Biden Reportedly "Shifts In Favor" Of 2020 Presidential Bid

Earlier this week, former Vice President Joe Biden admitted that his "biggest regret in life" was not currently occupying the White House...the statement left us wondering whether he also regrets growing old, balding and not owning 75 Lambo"s...perhaps we"ll never know for sure.

But, of all of Joe"s "regrets" in life, perhaps his missed opportunity at occupying the Oval Office is one that he may seek to rectify in the near future.  As Politico reports, after months/years of waffling on the topic, Joe Biden has apparently "shifted in favor" of a new Presidential bid in 2020.

Joe Biden thinks it’s critical that Donald Trump not get a second term — and though it’s early, he doesn’t yet see anyone else who could stop that from happening.

 

So, he"s been telling people privately, that might mean he’ll just have to run himself.

 

After beginning the year both teasing a 2020 bid and ruling one out — sometimes on the same day — Biden in recent months has shifted unmistakably in favor of running, say multiple people who’ve been in touch with the former vice president and his team.

 

For the first time in what would be the sixth presidential campaign that he’s either seriously flirted with or launched, Biden sees an argument for a candidacy for which he is the only answer: An elder statesman who can help repair the damage and divisions in the country and around the world, unite the competing wings of the Democratic Party, and appeal to traditional Democratic voters who fled last year for Trump.

Of course, in typical fashion for the political world, other Politico sources in the Biden realm denied rumors of a 2020 run, saying instead that he is "laser-focused on his book tour."

Next week, Biden will launch a tour for his new book, “Promise Me, Dad,” a memoir of his relationship with his son Beau, whose death in May 2015 triggered both the last-minute exploration by Biden of a 2016 run and the emotional devastation that ultimately caused him to pull the plug.

 

People familiar with the planning describe the tour as deliberately structured to avoid politics. Biden"s staff is pushing off nearly every request to appear at fundraisers or other political events while he’s traveling for it.

 

But there’s another, more subtle purpose, some acknowledge: to test Biden’s emotional stamina, should he decide to throw himself fully into a presidential run.

 

“Right now, he’s pretty laser-focused on the book tour. Get through that and go see what we can do in ‘18, and see where things are then,” said a person in touch with Biden’s advisers, who have stayed in close communication since leaving their government jobs in January.

Meanwhile, in the end, the decision to run may not be left to Biden with many Democrats wary about pegging the future of the party on a candidate who will be 77 by 2020, the oldest potential candidate in the field other than Bernie Sanders. Though a clutch player in both Obama campaigns, he has proved to be bad at running for president himself, and would likely be facing a raucous and crowded primary full of candidates determined not to step aside and repeat the Hillary Clinton coronation.

Oh well, one can only hope for a little more of this...

Biden 2020: Former VP Continues To Fuel Speculation Of Presidential Ambitions

Last week at the SALT conference in Las Vegas, Joe Biden sent some mixed messages about a potential 2020 presidential run.  First, he took a shot at Hillary saying she "was never a great candidate" though he followed that up by adding that she "would have been a really good president"...which makes perfectly good sense.  Then Biden went on to talk about how he has no intentions of running in 2020 just before confirming that he "may very well do it."

Of course, with politicians you can generally learn more about their intentions through their actions rather than their rhetoric.  And Biden"s intense speaking schedule seems to reflect that of a candidate that has presidential ambitions.  Per The Hill:

Still, Biden’s busy recent schedule of events and appearances suggests he hasn’t entirely ruled out another bid.

Biden has attended a hedge fund conference in Las Vegas and a fundraiser for New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D). His jam-packed calendar also includes upcoming speeches at the Florida Democratic Party and at a few college commencements. Biden will also receive an award at the Democratic National Committee’s (DNC) LGBT Gala next month.

But the appearance that drew the loudest buzz was Biden’s speech last month at a state party dinner in New Hampshire — a critical early state in the presidential primary circuit. During his speech, Biden sought to tamp down the 2020 rumors.

"When I got asked to speak, I knew it was going to cause speculation," Biden said to applause, only to add, "Guys, I"m not running.”

If successful, Biden would be 78 by the time he took office making him, by far, the oldest president in history. 

A recent poll from Public Policy Polling found Biden as the leading Democratic contender in a hypothetical matchup against Trump with a head-to-head lead of 14 points, 54% to 40%.  Of course, we"ve seen this story playout before with pollsters persistently underestimating Trump"s support through 2016.

And while those numbers may seem comforting, even close Democratic strategists don"t think Biden will run in 2020.

“I don’t have any idea what he’s going to do other than what he says publicly, which is he’s not inclined to do it at this point. I don’t think he knows what he’s going to do honestly,” said Steve Schale, a former Obama campaign aide in Florida who worked on the Draft Biden movement in 2016. He noted that he hasn’t spoken to Biden since Christmas.

“The idea that Joe Biden would continue to do what he’s done for 40 years … shouldn"t come to anybody’s surprise, nor do I think anybody should read into it that he’s definitely made a decision. He’s keeping his word that he was going to remain active in the public space and work on the issues he cares about.”

“This is who he is, this is what he’s done his whole life,” Schale said. “I think you’re going to see Joe Biden remain a pretty prominent fixture in American politics.”

"He has a very valuable role to play, but I don’t think he’s in the same league with the Sanders and Warrens of the world,” said Democratic strategist Brad Bannon. “They have bigger microphones and platforms to speak from.”

That said, one Democratic strategist had the guts to point out the real reason that Biden will likely never be the Democratic candidate for president: “I think Democrats are going to want a new face, somebody fresh"....which can be loosely translated as "he"s too white and too old."