Joe Biden is running for the Democratic nomination, and why shouldn’t he?
It is basically official. Biden will be the straight-talking, blue collar, non-Clinton alternative to Ms. Clinton. So what if he is polling at 12% to Clinton’s 72%? He has always wanted to be the President of the United States and you have 0% chance of making the shots you don’t take.
Would he be a good President? Well, what’s your criteria? He would be better than any of the Republican alternatives, to be sure. Would he be better than Hillary Clinton? I guess we’ll be able to hear him make the case for why he would. In the process I only hope that he doesn’t load up the GOP with a lot of ammunition to use against her if (when?) he falls short.
Over the Christmas holidays, Biden convened a series of meetings at his secluded two-story house in Wilmington to discuss his strategy for the next two years, surrounded by his sister, son Hunter, Kaufman, Klain, Ricchetti, Murray and Mike Donilon. The basic plan entails hitting the road as much as possible to campaign for candidates in this year’s congressional elections and to tout infrastructure improvements around the country. Klain, according to several sources, has drafted another one of his famous memos outlining the narrowest of paths for positioning Biden in the 2016 race: either as a progressive alternative to Clinton or as an heir apparent, ready to pounce if she decides not to run. Klain predicted there was a “significant” chance Clinton would take a pass, due to illness or a reluctance to endure the personal trials of another presidential run. The others at the Biden retreat also came away feeling that Clinton would ultimately decide not to run—an indication of stunning prescience or group delusion.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/02/joe-biden-profile-103667_Page5.html#ixzz2vNXFxV5F
Just based on that I don’t see a problem. If he is running as the progressive alternative to Clinton, that doesn’t open up a bunch of lines of attack for the GOP, and if he is just going to hang around in case she stumbles, quits or begs off, then what’s the harm?
If Biden gets out over the next 7 months, articulating a mostly progressive message while taking it to the wingnuts, things could get interesting. If he can articulate a message that wins for Ds, it gets better. But I wouldn’t hold my breath.
Great point. If he wants to build up some campaign steam, helping Dems win this mid-term by slapping down a bunch of wingnut BS would be a great start.
And instead of Howard Dean and whoever else wants to run to push Hillary to the left, maybe Joe Biden will do it. Which would be more effective, really.
He ended Guliani’s campaign DURING the primary last time out, and he seemed to get off on it. If he went after Rubio, Christie, Bush, and Paul Jr. with the same gusto, I’d be down with that.
Nope, make it stop. Those of us with something of a memory remember Joe’s endless attempts in decades past and relish them not. My favorite being the one where he thought endless repetition of “crime and drugs” was the stuff of victory and met yet another defeat.
The Clinton campaign would welcome Biden in the race. He would protect her left flank, and he would surely treat her with kid gloves… which is exactly what she would want in an opponent. In fact, It wouldn’t surprise me if they have already planned this together.
And, he would be a suitable replacement if something unexpected happens.
So, I’m guessing he’ll be in it, but not to win. He is also the most likely VP candidate. There’s no two term limit on that, and I think Biden would be happy with that (and a special place in history trivia).
I suppose the only challenge would be how Obama approaches (or, hopefully avoids) the “conflict”. I dont think Biden will get the nomination, but if it gets to a point where Obama has to endorse someone, it could get awkward. Is Clinton snubbed again? Is VP Biden thrown under the bus? If Obama doesnt want Biden to succeed him, why did he pick him as VP? Dumb questions, I know…. but they are the questions that will be asked and discussed by our Media…. and we all know how productive and reasonable THAT is going to be.
Hopefully, those who have reservations about Clinton will have more grace than the PUMA morons had back in 2008.
Based on the essay linked to above, Biden never had the support of Obama’s people, so I don’t know that he’d be looking for a ringing endorsement from Obama.
Even so, given the President’s somewhat non-committed personal style, it wouldn’t be very hard for him to say, “The country is very lucky to have these two great candidates to pick from.”
What makes anyone think Joe Biden is to the “left” of Hillary in any meaningful way? Joe isn’t exactly the conscience of the Democratic party.
Elections are more politics than policy. Biden has sorta telegraphed that he wouldn’t be progressive in anything other than PR terms. He’d be throwing around the Scranton, working class baloney by the shovel full.
It’s not whether or not he would be a good president. It’s whether or not he can get elected. And that clown can not get elected even if he was given the Dem nomination.