Biden was 'hesitant' to accept Obama's offer to be his vice presidential running mate, book says

Biden Obama — Then-Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama listens as his vice presidential running mate, then-Sen. Joe Biden, speaks at a rally in front of the Old State Capitol in Springfield, Ill., on August 23, 2008.
AP Photo/Alex Brandon

Then-Sen. Joe Biden was hesitant to join the Democratic ticket in 2008, per a newly-released book.
Valerie Biden Owens, his sister, recounted that Biden felt he had a good perch in the Senate.
Their mother, Catherine Finnegan Biden, told now-President Biden that he should accept the offer.

Valerie Biden Owens revealed that her brother, then-Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware, was "hesitant" to accept Sen. Barack Obama's offer to join the Democratic ticket as his vice presidential running mate in 2008, according to her newly released memoir.

In the book, "Growing Up Biden: A Memoir," Owens recounted that after Obama secured enough delegates to capture the party nomination, he reached out to Biden, who had suspended his 2008 presidential campaign at the start of the year.

The Illinois Democrat was gauging whether Biden — who at that point had been in the Senate for nearly 36 years and had chaired both the Foreign Relations and Judiciary committees — would be interested in becoming his vice president.

Obama made it clear that he didn't need Biden to win the general election, but wanted his help in governing.

"Joe was hesitant," Owens wrote in the memoir. "At that time, he had the best seat in the house, no pun intended, as Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee. Could he do more with his current position than he could as Vice President?"

She continued: "Traditionally, Vice Presidents didn't really do anything. He would have to report directly to a superior for the first time in decades."

However, it was their mother — Catherine Finnegan Biden — who reminded Biden of the significance of becoming part of what would be a historic ticket, with Obama being the first major party Black presidential nominee in US history.

"What finally did it? Mom," Owens wrote. "She said: 'We have the chance to elect the first African American as President, and you have to even think about it?'"

Biden has said he initially turned down Obama when he first asked Biden to be vetted for vice president. "I said, 'No, thank you. I don't want to be vice president,'' he said in 2015, adding that he thought he could help Obama more as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

"He said, 'Go on home and talk over your family and get back to me,'" Biden said then of Obama. "And my family was right and made the right decision —best decision in my political career was to join the president."

In August 2008, Biden accepted Obama's offer, but the veteran lawmaker had one condition in order to proceed with the decision; he wanted to be "the last person in the room" with Obama in advance of major decisions.

"They had a handshake deal, but it seemed there was one last piece before it could be finalized," Owens wrote. "The Davids needed to sign off: David Plouffe, Obama's campaign manager; and David Axelrod, his strategist."

Owens then detailed how the agreement took place at her home in Delaware in lieu of Biden's home as it was being surveilled by media outlets amid the vice presidential speculation — and mentioned the efforts of her husband, Jack; her sister-in-law, Jill; and her late nephew, Beau.

"The Davids flew into New Castle County Airport, and Beau and Jill picked them up — baseball caps and sunglasses adding to the intrigue," she wrote. "Joe had already arrived at our home, waiting for them down by the pool, where there was privacy."

"When Beau drove in with our guests, Jack and I met them and escorted them down to the pool. As promised, we left them alone: no pictures, no distractions, no chitchat," Owens added.

After the 2008 Democratic National Convention, the Obama-Biden ticket — fueled by high Democratic enthusiasm, fatigue with the presidency of George W. Bush and the Iraq War, and concerns about the economy — catapulted the party to a huge electoral victory that November.

Obama and Biden easily defeated the Republican ticket consisting of then-Sen. John McCain of Arizona and then-Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska, winning the Electoral College 365-173.

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