A look back at Biden’s Remarkable 50-year career in politics

After a disastrous performance at the first presidential debate in June, during which President Biden appeared disorganized and even bewildered, prominent Democrats called for him to withdraw from the election. That call has now been answered and Joe Biden has made the monumental decision to remove himself from the race and end an illustrious career in politics. Reflecting on a remarkable career that has spanned five decades, it is clear that his journey has been full of highs and lows. As he prepares to leave the White House in January, this article looks back at President Biden’s remarkable 50 years of public service.

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After graduating from Syracuse Law School in 1970, Biden got his first taste of politics when he won a seat on the New Castle County Council. At the age of 27, he ran for the 4th District seat in Wilmington, Delaware, on a liberal platform, promoting more public housing and successfully defeating Republican Lawrence Messick.

Just two years into his first term on the Council, Biden began his first Senate campaign in 1972, challenging Senator J. Caleb Boggs. With a 33-year age gap between the 29-year-old Biden and 62-year-old Boggs, Biden’s campaign played on the contrast, leading to his victory by a margin of less than 3,000 votes. He assumed office in 1973, becoming one of the youngest senators in US history. During his initial years in the upper chamber, Biden worked closely with segregationist Senator James Eastland (D-Miss.) and opposed the use of busing to desegregate public schools.

This position was criticized by Vice President Kamala Harris during a 2019 Democratic presidential primary debate. As stated in an essay from the University of Virginia’s Miller Center of Public Affairs, Biden “sought prominence as a national figure” during his first term in the Senate by criticizing President Gerald Ford when he pardoned President Richard Nixon during the infamous Watergate scandal.

Biden, a long-time chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, made headlines in 1987 when he recommended that the Senate reject President Ronald Reagan’s Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork. He also chaired the 1991 hearings on Clarence Thomas’ nomination, which put his former law clerk, Anita Hill, under intense scrutiny when she accused the then-nominee of sexual harassment.

In 1994, Biden pushed for a major federal crime bill, which was criticized during his 2020 presidential campaign for contributing to the disproportionate incarceration of racial minorities in recent decades. For 11 years, Biden also served as chairman or ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, during which he advocated for US military intervention in the Balkans, voted against the 1991 war in Iraq, and in favour of the 2002 Iraq war. However, he later admitted that his 2002 vote was a “mistake” and opposed the successful 2007 troop surge.

In June 1987, halfway into his third term in the Senate, Biden launched his first presidential campaign. However, it was short-lived as he withdrew from the race three months later when he was caught plagiarizing a speech by British politician Neil Kinnock during a Democratic presidential primary debate in Iowa, and allegations of past plagiarism surfaced. In January 2007, Biden announced on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that he would be running for president once again. His campaign failed to gain much support, and he was criticized at the beginning of his campaign when he referred to rival candidate Barack Obama as “the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy.”

His campaign ended when, in January 2008, he got just 1% of the vote. in the Iowa Democratic caucuses. Despite the poor showing on the campaign and his racially charged error, in August of that year, Obama selected Biden as his running mate. The Obama White House described Biden as the president’s “point person for diplomacy” and a “leading architect of the US strategic vision of Europe.” Biden was also seen as a major asset, using his relationships and experience in the Senate to get deals done with both sides of the House. In the final days of his presidency, Obama awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the country.

In the 2020 Democratic presidential primary, Biden emerged as the winner despite initially placing fourth in Iowa and fifth in New Hampshire. He gained momentum after receiving an endorsement from Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC) and winning the South Carolina primary by a large margin. During the general election, he campaigned on the idea that the “soul of America” was at stake and promised to bridge the gap between the current administration and a new generation of leaders.

Despite allegations of widespread fraud from, Trump, Biden secured key victories in several battleground states and ultimately won the presidency. However, his time in office was met with challenges as he faced difficulties getting his ambitious agenda passed through Congress, despite Democrats holding a narrow majority. He did manage to pass the COVID-19 stimulus package, an infrastructure bill, and other acts related to inflation and science.

His presidency was also marred by Republican accusations of corruption involving his family’s business dealings and a chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. Despite facing declining support and concerns about his age and mental acuity, Biden launched his re-election campaign in 2023, asking voters to give him another four years to “finish the job.”

However, following the presidential debate in June, polls presented him with the realization that the majority of Americans, including those in his own party, were unwilling to back him for president and did not want an octogenarian in the White House. Despite his many achievements over five decades, his enduring impact is likely to be his battle with Trump. The outcome of the November elections will decide whether the battle, which he perceives as anti-democratic, is defeated or lost.`);

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