Politics

By Alexandra Silver

Campaign Insider. Joe Biden's national chair has known him since he was ... 3

She had no desire to hold office herself, but Valerie Biden Owens--once a social-studies teacher and now an executive at a strategic-consulting firm--has run every one of big brother Joe's campaigns. For his 2008 presidential bid, she has traded the title of campaign manager for that of national chair, a position that allows Biden Owens, 62, to serve as a surrogate on the trail as well as "the last filter" when it comes to crafting campaign messages. She signs off on all ads and grapples with the task of making her brother heard in a crowded Democratic field in which he's often dismissed as being right on the issues but too far behind to stand a chance.

The siblings have faced bigger challenges. Biden Owens helped raise the Delaware Senator's children after his first wife and daughter were killed in a car accident. So despite their uphill battle--polls typically place Biden fifth among the Democratic candidates--Biden Owens insists that crowds are enthusiastic and momentum is growing. The campaign's focus is unabashedly on Iowa, where many voters remain undecided. "All we have to do is win, place or show," says Biden Owens, who has been living in the early-voting state since August. Granted, she is biased toward her brother: "He has been my best friend all my life." But she notes, "This race is really not about Joe Biden; it's much bigger than my brother's being elected President."

MATCH UP

Guess the Celeb

The impact of celebrity endorsements is highly questionable, but that doesn't stop candidates from courting famous friends. Not everyone can claim Oprah or Streisand, but even martial-arts stars and porn kings create buzz. Test your campaign and pop-culture knowledge by matching up the endorsements below:

A DENNIS KUCINICH

B MIKE HUCKABEE

C RUDY GIULIANI

D JOHN EDWARDS

E BILL RICHARDSON

1 MARTIN SHEEN

2 CHUCK NORRIS

3 BONNIE RAITT

4 ROBERT DUVALL

5 LARRY FLYNT

ANSWERS: A5, B2, C4, D3, E1

TAKING A STAND

THE ISSUE In a Dec. 5 Kennedyesque speech, Barack Obama announced his national-service plan. Declaring that "loving your country shouldn't just mean watching fireworks on the Fourth of July," the candidate joined opponents like Chris Dodd who have developed proposals to promote public service.

THE PARTICULARS Obama proposed doubling the size of the Peace Corps; more than tripling AmeriCorps' participants, to 250,000; and recruiting multilingual Americans to assist in public diplomacy efforts.

GOD-O-METER

Standing O for HRC

If Christian-right leaders want to keep claiming that Hillary Clinton is evangelical America's worst nightmare, they'll have to explain the standing ovation she received at Rick Warren's Saddleback Church. Other candidates were invited to Warren's global AIDS summit, but only Clinton showed up. (Barack Obama attended last year.) And she pointedly refused to play the outsider. "Twenty-five years ago, when mostly young gay men began dying, we certainly did not talk about it in church," Clinton told the crowd. "We've come a long way." She still has a way to go. In a recent Pew poll, the lifelong Methodist was seen as the least religious candidate.

beliefnet For daily God-o-Meter readings covering all the presidential candidates, visit beliefnet.com

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