Vice President Joe Biden is leaning towards a run, and will indeed announce before the October 13th Democratic debate, according to The Hill:
Several Democratic donors who have met with Biden also told CBS News they came away with the impression that he would run.
The sources say Biden will sit out the first Democratic primary debate Oct. 13 even if he announces his candidacy before then.
A spokesperson for the vice president did not comment to CBS News on the report.
I bet.
Biden has been going back and forth on this for awhile. You have to respect the reasons — the loss of his closest advisor (his son) is tough, and to have his ghost following him for the next 13 months on the campaign trail second guessing every move, cheering every accomplishment, and suffering through every gaffe is a difficult thing. One can empathize…
…but more interesting than this? Biden will more than likely come from Hillary’s right in some respects (life and national security, for instance) while capturing all of the spirit of the progressive left on health care, jobs, and so forth.
Plus Biden has that extra special Teflon coating enjoyed by people such as Reagan, Clinton (Bill variant), and Trump.
Additional fact? Sitting VPOTUS candidates are 5 for 5 in the modern era in seeking their party’s nomination. Gore was the last one who tried… and Bush narrowly handed him a defeat in 2000.
If Biden runs… Biden wins. At least, the Democratic nomination contest. The question remains whether or not the Republicans will find a candidate that can either appeal to the center, or bring in enough disaffected voters in order to forge victory — all while staring down a demographic deficit of about 3 points.
