Politics | Joe Biden Biden's Story: Tenacity Born of Tragedy Foreign policy heavyweight brings experience to ticket By Rob Quinn Posted Aug 23, 2008 6:40 AM CDT Copied Barack Obama, right, huddles with Joseph Biden left, on Capitol Hill in Washington in this Jan. 31, 2007 file photo during the committee's hearing on Iraq. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File) Blunt, tough and seasoned, Obama veepstakes winner Joe Biden has a history of surviving both personal tragedy and political disappointment. Delaware's News-Journal details the story of the state's favorite son, who became modern history's youngest senator when elected at 29. His wife and baby daughter died in a car crash before he had even been sworn in. In his autography, he writes of being drawn to suicide, but knowing he had to "fight to stay alive" to care for his two sons. His 1988 White House bid collapsed after he admitted plagiarizing a speech. He survived a nearly fatal anneurism that sidelined him for 7 months. His outspoken style—he caught flak for calling President Bush "brain-dead" while campaigning for John Kerry—has gotten him into hot water innumerable times, and those gaffes will be used against the ticket in the months ahead. Read These Next Her blood isn't compatible with anyone else's. Some of the most explosive Diddy allegations are dropped. Fan who taunted Ketel Marte's mom has been banned by MLB. NJ lifeguard survives after being impaled by an umbrella. Report an error