ST LOUIS - DEMOCRATIC vice presidential candidate Joe Biden choked up during his live debate with Republican rival Sarah Palin on Friday as he recalled his tragic personal story.
The notion somehow because I'm a man I don't know what it's like to raise two kids alone, I don't know what it's like to have a child you're not sure is going to make it,' he said, before his voice cracked and he paused to compose himself.
'I understand, I understand,' he said.
Just weeks after his election in 1972, his first wife Neilia, and 13-month-old daughter, Naomi, were killed in a car accident.
His sons Beau and Hunt were badly hurt.
He was sworn in at the hospital bedside of one of his sons and still refuses to work on December 18, the day of the accident.
Before the debate, discussion had centered on how the veteran Biden would deal with his younger, less experienced female opponent, with fears among Democrats that he would appear bullying or condescending.
Mr Biden was responding to comments from Palin about her connection with the heartland of America through her experience of 'being a mom, one very concerned about a son in the war, about a special needs child,about kids heading off to college, how are we going to pay those tuition bills?' -- AFP