Apologies for the late reply... the Biden back then was a completely different animal. He was the same liar, hypocrite, and smug uweasel that he is now, but his memory was functional. He was *better* at lying, but the people knew it and treated him accordingly.
He still stole ideas and claimed he did things he didn't, but back then the press was objective, and would call him on it.
He was forced out of the 1988 POTUS race when it surfaced, thru the efforts of a much more honest media at the time, that he had engaged in extensive plagiarism.