As we now face a battle over the vacancy in the u. S. Supreme court, we want to focus on what senator joe biden said back in 1992 on the senate floor. Senator biden it is my view that particularly if the reality of a divided government during the time of great change at the Court Continues in the next administration, future confirmations must be conducted differently than the preceding ones. Mr. President , the president s intentions on the existing process which exploded during the thomas nomination fight make restoration of what came before judge thomas nomination even if it was desirable, a practical impossibility. Having said that, mr. President , we face one immediate question, can our Supreme Court confirmation process sow discord and bitterness in an Election Year . Mr. President , history teaches us this is extremely unlikely. Some of our nations most bitter and heated confirmation fights have come in president ial Election Years. A bruising confirmation fight over roger taunys nomination in 1836. The senates refusal to confirm four nominations by president tyler in 1844, the single vote rejections of nominees badger and black by lame duck president s filmore and buchanan in the mid19th century and of justicespprovals lamar and fuller in 1888. 1988. These are just some examples of these fights in the 19th century. Overall, where one in four Supreme Court nominations has been the subject of significant opposition. The figure raises to 12 when such nominations are acted upon in president ial Election Years. Host that was in june, 1992 and 18 years later, that is where we are at. Bob the process is even worse. Back then they didnt get rid of the filibuster for Supreme Court nominees. This is a partisan environment when you have a new Supreme Court nomination and now we are so close to the election and now it is even more charged based on racial unrest in this country on top of a pandemic and we were headed for a bumpy ride to the election and not got bumpyier. Host we are hearing remarks from bidens remarks. How is it playing out in todays political environment . Susan part of the ongoing partisan battle over whether or not the senate should take up a Supreme Court nominee. You might recall at the end of 2016 when republicans did not take up the Merrick Garland nominee who was picked by president obama. Leader mcconnell often cited the biden rule. There is no such thing as the biden rule but what he was referring to was speech we just listened to from joe biden in 1992 when he talked about the difficulty and advised against taking up Supreme Court nominees during an Election Year. It definitely played in to that decision in 2016. And of course, now we hear it amended by the majority leader, Mitch Mcconnell, in that this should only apply if the parties are opposite in the white house and the senate. Otherwise, you should move ahead with the nominee and if you look at the statistics for such nominations, that does bear out. If it is the same party, they move ahead with the nomination but opposite party, thats when you run into not taking up thing nomination. The reason is, its a political calculation. Democrats would be doing, i believe, the exact same thing right now if they had the opportunity to fill this pretty rare vacancy on the Supreme Court to share the outcome for shape the outcome for decades to come. And thats what republicans are doing, a political calculation. Each party makes it and thats what you heard in bidens speech in 1992. A political calculation. Thats what you are hearing from republicans in the senate. Host Georgetown University law school in march of 2016, about a month after the death of justice antonin scalia, this from then Vice President joe biden. Senator biden let me set the record straight, if the president consults and cooperates with the senate or moderates his selections, then his nominees may join my support as did Justice Kennedy and justice souter, end of quote. I made it clear that i would go forward with the confirmation process as chairman even a few months before a president ial election. If a nominee chosen with the advice and not merely the consent of a senate, just as the constitution requires. My consistent advice, the president s of both parties including this president has been that we should engage fully in the constitutional process of advice and consent. And my consistent understanding of the constitution them is the has been that the senate must do so as well, period. They have an obligation to do so. Because there is no vacancy after the thomas confirmation, we cant know what the president and senate might have done. But heres what we do know. Every time as the Ranking Member or chairman of the Judiciary Committee, i was responsible for eight justices and nine total nominees to the Supreme Court, more than i hate to say this, anyone alive. [laughter] i cant be that all. Old. Some, i supported. A few, i voted against. In all that time, every nominee was greeted by committee members. Every nominee got a committee hearing. Every nominee got out of the Committee Even if they didnt have sufficient votes to pass within the committee, because i believe the senate says, the senate must advise and consent. And every nominee including Justice Kennedy in an Election Year, got an upanddown vote. Host that is then Vice President joe biden during the initial fight over Merrick Garland, a nomination that never received a Senate Hearing or vote on the floor of the senate. Take us back to what you heard from the Vice President four years ago. Bob any time that a politician and when he says, i have been absolutely clear, when a politician says that, there is a little bit of murkiness there. He said advice, consent and moderation of a selection. To thetermines, how much Obama Administration advise and consent with the Republican Senate and how much of a moderation was Merrick Garland . Many people said was he was a moderation compared to who obama could have picked. But this is politics that susan was talking about and it was an Election Year and Mitch Mcconnell decided that he was not going to move on that nomination and not going to be hearings on that nomination. That was backed by his Committee Chairman at the time, chuck grassley. Therefore, the nomination didnt go through. A lot of people thought the republicans would bend. There is a different timing. That was in february and march. Here we are much later in the Election Year and thats where democrats are certainly pointing that out and the differences. Both sides are having to adjust and clarify what they have said over the last four years and now obviously going back all the way for biden, decades on what he has said and he has said a lot because he served six terms in the senate and two terms as Vice President. What he has said on Supreme Court nomination has varied a bit as it has for republicans, too. Host we will come back to the confirmation battles including Clarence Thomas in just a moment. Lets take a look back at the earlier of joe biden. He ran for the u. S. Senate in delaware. He was only 29 years old. He turned 30 after the election. You have to be 30 years old to be sworn in. Shortly after that, in a tragic accident, his wife and daughter killed just before christmas and back in 2006, we sat down to talk with him about that tragedy. Senator biden they were Christmas Shopping headed back toward my home in the station wagon. No one knows but pulled out of an intersection in a semirural. Tractor trailer came down the hill and broadsided them. I never wanted to know and i didnt want to pursue if anybody made a mistake. They were broadsided. My wife and daughter were on one side of the car and killed immediately. My two boys were on the other side of the car and thank god for my volunteer firemen who used the jaws of life to get my sons out. My whole career is sort of i owe the volunteer firemen, they saved my life, home in a fire and incredible people. And that happened on december 18. My sons were badly injured. My son beau was in a body cast, ankles to neck, both legs and arms. Fully recovered, thank god. I son my son hunter had a fractured skull, was banged up as well, but he recovered fully and they are both grown men i am proud of. Host where were you . Senator biden i was here, using senator byrds office interviewing perspective staff and i got the call while i was doing that and had some young person call me and say there was a slight accident and young the young woman calling me volunteering from the campaign. Thought it was a slight accident. I just knew. I said, shes dead, isnt she . No, no, senator. But she was. Look, thousands and thousands you have been through a lot of this yourself in your personal life. We both know theres tens of thousands of people who have been through what you and i have been through without the kind of support you and i have had. But it does make you realize how many truly courageous people are out there. Host that is from a 2006 interview. Susan, that clearly shaped his early Senate Career and for a while he considered stepping down not taking the seat. He was convinced otherwise. Susan he was sworn in the hospital room with his sons there. It absolutely defined him as a politician and continues to define him as a candidate for president. As it probably would anybody to have to go through and an experience like that to lose his wife and daughter and his two sons so gravely injured while he was taking off is one of the youngest people ever to serve in congress. It absolutely defined him. And the way it continues to define him now and make him a candidate that is more human to voters. You often hear politicians are always trying to show their relatable side when they run for office. You watch the Campaign Videos at the conventions and hear the testimonials about them and certainly President Trump and his campaign are trying to humanize him more. Biden comes with that builtin. I think the reason he does stems back to that absolutely horrible tragedy that started right at the beginning of his own political career. Host bob, your thoughts as you listen to that. Bob it is an emotional interview. You can tell he is obviously in pain then and still in pain now. You are never going to forget and it is going to shape how you view life, how you relate to others who are going through tragedies. Certainly, as a politician, someone who wanted to run for president and ran several times for president , you want to show empathy. And he really has an ability to do that. He has flaws as a candidate. His mouth gets him in trouble. He has made a lot of gaffes but he shows empathy and relates to people and thats why he won the nomination this time around and he is leading the race now, long way to go. But i do think those type of experiences, tragedy in his family life, beau passing away, it has a profound effect on anybody and it did on joe biden. Host you mentioned campaigns, he has run for president on three separate occasions, getting the nomination this year, but first announcing back in 1987 and we were in wilmington, delaware. Senator biden 15 years ago, we said the key to restoring confidence in our traditions and institutions was public first who would stand up and tell the American People exactly what they saw. And what i said that day in 1972, i mean to be that candidate and with the griss of god and the support of the American People, i mean to be that kind of president. Host susan, why did he run and why did his campaign flame out . Susan he was compelling at the time and exciting candidate. He shook up that race getting in as someone young and compelling from delaware. I think he probably could have gone pretty far in that primary, but he was derailed and the issue was about a speech he delivered that people accused him of plagiarizing. That pretty much ended it for him at the time and he returned to his perch on the Senate Judiciary committee where he had become chairman. A lot of people had thought he would be an exciting new person to run for president and shake up the race. All of a sudden, it was over based on the accusation that he plagiarized his speech. Host there was another moment that got a lot of attention after the plagiarism story was revealed. We were with joe biden in New Hampshire in april of 1987, one of those town Hall Meetings and house parties and he had this exchange. Lets watch and get your reaction. Reporter what law school did you attend and where did you place in that class . Senator biden i have a much higher iqs than you did, i suspect. I went to law school on a full academic scholarship and only one in my class. And first year in law school i didnt want to go to law school and ended up in the bottom 2 3 of my class and i decided to stay and went back to law school. I ended up in the top half of my class. I won the International Moot Court competition and outstanding student in the Political Science department. I graduated from three degrees. With three degrees from undergraduate school and 165 credits. And i would be delighted to sit sit down the data and compare my i q to yours. Reporter im not questioning your i q. Im just saying the people that have been elected to office in recent years, i think their credentials are very solid. Senator biden it seems to me if you can speak you are a liability to the Democratic Party. Seems you have become heartless technocrats. It seems to me that you forget that what happens is we have never as a party move this nation by 14 point position papers and nine point programs. It seems to me that we got involved in the civil rights movement, nobody asked Martin Luther king what is legislative agenda was. He marched to change attitudes. When the Womens Movement started, it did not move with a constitutional amendment, a march to change attitude. And this party better understand full well its about time we change our attitude and we begin to change the attitudes of americans about what their responsibilities are to the poor and responsibilities are to other people and what our responsibility in the world is and that requires change in attitudes. Frank, you will see my 15point plans and 19point position papers and you will be able to make a judgment. Who knows more about Foreign Policy, gary or me and Dick Gephardt or i know more about economic policy. But ultimately frank, this country needs a leader and leader change attitudes. If the ironic twist that in the wake of ronald reagan, the only thing he knew how to do was the one thing that is now being of the currency of what is being devalued so much. Your question before i get into comparing iqs. Host that from april of 1987. Your take away . Hart imploded. It was a promising field and it became very dramatic when some of these leading candidates ended up having to drop out. There are questions about what biden was saying there about his own personal resume. That they have been raised again during this current election cycle about whether he was really at the top of his class, he really had a scholarship, all of these claims he was making at the time. Again, it hurt his credibility. Now that he is running again at his age, it is not really as big of an issue. It has not come up. Im not sure if it will come up in any of the debates again. You heard him on the defense really talking to the report he reporter. That was a long and very defensive sort of speech there he gave. He does that a little bit now on the campaign trail. I think we have seen there are clips of him going at it with reporters are basically just asking standard questions. He gets very defensive. It almost seems to be on the attack a little bit against the reporter. That is baked in about biden at this point, at least in my syrians of covering him, he does respond that way when he is on the defensive. When he feels like the question is not a fair one and good at filling in and filibustering and getting very defensive at the same time. And thats what you saw in that clip. Host lets turn to another chapter in joe bidens career as the chair of the Senate Judiciary committee and set the stage for Clarence Thomas and the entry of anita hill. Bob this was a very controversial time during the 1990s and Clarence Thomas was viewed as extremely conservative, but an africanamerican republican. And then you had really the circus atmosphere of anita hill testifying claiming that thomas had said things that he adamantly said he did not. It went through this rocky nomination process and joe biden attracted criticism from both the right and the left and it continued. To some degree, it continues to dog him to this day of how he handled the hearings. This was really one of the defining moments of that