 years, he was the second most senior member of the Senate when he died and is the fourth-longest-serving senator in United States history...
from the field, to whom Biden was sometimes compared, was also encouraging to a possible Biden candidacy.
Biden received considerable attention in the summer of 1986 when he excoriated Secretary of State
Secretary of State
Secretary of State or State Secretary is a commonly used title for a senior or mid-level post in governments around the world. The role varies between countries, and in some cases there are multiple Secretaries of State in the Government....
George Shultz at a Senate hearing because of the Reagan administration
Reagan Administration
The United States presidency of Ronald Reagan, also known as the Reagan administration, was a Republican administration headed by Ronald Reagan from January 20, 1981, to January 20, 1989....
's support of South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, which continued to support a system of apartheid.
Status among candidates
Biden was initially considered one of the potentially strongest candidates as campaigning began in 1987. This was because of his moderateModerate
In politics and religion, a moderate is an individual who is not extreme, partisan or radical. In recent years, political moderates has gained traction as a buzzword....
image, his speaking ability on the stump (rated second only to that of Jesse Jackson
Jesse Jackson
Jesse Louis Jackson, Sr. is an African-American civil rights activist and Baptist minister. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served as shadow senator for the District of Columbia from 1991 to 1997. He was the founder of both entities that merged to...
), his appeal to Baby Boomer
Baby boomer
A baby boomer is a person who was born during the demographic Post-World War II baby boom and who grew up during the period between 1946 and 1964. The term "baby boomer" is sometimes used in a cultural context. Therefore, it is impossible to achieve broad consensus of a precise definition, even...
s, his high profile position as chair of the Senate Judiciary committee, looming for the Robert Bork
Robert Bork
Robert Heron Bork is an American legal scholar who has advocated the judicial philosophy of originalism. Bork formerly served as Solicitor General, Acting Attorney General, and judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit...
confirmation hearings, and his fundraising appeal—his $1.7 million raised in the first quarter of 1987 was more than any other candidate. By the end of April he had raised $2 million, using not just contributions from Delaware but also establishing a base of support among young professionals and Jewish voters in a number of urban- and suburban-oriented states. He had no campaign debt, and Fortune
Fortune (magazine)
Fortune is a global business magazine published by Time Inc. Founded by Henry Luce in 1930, the publishing business, consisting of Time, Life, Fortune, and Sports Illustrated, grew to become Time Warner. In turn, AOL grew as it acquired Time Warner in 2000 when Time Warner was the world's largest...
magazine termed his "most impressive start" a "surprise".
When the campaign began, former Senator Gary Hart
Gary Hart
Gary Hart is an American politician, lawyer, author, professor and commentator. He served as a Democratic Senator representing Colorado , and ran in the U.S...
, who had made a strong nomination run four years earlier, was considered the clear front-runner. Indeed, The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
referred to the eight-person Democratic field as "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs". The field's chances were greatly improved once Hart withdrew from the race in May 1987, following revelations of Donna Rice
Donna Rice
Donna Rice Hughes is the president and chair of Enough Is Enough, an American non-profit organization in the anti-pornography movement that seeks to make the Internet safer for families and children...
and Monkey Business.
However, Biden did not see a rise in his poll numbers immediately after the Hart withdrawal, and was particularly stagnant in polls for the Iowa caucuses. Nevertheless, Biden had confidence that he could prevail; on the eve of his announcement, he said: "I'm going to win this thing. I really am. I just know it, I can feel it in my fingertips." Some political professionals saw Biden as believing that he could simply will himself to win the race, but his continued ability to raise campaign funds gave him credibility as a candidate.
Announcement
At age of 45, Biden became one of the official candidates for Democratic nomination,formally declaring his candidacy at the Wilmington train station
Wilmington Station (Delaware)
Joseph R. Biden Jr. Railroad Station, normally called Wilmington Station, is a passenger rail station in Wilmington, Delaware, formerly known as Pennsylvania Station. The station is located on Front Street between French and Walnut Streets in downtown Wilmington...
on June 9, 1987.
In his speech, Biden said that Americans should rise above "the mere accumulation of material things". In language intended to recall John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
, he said,
"For too long in this society, we have celebrated unrestrained individualism over common community. For too long as a nation, we have been lulled by the anthem of self-interest. For a decade, led by Ronald Reagan, self-aggrandizement has been the full-throated cry of this society: 'I've got mine so why don't you get yours' and 'What's in it for me?' ... We must rekindle the fire of idealism in our society, for nothing suffocates the promise of America more than unbounded cynicism and indifference."
Biden also laid out the platform he was running on, which included a middle stance between protectionism and free trade, opposition to the Reagan Strategic Defense Initiative
Strategic Defense Initiative
The Strategic Defense Initiative was proposed by U.S. President Ronald Reagan on March 23, 1983 to use ground and space-based systems to protect the United States from attack by strategic nuclear ballistic missiles. The initiative focused on strategic defense rather than the prior strategic...
, and support for child welfare, reduction of poverty, and the war against illegal drugs. Biden also emphasized the need for integrity in government.
Campaign staff and policy team
Biden's campaign manager was Tim Ridley, his press secretary was Larry Rasky, and his pollster and strategist was Pat Caddell. Biden's Senate chief-of-staff Ted KaufmanTed Kaufman
Edward E. "Ted" Kaufman is an American politician who served as a United States Senator from Delaware from 2009 to 2010. Since 2010, he has chaired the Congressional Oversight Panel in the United States federal government; he is the second person to hold that post, succeeding inaugural holder...
served as the campaign treasurer and principle fundraiser. John Marttila served as a political consultant and Tom Donilon served as another strategist. Biden's sister Valerie Biden Owens also served a major role in running the campaign, as she had in all of his Senate campaigns, and was considered "first among equals" in making decisions.
Summer 1987
Once underway, Biden's campaign messaging became confused due to staff rivalries and bickering. Four different themes were presented, sometimes simultaneously: "Pepsi Generation", "Voice of optimism", "Save the children", and "Scold the voters". Pollster Pat Caddell in particular was a disruptive force within the campaign, but he had been Biden's friend for 15 years. Another of the themes was generational change; Biden hoped to inspire a new generation, as John F. KennedyJohn F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
had inspired his. But that theme was not catching on especially well. Biden was also hurt by his never having been a player in the Washington social scene.
By August 1987, Biden's campaign had begun to lag behind those of Michael Dukakis
Michael Dukakis
Michael Stanley Dukakis served as the 65th and 67th Governor of Massachusetts from 1975–1979 and from 1983–1991, and was the Democratic presidential nominee in 1988. He was born to Greek immigrants in Brookline, Massachusetts, also the birthplace of John F. Kennedy, and was the longest serving...
and Richard Gephardt, although he had still raised more funds than all candidates but Dukakis, and was seeing an upturn in Iowa polls.
Kinnock controversy
Major controversy beset Biden's candidacy, beginning on September 12, 1987 with high-profile articles in The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
and The Des Moines Register. Biden was accused of plagiarizing
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is defined in dictionaries as the "wrongful appropriation," "close imitation," or "purloining and publication" of another author's "language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions," and the representation of them as one's own original work, but the notion remains problematic with nebulous...
a speech by Neil Kinnock
Neil Kinnock
Neil Gordon Kinnock, Baron Kinnock is a Welsh politician belonging to the Labour Party. He served as a Member of Parliament from 1970 until 1995 and as Labour Leader and Leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition from 1983 until 1992 - his leadership of the party during nearly nine years making him...
, then-leader of the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
. Kinnock’s speech included the lines:
While Biden’s speech included the lines:
Though Biden had cited Kinnock as the source for the formulation many times before, he made no reference to the original source at the August 23 Democratic debate at the Iowa State Fair
Iowa State Fair
The Iowa State Fair is an annual state fair held in Des Moines, Iowa.The 2011 Iowa State Fair was held August 11–21 and marked 100 years of the butter cow sculpture.-History:...
being reported on or in another appearance. While political speeches often appropriated ideas and language from each other, Biden's use came under more scrutiny because he somewhat distorted his own family's background in order to match Kinnock's.
Following the Kinnock attention, reports came from the San Jose Mercury News
San Jose Mercury News
The San Jose Mercury News is a daily newspaper in San Jose, California. On its web site, however, it calls itself Silicon Valley Mercury News. The paper is owned by MediaNews Group...
of Biden reusing without credit pieces of speeches from Hubert H. Humphrey and Robert F. Kennedy
Robert F. Kennedy
Robert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy , also referred to by his initials RFK, was an American politician, a Democratic senator from New York, and a noted civil rights activist. An icon of modern American liberalism and member of the Kennedy family, he was a younger brother of President John F...
. In the Kennedy case – which got the greater attention, since there was film footage of both versions that television news programs could play side-by-side – Pat Caddell stated that the reuse without credit was his own fault, and that he had never informed Biden of the source of the material.
After Biden withdrew from the race, it was learned that he had indeed correctly credited Kinnock on other occasions. But in the Iowa speech that was recorded and distributed to reporters (with a parallel video of Kinnock) by aides to Michael Dukakis
Michael Dukakis
Michael Stanley Dukakis served as the 65th and 67th Governor of Massachusetts from 1975–1979 and from 1983–1991, and was the Democratic presidential nominee in 1988. He was born to Greek immigrants in Brookline, Massachusetts, also the birthplace of John F. Kennedy, and was the longest serving...
, the eventual nominee, he failed to do so. Dukakis, who disowned any knowledge of the Kinnock video, fired John Sasso
John Sasso
John Sasso is an American Democratic political operative who was behind the failed 1988 election bid by Michael Dukakis.-Life and career:Sasso was born in New Jersey...
, his campaign manager and long-time Chief of Staff, but Biden's campaign could not recover.
Academic revelations
As a part of the Kinnock controversy, it was revealed that Biden had been involved in a similar incident during his first year at Syracuse University School of Law in 1965. Biden initially received an “F” in an introductory class on legal methodology for writing a paper relying almost exclusively on a single Fordham Law ReviewFordham Law Review
The Fordham Law Review is a student-run law journal associated with the Fordham University School of Law that covers a wide range of legal scholarship.- Overview :...
article, which he had cited only once. Biden was allowed to repeat the course and passed with high marks. Though the then-dean of the law school, as well as Biden's former professor, downplayed the incident, they did find that Biden drew "chunks of heavy legal prose directly from" the article in question. Biden said it was inadvertent due to his not knowing the proper rules of citation. After ending his Presidential campaign, Biden requested the Board of Professional Responsibility of the Delaware Supreme Court review the issue. The Board concluded on December 21, 1987, after Biden had withdrawn, that the senator had not violated any rules, although Biden did not release this result until May 1989.
As revealed by a video shown on C-SPAN
C-SPAN
C-SPAN , an acronym for Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network, is an American cable television network that offers coverage of federal government proceedings and other public affairs programming via its three television channels , one radio station and a group of websites that provide streaming...
, when questioned by a New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
resident about his grades in law school, Biden had replied "I think I probably have a much higher IQ than you do, I suspect," and then inaccurately recollected graduating in the "top half" of his class when he actually graduated 76th from 85, that he had attended law school on a full scholarship, and had received three degrees in college. In fact, he had earned a single B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
with a double major in history and political science, and had received a half scholarship to law school based on financial need with some additional assistance based in part upon academics. During this time, Biden also released his undergraduate grades, which were unexceptional.
Withdrawal
The Kinnock and academic revelations were magnified by the limited amount of other news about the nomination race at the time, when most of the public were not yet paying attention to any of the campaigns; Biden thus fell into what Washington Post writer Paul Taylor described as that year's trend, a "trial by media ordeal". Biden lacked a strong demographic or political group of support to help him survive the crisis. The controversy also hit Biden in his most vulnerable area, accentuating the notion that he lacked mental and verbal discipline.Biden withdrew from the nomination race on September 23, 1987, saying his candidacy had been overrun by "the exaggerated shadow" of his past mistakes. His formal campaign had lasted only three and a half months.
Aftermath
Because of his early withdrawal, Biden did not participate in the 1988 caucuses and primaries, in which Governor Michael DukakisMichael Dukakis
Michael Stanley Dukakis served as the 65th and 67th Governor of Massachusetts from 1975–1979 and from 1983–1991, and was the Democratic presidential nominee in 1988. He was born to Greek immigrants in Brookline, Massachusetts, also the birthplace of John F. Kennedy, and was the longest serving...
defeated Jesse Jackson
Jesse Jackson
Jesse Louis Jackson, Sr. is an African-American civil rights activist and Baptist minister. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served as shadow senator for the District of Columbia from 1991 to 1997. He was the founder of both entities that merged to...
, Senators Al Gore
Al Gore
Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....
and Paul Simon
Paul Simon (politician)
Paul Martin Simon was an American politician from Illinois. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1975 to 1985 and United States Senate from 1985 to 1997. He was a member of the Democratic Party...
, and other longer-standing contenders.
In retrospect, Biden would take the blame for his mistakes during the campaign. On one, he said, "All I had to say was 'Like Kinnock.' If I'd just said those two words, 'Like Kinnock,' and I didn't. It was my fault, nobody else's fault." On another, he ruefully recalled, "'Hey pal, you want to compare IQs?' What an immature thing to say."
Biden had felt poorly physically during parts of the campaign, suffering repeated headaches and at one point in September 1987 having to halt a speech in New Hampshire for 15 minutes after feeling faint. In February 1988, he suffered the first of two brain aneurysms that required life-saving surgery and seven months away from the Senate in order to convalesce from. Biden and others would speculate that had his campaign not ended early, the aneurysms might have been more severe or detected later and that he might not have lived out the year.
In any case, Biden would not run again for the presidency until his 2008 campaign
Joe Biden presidential campaign, 2008
The Joe Biden presidential campaign, 2008 began when Senator Biden announced his candidacy for President of the United States on the January 7, 2007 edition of Meet the Press. He officially became a candidate on January 31, 2007 after filing papers with the Federal Elections Commission...
, twenty years later. This time he made it to the Iowa caucuses, but withdrew after a poor showing. Meanwhile, Biden and Kinnock had become close friends after the plagiarism incident. Meeting in August 2008, after Biden had been chosen by Democratic nominee Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
as his running mate, Biden introduced Kinnock to his Senate staff by saying: “Hey, you people! Do you know this guy? He used to be my greatest speechwriter.” Obama and Biden proceeded to win the general election against the Republican ticket of John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
and Sarah Palin
Sarah Palin
Sarah Louise Palin is an American politician, commentator and author. As the Republican Party nominee for Vice President in the 2008 presidential election, she was the first Alaskan on the national ticket of a major party and first Republican woman nominated for the vice-presidency.She was...
; Biden's 1988 campaign lapses were never a significant issue in the race, and Biden invited Kinnock to the inauguration.