Biden, an ex-rising star with a new shot at glory

By Thomas Ferraro

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Joe Biden made his first run for the U.S. presidency in 1987 as a error-prone wunderkind. A powerful orator, Biden flashed brilliance. But he also had a tendency to stick his foot in his mouth and fell far short.

Today, polls show, a more steady and seasoned Biden, 65, appears headed toward helping America's new political star, Barack Obama, 47, become president.

"Twenty years ago, Joe Biden wasn't ready for prime time," said Norm Ornstein, a congressional scholar at the American Enterprise Institute.

"He's become more disciplined. He's widely respected. He still isn't someone who measures his every word. But he's been a big plus for the campaign," Ornstein said.

As Obama's vice presidential running mate, Biden, a 35-year veteran of the Senate, has been widely hailed as an effective advocate for the Democratic ticket.

But he is prone to making an occasional gaffe and has failed to spark the excitement and draw the big crowds of his Republican rival, Sarah Palin, Alaska's first-term governor.

Still, however, polls show most Americans believe Biden, unlike Palin, is qualified for the job, and think that he defeated her in their only debate.

Like many members of the Senate, often referred to as "the world's most exclusive club," Biden is seen as long-winded and having a big ego. But he has made it clear he knows where his place would be in an Obama White House: behind the president.

"Every major decision he'll be making, I'll be sitting in the room to give my best advice," Biden said in his debate with Palin. Biden added, "He's president, not me."

In an interview with the New Yorker, Biden said he told Obama he expected to be a player in his administration if he agreed to be his running mate.

"I said, 'Barack, look, if you're going to ask me to do this, please don't ask me for any other reason than you respect my judgment,'" Biden was quoted as saying in the magazine's October 20 issue.

"'I don't want to be a vice president who is not part of the major decisions you make,'" Biden said he told Obama.

LONG SENATE CAREER

Biden was first elected to the Senate in 1972, shortly before he turned 30, the minimum age. A month later, his wife and daughter were killed and two sons injured in a car crash. Biden considered giving up his Senate seat but party leaders helped persuade him to serve. He remarried five years later.

In 1987, Biden made his first bid for the Democratic presidential nomination. Like Obama, a first-term senator from Illinois, Biden was considered a rising star.