Joe Biden made his first bid for the presidency in 1987. Organizing a big event at Wilmington train station, he invited thousands of people from Delaware, even coordinating bus rides for people from afar. In his speech, he focused on American children and their needs, along with “new economic nationalism,” as reported by Delaware Online. He managed to raise more money for his campaign than any other Democrat and began to receive notable support from others in the party. But the race ended for Biden several months later, when he withdrew from the campaign after being accused of plagiarism in his speeches — something that he is still accused of doing (via The New York Post).
His second try was in 2007. This time, 20 years later, he had a much wider network of contacts and supporters but also a different PR approach. Leaning heavily on internet technology, Biden was able to reach a higher number of people, sometimes through classic public stunts, such as a video criticism of George W. Bush. During his campaign, he appeared on different TV channels, including Comedy Central — a pretty unusual choice. He campaigned for energy sufficiency and a public health care system, promising to end tax cuts for the elite. But standing against Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, Biden didn’t have much of a chance, especially after criticizing them publicly in The New York Observer. Calling Obama “the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean, and a nice-looking guy” didn’t sit well with the readers, and no explanation from Biden couldn’t change people’s minds (via Delaware Online). Biden resigned from the presidential race a year later.
