Vice President Joe Biden will be 70 in 2012. He will be 74 in 2016, when he might consider running for President, at least according to what he allegedly told some Democratic donors at a fundraiser recently.
Democratic contributors said [Biden] alluded to the possibility during a fundraiser Thursday in Cincinnati while talking up the Obama administration. The reference itself was described as a vague, off-the-cuff comment. But the upshot was clear: He hasn’t ruled out a 2016 run. “When the words came out of his mouth, I thought, ‘Well, that’s interesting,’ ” said one attendee who asked not to be named.
…
Two guests said Biden was responding to a question about what he liked about being vice president when he briefly wandered into the topic of his own political prospects, speaking extemporaneously in typical Biden fashion. He said that while people don’t think he would run, he could seek the nomination, according to one of the guests. He didn’t give a year, but the guest assumed he was talking about 2016.
“The words were something to the effect of, ‘Yes, I might seek the nomination,’ ” the guest said. “He certainly didn’t rule it out.”…
When it came to his future, Biden was basically saying that his next step is a long way away and a variety of things would affect his decision, including his health, the guest said. “It was not an aggressive statement,” said the longtime supporter and fundraiser. “If anything, it was more contemplative.”
Vice President Biden will not run for President in 2016. He probably waxes nostaglic about the prospect, and that is all this was. Or he was keeping the speculation going so that he doesn’t ever become a lame duck as Vice President. Regardless, he will not run. His health or age could be an issue. He may want to spend more time with Jill and his grandchildren. He may want to finally remove that shadow from Beau.
But the biggest reason is that the 2016 Democratic primary will be a wide open event, much like 2008 was in the beginning, with many candidates competing, regardless of whether the Vice President is in the race or not. Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley. Delaware Governor Jack Markell. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. Montana Goveror Brian Schweitzer. Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick. Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe. North Carolina Governor Beverly Perdue. Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar. Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill. Ohio Senator Sherrold Brown. And I haven’t mentioned Secretary of State Hillary Clinton yet, who, despite her frequent pronouncements to the contrary, I think will run.
And while Biden will have more cache this time as a sitting Vice President, the margin for error in a field that full of rising stars is nil. And the Vice President needs much more room for error than that. No, Joe knows that the Vice Presidency is his swan song. Unrealized dreams may make him wistfully speculate from time to time, but it is nothing more than that.