It was this month in 1987 when Joe Biden ended his first presidential candidacy, saying it had been overrun by “the exaggerated shadow’’ of his past.
More than a quarter century later, as he struggles with whether to give it a third try (he also ran in 2008), Biden hopes he’s overcome those shadows with an impressive résumé that includes two terms as vice president and stints as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations and Judiciary committees.
But that same record, especially his 36 years in the Senate, could also become his greatest liability.
Among the potential trouble spots is a 2005 bankruptcy law he championed that made it harder for consumers and students to get protection under bankruptcy and the 1994 crime bill that created financial incentives for states that imprison people, affecting many black and Latino youths.
Polls show some Democratic primary voters concerned about the controversy swirling around front-runner Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server are migrating to Biden. But that shift has occurred before he’s jumped into the race.
“The moment Joe Biden announces a candidacy he will be viewed in a different light,’’ said Nathan Gonzales, publisher of the nonpartisan Rothenberg and Gonzales Political Report. “Biden’s candidacy would be complicated,’’ he said.
A warning shot from Clinton
Clinton’s problems are primarily with the populist left of the party, including the Occupy Wall Street grass-roots activists who think she’s too cozy with big banks and those who haven’t forgiven her for her vote for the war in Iraq. Biden, who also voted for the war and has close ties to the Delaware banking industry, could face similar challenges.
During a recent campaign stop in New Hampshire, Clinton hinted at Biden’s role in passing bankruptcy legislation, firing a subtle warning shot.
Then a New York senator, Clinton said she only backed the bill because Biden agreed to include protections for alimony and child support. “It was Vice President Biden, who was the senator from Delaware, and the Republican co-sponsor that I was talking with,’’ she said.
Biden had advocated for the legislation since 1999, when he co-sponsored theBankruptcy Reform Act. It faced strong opposition from consumer groups that argued it would force people who legally qualify for bankruptcy protection to secure costly lawyers to navigate a maze of additional paperwork requirements. It also made it harder for students to discharge college-related debts.
“They’ve tended to be predatory businesses that don’t allow a lot of alternatives for repayment,’’ said Geoff Walsh, a staff attorney with the National Consumer Law Center. “That’s a big problem that’s affected a lot of people.’’
While some Democrats, including Sens. Dick Durbin and Edward Kennedy, spoke out against the bill, Congress passed a version of it in 2005 after Republicans increased their majorities.
Biden was instrumental to its passage and, along with 17 other Democrats including Obama, voted for it while Clinton did not vote on the final bill. But Biden went against Obama, then a freshman Illinois senator, as well as other Democrats, in helping to defeat amendments aimed at protecting people forced into bankruptcy with large medical debts or who are in the military.
“He was representing the interests of his state, which is one of the responsibilities of anybody elected to Congress,’’ said Joseph Pika, a retired political scientist at the University of Delaware who’s followed Biden’s career since the 1980s. Yet, “progressives within the party are not going to be very happy about the position,’’ he said.
Views changed as vice president
As vice president, Biden became more critical of the financial services industry after the 2008 financial crisis, said Jared Bernstein, Biden’s former chief economic adviser. “He was very clear about the excesses in finance and how they contributed to the crash,’’ he said. “It’ll be up to him to explain his evolution on the issue.’’
Biden’s office says he worked hard to make the bill balanced, including making child support and alimony a priority. Since then, he’s voted in favor of the Dodd-Frank Act, sweeping Wall Street reform, helped push for a 2010 credit card reform bill to prevent banks from charging hidden fees and installing retroactive rate increases; and, a year later, Biden publicly admonished Bank of America for imposing debit card monthly fees.
According to FEC records, employees of MBNA Corp., then a bank holding company headquartered in Wilmington, Del., was by far Biden’s biggest source of contributions as he became a leader in lobbying for the bankruptcy legislation in the late 1990s.
The company, later acquired by Bank of America, was the state’s largest private employer. Biden’s son Hunter was also hired out of law school by MBNA and later worked as a lobbyist for the company.
Crime bill could pose problems
Biden may also face tensions with black voters.
In 1994, President Bill Clinton and the Congress were dealing with a wave of violent crime and a crack cocaine epidemic.
Clinton and Biden partnered on a $30 billion bill to reduce crime by employing and training more cops, imposing tougher prison sentences and building more prisons. Biden helped author it and introduced it in the Senate and, together with support from the Congressional Black Caucus, it became law.
The legislation helped bring down the crime rate while establishing the Violence Against Women Act. It also imposed an assault weapons ban and directed money toward some crime prevention programs.
“The crime bill was a good bill when he passed it,’’ said Jim Kreindler, a New York lawyer and one of Biden’s biggest past fundraisers. “The fact that the world has changed decades later is not a surprise.’’
Yet Clinton, who was also supportive as first lady, has already come under pressure on the issue and she didn’t play the pivotal role that Biden did. Critics now say it created a financial incentive for jailing people and keeping them there for longer periods of time. Most importantly in the context of next year’s election, the bill had a disproportionate effect on black and Latino males, including those who remain imprisoned long after they are likely to pose a risk to public safety.
With a series of high-profile acts of police brutality, prison and criminal justice reform is now a critical issue with an entire movement, called Black Lives Matter, springing up to lead it.
“He was very front and center in promoting what was very harsh criminal justice policy,’’ said Marc Mauer, executive director of the Sentencing Project.
‘Three strikes and you’re out’ measure
Biden was critical of some of the bill’s shortcomings from the start, including a “three strikes and you’re out” measure that mandated life in prison for felons convicted of a violent crime for the third time. In his role as vice president, Biden has pressed for changes to the law.
“It’s been encouraging to hear his perspective in recent years,’’ said Mauer. “They will now say ‘we went too far.’ ’’
Biden’s position as Senate Judiciary chairman could also provide fodder for critics, including his role in chairing the Clarence Thomas hearings that included attacks by male senators on Anita Hill, the woman accusing Thomas of sexual harassment.
And he may not be held accountable for his voting record alone. The careers of the many federal judges approved during his chairmanship, including whether they’ve been considered “activist’’ judges, could also come into play, said Pika.
“There’s an enormous amount of opposition research to get into,’’ he said.
The case for Biden
The vice president’s résumé also boasts many strengths.
His foreign policy experience would be unrivaled in the 2016 field, from his efforts in the late 1970s to curb arms proliferation by Russia and China to his roles in pushing for intervening in the Balkans in the 1990s and steering U.S. policy toward Iraq and Iran following the Sept. 11 terror attacks.
Biden’s greatest edge over Clinton is that he comes across as authentic and likable, while polls show her favorability ratings have been dropping.
“If Hillary is fatally hampered by the email and server issues and Bernie Sanders is polling as strong as he is, the party needs someone to come in who clearly is qualified to be president,’’ said Kreindler. “That’s Joe.’’
Biden has said he’s not sure he has the emotional energy to run after the May death of his son, Beau, to brain cancer. “Everybody in the country knows Joe is sincere,’’ said Kreindler.
That personal appeal and his accomplishments, including the Violence Against Women Act and his early support for marriage equality, would have to outweigh the potential pitfalls of a candidacy.
“The biggest liability is that he’s been a national political figure for more than four decades,’’ said Pika.
“If you’ve cast thousands of votes over the course of your career, those can easily be mined and examined with a microscope,’’ said Pika.
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