Inside story of Biden's undoing: 'Infighting, frustration and an insular inner circle'

Standing at a lectern at Washington's National Cathedral last Thursday, Joe Biden delivered the eulogy for former President Jimmy Carter while three other former presidents – Bill Clinton, George W Bush and Barack Obama – and the once and future president, Donald Trump, looked on.

Each spectating president had achieved the validation of the American people (re-election to a second term) that has eluded Biden. And as Biden, whose term comes to an end next week, paid tribute to Carter, a fellow one-term president, it was hard not to draw other parallels too.

"Many think he was from a bygone era, but in reality, he saw well into the future," Biden said of Carter. He went on to note Carter's accomplishments in advancing civil rights, his work on peace and nuclear non-proliferation, and his efforts to protect the environment.

Earlier in the week, however, Biden was making the case for his own legacy and how history should judge him.