His public appearances have taken on a somewhat reflective tone. The recent death of his son, Beau, added an emotional component. In 1988 Biden had two surgeries to address the effects of cranial aneurysms with only a 50 percent chance of success.
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This week, as media speculation over a Biden candidacy has re-ignited, the vice president is in Delaware with his family, celebrating his granddaughter’s birthday.
We talk about authenticity a lot in politics. Or that they really want to talk about it. When Sen. Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump demonstrate authenticity, voters swarm them. He’d generate some significant interest, but would come in too late to have enough resources to compete effectively or to even pull together a proficient campaign. Sen. Lindsey Graham was brought to tears recently describing Biden.
Simmons, who was eager to point out he was “fully on board” with the idea of a Clinton presidency, was alluding to the main character in the 1998 movie of the same name, played by Warren Beatty, who spoke his mind in cavalier fashion.
Biden himself hasn’t hinted whether he’s prepared to enter the race.
At an event earlier this month in New York City celebrating the Supreme Court’s gay marriage decision, Biden spoke about his long career as a progressive advocate in the Senate and about how his relationship with his father helped shape his views on same-sex marriage. The Secret Service has been known to cover windows at events he’ll be at, not to stop snipers from getting a potential sight in, but to stop him from seeing the crowds outside and going out. Those calls of support contain genuine respect, admiration, and gratitude.
Amid questions about Hillary Clinton’s authenticity, the vice president’s aides and associates see his gaffe-prone yet honest reputation as an increasingly valuable asset if he were to jump into the 2016 Democratic race. He is not of a new generation, nor does he have a particular ideological advantage.
Perhaps at a time of corrosive political polarization, the Democratic Party needs someone who is a figure of reassurance, who doesn’t generate the kind of sulfurous animosity that has made our political campaigns into demolition derbies.
Clinton’s coronation by lava flow hasn’t exactly inspired the feelings of a movement that Democrats still in withdrawal from Obama’s 2008 campaign are hoping for.
That isn’t to say that Biden couldn’t win; it just would require the Clinton campaign’s total collapse. Pierce was a volunteer on Biden’s 2008 campaign. Clinton has a core of passionate supporters.
U.S. President Barack Obama (R) and Vice President Joe Biden walk back to the Oval Office after speaking about the Supreme Court ruling to uphold the nationwide availability of tax subsidies under Obamacare.
The would-be passengers are more than just Biden die-hards and Hillary Clinton nervous nellies.
The Times, citing several people who have spoken with him and his advisers, said the Biden camp was contacting Democratic leaders and donors who have not firmly committed to Clinton, or might be concerned about her prospects. This may be more a resultof timing than better performance, but as the old saying goes, “life isunfair”.
The response from Clinton’s campaign has been mannerly and muted.
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The widespread fondness for Biden in Democratic circles does not change the challenging political realities with which he would be faced, however. It’s not unlike what happened with Mitt Romney earlier in the year.
