Biden-McConnell : Will two 80-year-old dealmakers control the crazies on Capitol Hill?

IN 1972, Joe Biden was first elected to the US Senate. But just weeks later, and before he was sworn into office, his wife and infant daughter were killed in a car accident.

Two terms later in 1984, Biden was re-elected for his third stint in the Senate. That same year, a young Republican from Kentucky, Mitch McConnell, was elected for the first time to the Upper Chamber. And not unlike Senator Biden in his upset victory in 1972, McConnell surprised the pundits with a razor-thin win over a veteran incumbent.

Born nine months apart and regarded as ardent admirers of the institution of the Senate, the two senators have a work relationship that has evolved into a personal friendship over the 30 years that they overlapped in the chamber.