Joe Biden faced personal tragedy and reached pinnacle of US politics – but he became liability for Democrats

Joseph Robinette Biden Jr is one of America’s longest-serving politicians.His election as the 46th president of the United States was the pinnacle of a political career that spanned more than 50 years, intertwined with a personal life marked by tragedy.He was sworn in as a senator for Delaware in January 1973 in a medical centre chapel. A car crash had claimed the lives of his first wife and daughter and he was caring for his two sons, who had been injured in the collision.Throughout his subsequent career in Congress, the “family first” senator would commute daily between his Delaware home and Washington DC.Biden was a political player on Capitol Hill, polished on camera, influential in the corridors and committees. Notable legislative successes included anti-crime laws and increased powers to tackle violence against women. Biden first ran for the Democratic presidential nomination ahead of the 1988 election, but a stuttering campaign ground to a halt after he was accused of plagiarising a speech by the former UK Labour leader, Neil Kinnock.Kinnock had said: “Why am I the first Kinnock in a thousand generations to be able to get to university?” and “Was it because all our predecessors were thick?”Biden said: “Why...