By Alex P. Vidal
“Being president is like being a jackass in a hailstorm. There’s nothing to do but to stand there and take it.” — Lyndon B. Johnson
THERE is no doubt that Joseph “Joe” Robinette Biden Jr. will become the most powerful man in the world and the oldest president in U.S. history at age 78 on Wednesday, January 20, 2021.
He is expected to be sworn in as the 46th president of the most politically and economically robust nation on earth, alongside his running mate, Senator Kamala Harris, who will become the first woman and woman of color to serve as U.S. vice president.
He was declared the president-elect of the United States on November 7, 2020 following an initially tight electoral college contest against the angry incumbent President Donald Trump and four days of vote-counting.
In an election carried out during a coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, as well as a nation reckoning over racial injustice, Mr. Biden won over 74 million popular votes—the most in U.S. presidential election history.
The Electoral College cast a majority of votes for Mr. Biden, formalizing the presidential election in the manner set out in the Constitution on December 14, 2020.
The former senator, who served as vice president under the administration of President Barack Obama, Biden represented Delaware for 36 years in the U.S. Senate before becoming the 47th Vice President of the United States.
Mr. Biden was born November 20, 1942 in Scranton, Pennsylvania, the first of four siblings.
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The Biden family moved from Pennsylvania to Claymont, Delaware in 1953. The incoming President graduated from the University of Delaware and Syracuse Law School and served on the New Castle County Council.
Then, he became one of the youngest people ever elected to the United States Senate, at age 29.
Tragedy struck the Biden family just weeks after the election when then Senator-elect Biden’s wife, Neilia, and their one-year-old daughter, Naomi, died and his two sons were injured in an auto accident.
Mr. Biden was sworn into the U.S. Senate at his sons’ hospital bedside and began commuting to Washington every day by train, a practice he maintained throughout his career in the Senate.
Mr. Biden married Jill Jacobs in 1977. Jill Biden holds a Doctorate in Education and is a life-long educator and currently teaches at a community college in Northern Virginia.
The Vice President’s son, Beau, was Delaware’s Attorney General from 2007-2015 and a Major in the 261st Signal Brigade of the Delaware National Guard.
He was deployed to Iraq in 2008-2009 and passed away in 2015 after battling brain cancer with the same integrity, courage, and strength he demonstrated every day of his life.
Mr. Biden’s second son, Hunter, is an attorney who manages a private equity firm in Washington, D.C.
His daughter Ashley is a social worker and Executive Director of the Delaware Center for Justice.
Mr. Biden has five grandchildren: Naomi, Finnegan, Roberta Mabel (“Maisy”), Natalie, and Robert Hunter.
As a Senator from Delaware for 36 years, Mr. Biden established himself as a leader in facing some of our nation’s most important domestic and international challenges.
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As Chairman or Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee for 17 years, then-Senator Biden was widely recognized for his work on criminal justice issues, including the landmark 1994 Crime Act and the Violence Against Women Act. As Chairman or Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for 12 years, then-Senator Biden played a pivotal role in shaping U.S. foreign policy.
Mr. Biden has been at the forefront of issues and legislation related to terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, post-Cold War Europe, the Middle East, and Southwest Asia.
As the 47th Vice President of the United States, Mr. Biden continued his leadership on important issues facing the nation and represented America abroad, traveling over 1.2 million miles to more than 50 countries.
He convened sessions of the President’s Cabinet, led interagency efforts, and worked with Congress in his fight to raise the living standards of middle class Americans, reduce gun violence, and address violence against women.
In the final year of the Administration, Vice President Biden led the Cancer Moonshot, an international effort to end cancer as we know it.
Mr. Biden has continued his legacy of expanding opportunity for all, both in the United States and abroad, with the creation of the Biden Foundation, the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement at the University of Pennsylvania, the Biden Cancer Initiative, and the Biden Institute at the University of Delaware since leaving the White House in January 2017.
According to the Biden Institute, through these non-profit organizations, “Vice President Biden and Dr. Biden are developing programs designed to advance smart policies, convene experts and world leaders on the issues they care most about, and impact the national debate about how America can continue to lead in the 21st century.”
In addition, the Biden Institute reported that “Vice President Biden formed a political action committee, ‘American Possibilities,’ which will allow him to continue to support Democratic candidates and causes across the country.”
The Biden Institute added: “Finally, in November 2017, President-elect Biden released his second book, Promise Me, Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose. The book, a New York Times #1 Bestseller, is a personal story from a father, grandfather, husband, and friend as he confronts the inevitability of devastating personal loss, while trying to balance his duty to his family and his country.”
Mr. Biden has received numerous awards and accolades, including the National Civil Rights Museum’s Freedom Award and the Medal of Freedom with Distinction.
(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)
