Joe Biden’s 30-Year Quest

The Daily

The New York Times

Daily News, News

4.4 • 102.8K Ratings

🗓️ 20 August 2020

⏱️ 33 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Joseph R. Biden Jr. first ran for president in 1988, when his campaign was cut short after he made a series of blunders. After six terms in the Senate, he tried again in 2008 but failed to gain any traction in a contest won by Barack Obama. In the current political landscape, however, his focus on personal integrity and experience, which were also centerpieces of his previous campaigns, has proved much more compelling. Today, we chart Mr. Biden’s political journey and explore the baggage he will carry into the November election. Guest: Matt Flegenheimer, a national politics reporter for The New York Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily Background reading:Mr. Biden’s political career has been marked by personal loss. Eulogies he has delivered offer an insight into how he would lead a nation grappling with death and crisis.“I’ve done some dumb things. And I’ll do dumb things again.” The former vice president’s campaign for the 1988 Democratic nomination reveals the political flaws that continue to color his public life.

Transcript

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0:00.0	From the New York Times, I'm Michael Wabaro.
0:04.0	This is the Daily.
0:07.0	Tonight, when Joe Biden formally accepts the Democratic Party's nomination for president,
0:15.0	it will be the culmination of a 30-year quest and two failed runs for the office.
0:22.0	My colleague, Matt Fleganheimer, on a delayed victory that looks nothing like Biden had planned.
0:33.0	It's Thursday, August 20th.
0:37.0	America needs someone who can inspire once again in our people, faith and trust in our government.
0:53.0	America needs someone with a heart.
0:57.0	Matt, take us back to when Joe Biden first runs for president.
1:00.0	Where does that story start?
1:02.0	That story starts at a transition in Wilbings and Delaware in June of 1987.
1:07.0	And we thank you, Delaware, for giving us that person the next president of the United States, Joe Biden.
1:15.0	He's coming in the end of the second term for Ronald Reagan.
1:19.0	All right, ladies and gentlemen.
1:21.0	Thank you.
1:23.0	He is in his 40s and I tell you today that America is a nation at risk.
1:29.0	He is kind of the generational change candidate.
1:32.0	The clarion call for my generation is not, it is our turn, but rather, it is our moment of obligation and opportunity.
1:42.0	It uses the words my generation quite a bit.
1:45.0	This idea that after Reagan, after a lot of stodgy older men...
1:49.0	We literally have a chance to shape the future, to put our stamp on the face and character of America.
1:56.0	This is not merely history.
	...

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