DENVER — Hawai'i's delegates to the Democratic National Convention cheered and roared last night as U.S. Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware formally accepted the nomination to be Barack Obama's vice presidential running mate.

But even if they weren't entirely thrilled, this would have been no time to say so. Conventions are no time for political doubters to show their colors.

But in the case of at least one delegate, there was no doubt. And that delegate would be Biden's Senate colleague, Daniel Inouye.

Inouye and Biden are far more than colleagues who have served together in the Senate for more than 35 years. They have a deep political alliance that spans issues from energy and the environment to the loyal support the two give to the Jewish lobby in Washington.

In fact, Inouye is hoping Biden's high profile within the Jewish community will help ease the ticket's difficulties among Jewish voters, many of whom are uncertain about the depth of Obama's commitment to Israel. The powerful American-Israel Political Affairs Committee, Inouye said, is "very happy, believe me, very happy" with this turn of events.

"There are 10 members of the faith in the Senate, and they know he (Biden) is with them," Inouye said.

Where did Biden, a blue-collar Catholic from Scranton, Pa., develop an affinity with his Jewish neighbors?

Inouye points out that Scranton — like, say, Kalihi — was built on a checkerboard of ethnic enclaves. Kalihi is divided into Filipino, Japanese, Hawaiian and other enclaves. Scranton tended to divide itself into Irish neighborhoods, German neighborhoods, Jewish neighborhoods and so forth.

Biden, he said, made alliances across those enclaves and, to this day, holds those friendships dear.

The Inouye-Biden political relationship goes back a long way. When Biden was first elected to the Senate in 1972 at the astonishingly young age of 29, Majority Leader Mike Mansfield assigned the more senior Inouye and several other senators to show the kid the ropes.

They quickly became friends and, in 1987, when Biden announced he would be a candidate for president, Inouye was at his side.

He even formally signed on as campaign chairman, a job that ended when Biden withdrew in September following charges that he had cribbed portions of a campaign speech.

About a year later, Biden returned the political favor.

Inouye had decided to run for the post of Senate Majority Leader. Competition was stiff between Inouye, U.S. Sen. George Mitchell and U.S. Sen. J. Bennett Johnson of Louisiana. Biden became Inouye's staunchest supporter in that fight, won by Mitchell.

In the Senate, that kind of loyalty counts for a lot.

Earlier in 1988, after suffering neck pains, Biden was hospitalized and underwent surgery to correct brain aneurysms. The surgery and recovery kept Biden away from his Senate duties for months and led to talk within the Senate that he should consider stepping down.

That, said Inouye, was a painful thing to bring up with his friend, because he knew quitting was not part of Biden's nature.

"You know, once you quit, you're on your way down," Inouye said. "But not this guy, he just keeps moving."

That battle over his health was far from the first crisis Biden had to face. In 1972, just after he won election to the Senate for the first time, his wife and infant daughter were killed in a pre-Christmas car accident. His two sons were seriously injured but recovered.

This, suggested Inouye, is a blow many men would be unable to handle.

"He's had moments of extreme crisis that would have led to the collapse of a lesser man," Inouye said.

Inouye admits his friend has a deserved reputation for talking too much and, at times, out of turn.

"He knows there are times when he speaks, it's not always in a prepared manner," Inouye said. "But it's from the heart.

"You know, he'll say something like: 'That's outrageous!' rather than something more polite.

"But it's from the heart."