Fascinating Politico article here about Joe Biden and his desire to run in 2016. Here is the basic problem, in a nutshell: Hillary Clinton is more or less qualified to be President* – or, at least, the Democratic nominee for President – but she is a horrible campaigner and nobody likes her. People like Joe Biden, and he is better at the entire campaigning thing. However: by the time 2016 rolls around “close to the Obama administration” is not going to be a selling point in the general election… and while both Clinton and Biden severely suffer from that problem, Biden suffers from it a heck of a lot more.
What the Democrats need is a two-term governor who will be no older than 60 or so in 2016 and who can promise a return to normalcy. ‘Alas,’ the RGA did yeoman work in culling that herd in 2010, and is planning to do a little more culling in 2014.
But never mind me. I’m just this guy on the Internet.
Via
Biden upset VP gets crappy assignments, that his gaffes get him frozen out by Pres? Funniest. Thing. Ever. http://t.co/piuDKdTanB
— Brian Faughnan (@BrianFaughnan) February 28, 2014
Moe Lane
PS: I could have brought up the age/health things for Clinton and Biden more explicitly, sure. But you already know about them, right?
*Activist First Lady, elected twice as Senator from New York and served as Secretary of State. Not the most impressive resume for this job – there hasn’t been a truly successful Congressional President since Truman – but… adequate, I suppose.
I’m not sure that the whole ‘tainted by association’ thing will affect Biden all that much, really. Because there’s nobody paying the least bit of attention who believes that Biden’s done anything other than pass the canapés for the entire administration, at least as far as policy decisions go. Clinton is much more tainted by actual policy.
I don’t think it’s much of a problem for Democrats.
Biden is an idiot, and a walking gaffe machine. Most of the partisan Dems I know don’t even try to defend him.
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It’s possible that he’ll win a majority of the primary elections and a majority of the superdelegates, but it’s vanishingly unlikely.
I cannot believe that I am about to say this but:
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Biden is far and away a better choice as a candidate and (I believe) for President…
It’s painful to think about, but I believe you’re right. For one thing, I don’t believe Biden’s goal is to “fundamentally transform this country.” For another, Biden isn’t a member of a protected class, so people who criticize his words, actions, and policies won’t be reflexively condemned as racists or sexists.
The big danger is that Biden will choose a “Progressive” minority group member — Elizabeth Warren or Deval Patrick, for example — as his running mate to satisfy various Democratic Party constituencies, and that Biden will thereafter cease to be President for medical reasons.
And Truman barely won his only election at the top of the ticket.
What happens if both Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden decide or are unable to run due to health concerns? Who’s in the second tier of Democrat candidates? Elizabeth Warren? John Kerry? *shudder*
The heck of it is, if the GOP can’t come up with someone truly inspirational to lead the ticket, we’re all too lujwly to fi d out just how awful the ‘craft’s third string really is