Biden’s Unified Theory of Biden

Biden's friends say that he is, indeed, more mature, philosophical and oblivious to criticism that once would have wounded him. Even if he still occasionally inhabits the stereotype of a Senate blowhard, his effusive decency and hard work have always made him exceptionally popular with his colleagues on both sides of the aisle (while still in command of his faculties, the late Sen. Strom Thurmond instructed his wife that Biden should give the eulogy at his funeral). "The reason I got so much done in the Senate was that I could say, 'This ought to be your idea'," Biden says. In other words, he wants some credit for not being a credit hog.

Biden readily acknowledges he has had a problem zipping his lip. As a former chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee (he now chairs Foreign Relations), he took hits for his talky and sometimes peevish handling of the confirmation process. His own mom called in 2005 after his tough questioning of chief justice nominee John Roberts to say, "Joey, he's such a nice young man." This is not a story most senators would tell about themselves.

When he puts himself on the couch, Biden finds that he has what he describes as a Reaganesque habit of occasionally telling stories that are true in a larger sense but "might not be totally accurate" (the 1987 plagiarism from British politician Neil Kinnock fit into this category). Throughout his life, he says, he gets in trouble when he gets angry, even if it's for the right reasons. He finally concluded that what sets him off (whether it was punching another kid in the old neighborhood who pushed his sister or losing control in a hearing room) is the same thing that has animated his public passions (civil rights at the beginning of his career, the Violence Against Women Act, confronting genocide in Bosnia). It's Joe Biden's unified theory of himself: "Everything about my faith and family has centered on this notion of abuse of power. Where I end up crossing the line is related to people being taken advantage of."

The righteous anger connects Biden to John McCain. He says the two men often confided in each other. "Some, including in my own family, think I'm being too protective of an old friend," Biden says. He doesn't think McCain has sold out his principles because he was never a maverick to begin with: "When you cut through the marginal stuff, he's a very serious economic conservative and always has been. And his disagreements with Bush on foreign policy have all been about tactics, not strategy." McCain's politics, he says, are "visceral," "personal" and "moral." Certain issues "prick his conscience and emotions on an ad hoc basis" that Biden describes as "incoherent."

Biden is far from cocky about the outcome of the election. He says he has plenty of work to do even around his birthplace of Scranton, Pa., to make Democrats and independents more comfortable voting for Obama. But he's comfortable going down the stretch, with his campaign, his new "boss" and with himself.

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