In 1968, based on a physical examination, he was given a conditional medical deferment; in 2008, a spokesperson for Biden said his having had "asthma as a teenager" was the reason for the deferment.[38]
In 1968, Biden clerked at a Wilmington law firm headed by prominent local Republican William Prickett and, he later said, "thought of myself as a Republican".[39][40] He disliked incumbent Democratic Delaware governor Charles L. Terry's conservative racial politics and supported a more liberal Republican, Russell W. Peterson, who defeated Terry in 1968.[39] Biden was recruited by local Republicans but registered as an Independent because of his distaste for Republican presidential candidate Richard Nixon.[39]
In 1969, Biden practiced law, first as a public defender and then at a firm headed by a locally active Democrat[41][39] who named him to the Democratic Forum, a group trying to reform and revitalize the state party;[42] Biden subsequently reregistered as a Democrat.[39] He and another attorney also formed a law firm.[41] Corporate law did not appeal to him, and criminal law did not pay well.[16] He supplemented his income by managing properties.