WASHINGTON — Joe Biden looked so young during his first Senate term in the 1970s, Secretary of State Henry Kissinger once mistook him for a staffer.

Now the white-haired, 66-year-old vice president-elect brings an extensive Washington resume to the new administration.

Born in Scranton, Pa., Biden's roots run deep in Delaware, where he was elected just shy of his 30th birthday. Just before his first term, Biden's first wife, Neilia, and infant daughter, Naomi, were killed and his sons, Beau and Hunter, were critically injured in a car accident in 1972 while Christmas shopping. His sons fully recovered.

Beau is now Delaware's attorney general and an Army National Guard lawyer who recently deployed to Iraq. Hunter is a Washington lawyer.

Biden married his second wife, Jill, in 1977, and had a daughter, Ashley, a social worker.

Biden's voting record has been moderate to liberal. He counts among his accomplishments the 1994 crime bill that put 100,000 more police officers on the street and the Violence Against Women Act that targeted domestic violence and rape.

Biden sees the office of vice president primarily as advisory. He has been critical of Vice President Dick Cheney's broad interpretation of his role, calling him during a debate "the most dangerous vice president we've had."

On the day Obama chose him as his running mate, Biden said he would bring "seasoning" and "perspective" to an Obama administration.