I worked at The Onion for 19 years as a writer and features editor. For many people, the image of Biden that most readily springs to mind is the one of Diamond Joe, shirtless and grinning, washing his Trans Am in the White House driveway. A deeper dive on Biden never felt necessary. Today, Biden is the frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination , despite women calling him out for touching them in ways that made them uncomfortable at public events , and despite objections from the left wing of the party. As I watch him campaign as an old -fashioned, -school, -old centrist, I realize how badly we screwed up. Instead of viciously skewering a public figure who deserved scrutiny, we let him off easy.

Navigation menu

Behind The Scenes Of Biden’s VP Selection Process
Before we begin, let's make one thing clear, the man in the photo above is Diamond Joe Biden, The Onion's beloved and infamous portrayal of Vice-president Joe Biden. How closely he relates to the flesh and blood vice-president is up for debate, but The Onion's styling seems to have bred a certain mystique about actual Biden and his behaviors. The Onion's Joe Biden fancies cheap beer and nights of debauchery, actual Biden reportedly does not drink alcohol and was one of the youngest people elected to the senate at age Autobiographic tales of the latter are now preserved in The Onion's first e-book, The President of Vice , which was released last week. An excerpt from Chapter One: "I got squeezed out into this crazy world in , give or take a year. Bit iffy on my exact age, cuz I spent a hell of a lot more time celebrating my birthdays than counting them.
The Atlantic Crossword
They are both larger-than-life characters, and there are times when headlines about one could be written about the other. For instance:. Real Joe Biden: Hangs out with bikers at a campaign stop, and nuzzles one on the head. Swears in a baby. In another breath, he describedBiden as being akin to those rebel teenagers who stand outside high schools smoking cigarettes. You know, "those kids out there with their Pantera shirts talking about metal concerts.
Instead, he began as a distinct character with outrageous qualities who shared little in common with his source. The Onion variously portrayed Biden as a blue-collar " average Joe ", an affable "goofy uncle", a muscle car driver, a raucous party animal, a petty criminal, and even a drug-dealing gang member—all while serving as the 47th vice president of the United States. The character became one of The Onion ' s most popular recurring features during the Obama presidency , garnering critical acclaim and large numbers of page views. Although Biden was mentioned in The Onion as early as , he had not been the focus of an Onion piece until Obama's and his inauguration in January Staff writer Chad Nackers originated a distinctive version of Biden, which developed over the course of the real Biden's two terms as vice president between and The character subsequently appeared in more than 50 Onion articles, as well as numerous videos and other media. Despite the radical discrepancies between the fictional character and the real politician, The Onion ' s depiction of Biden was often regarded as having a significant, mostly positive influence on his public image.