[140] He was considered a strong candidate because of his moderate image, his speaking ability, his high profile as chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee at the upcoming Robert Bork Supreme Court nomination hearings, and his appeal to Baby Boomers; he would have been the second-youngest person elected president, after John F. Kennedy.[39][141][142] He raised more in the first quarter of 1987 than any other candidate.[141][142]
By August his campaign's messaging had become confused due to staff rivalries,[143] and in September, he was accused of plagiarizing a speech by British Labour Party leader Neil Kinnock.[144] Biden's speech had similar lines about being the first person in his family to attend university. Biden had credited Kinnock with the formulation on previous occasions,[145][146] but did not on two occasions in late August.[147]: 230–232 [146] Kinnock himself was more forgiving; the two men met in 1988, forming an enduring friendship.[148]
Earlier that year he had also used passages from a 1967 speech by Robert F. Kennedy (for which his aides took blame) and a short phrase from John F. Kennedy's inaugural address; two years earlier he had used a 1976 passage by Hubert Humphrey.