At a certain point, we suppose Joe Biden took a look at the state of the 2016 race for The White House and thought: "why not me?"
Reports now suggest that the Vice President may be considering a run for the Democratic nomination after a meeting in Washington with Elizabeth Warren seemed to indicate that Biden was seriously considering declaring his candidacy. Here’s WSJ with more [13]:
Vice President Joe Biden, who has long been considering a presidential bid, is increasingly leaning toward entering the race if it is still possible he can knit together a competitive campaign at this late date, people familiar with the matter said.
Mr. Biden still could opt to sit out the 2016 race, and he is weighing multiple political, financial and family considerations before making a final decision. But conversations about the possibility were a prominent feature of an August stay in South Carolina and his home in Delaware last week, these people said. A surprise weekend trip to Washington to meet with Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.), a darling of the party’s liberal wing, represented a pivot from potential to likely candidate, one Biden supporter said.
And more from TheHill [14]:
Vice President Joe Biden made a surprise visit to Washington, D.C.’s Naval Observatory on Saturday for a confidential talk with Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), CNN reported.
Biden’s return to the District comes amid buzz he is seriously weighing a 2016 Oval Office bid.
CNN said that two sources confirmed the pair’s face-to-face, the biggest indicator yet that Biden is seriously tempted by an Oval Office bid next year.
“The vice president traveled last minute to Washington, D.C. for a private meeting and will be returning to Delaware,” an aide told CNN. Biden spokeswoman Kendra Barkoff declined further comment on the alleged rendezvous.
CNN initially reported Saturday that Biden arrived in Washington around 11 a.m. and had planned on returning home to Wilmington, Del., later in the weekend.
Warren, a beloved figure in progressive circles, has resisted calls to mount her own presidential candidacy. She reportedly told WBZ radio in Boston on Friday that she considers the 2016 Democratic primary up for grabs.
“I don’t think anyone has been anointed,” said Warren, who has not yet endorsed a candidate.
Indeed they have not, especially now that a Reuters investigation seems to indicate [15] that in fact, many of the e-mails Hillary Clinton sent and received on her home server may have been "presumed classified".
As we never tire of reiterating, the endemic corruption, crony capitalism, rampant regulatory capture, and licentious logrolling that many voters have come to associate with the American political process has created a deep-seated desire for change and if there are two names which most certainly do not portend a break from business as usual inside the Beltway they are "Bush" and "Clinton."
Of course electing the Vice President doesn’t exactly scream "change" either, and Biden would likely begin the race well behind Clinton in the polls.
Nevertheless, Clinton’s attempts to play down the increasingly serious e-mail investigation by employing a mix of dark humor and disdain for GOP lawmakers' supposed witch hunt hasn’t seemed to go over well with voters and indeed, Bernie Sanders now looks to be a serious contender. So in short, it’s not entirely clear why Biden wouldn’t at least give it a shot. Or at least that's the narrative. Here’s CNN [16]:
Biden is increasingly weighing whether to challenge Hillary Clinton and other Democratic candidates for the party's presidential nomination. A small team of advisers has spent weeks quietly putting together a campaign strategy and fundraising plan in case Biden decides to run. He had at least one meeting with them this week in Wilmington, one person familiar with the session told CNN.
He has told his associates he intends to make his decision in the next month, an announcement that could upend the fight for the Democratic presidential nomination.
With the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary six months away, Biden is the leading figure Democrats believe they could turn to if they needed to find an alternative to Clinton, whose favorability ratings have taken a deep hit as her email use while secretary of state is drawing deeper controversy.
Biden, 72, has a large and loyal collection of friends and advisers from more than four decades in Washington. Yet even inside his sprawling constellation, affectionately known as "Biden World."
We're sure they'll be much more on this to come in the weeks ahead, so for now we'll simply close by saying that it if you thought the first GOP primary debate was entertaining, just wait until the 2016 Presidential debate pits Donald Trump against Joe Biden.
And if you, like us, think "why not?" isn't a satisfactory answer to the question "why Joe Biden?" here's a video from the "DraftBiden" movement that endeavors to provide a bit more in the way of a justification:
