The Case For Biden

There is certainly turmoil and trouble on both sides, and I made no effort to diminish it. There is also even a little competition on the Democrat side. The stark difference however is in the breadth of the competition on the Republican side and the relatively controlled and monotone quality of the Democrat campaign. I believe that difference is indeed meaningful and telling.

How could the Trump thing be a thing apart when he is running as a republican and it is republican voters who support him in the polls?

You realize I'm not who posted that statement don't you?

you betcha

See, right there..... you see a "breadth of competition" on the Republican side. I see crackpots, wannabe Fox News show hosts, and failed governors all trying to get attention away from the pathological narcissist who's leading them in the polls. I guess it's all perspective.

And on the other side we have a drama queen liar with few accomplishments and a crackpot.

What is your point? It better be that we cant get good people to run for President anymore. Or that both parties suck. Because that is the reality.

Who are the "failed governors" ???? Wisconsin, Ohio and Texas are doing pretty well lately under their current administrations.

I agree with you about Trump, but while we're talking about pathological narcissists, there's always our current president to consider. Trump at least provides some comic relief.

As it commonly happens in political discussions, we are both looking at the same picture but seeing different things. I kind of started this particular tangent in this particular thread, so in the interest of avoiding an endless rabbit hole I'll just say vive la difference and leave it there.

Biden Secretly Meets With Top Obama Bundler During New York Swing
Source: Bloomberg

The 28 hours Joe Biden spent in New York City at the end of last week were a whirlwind of activity—much of it feeding the mounting speculation that he is inching ever closer to launching a late-starting presidential campaign. Biden stood alongside Attorney General Loretta Lynch and announced an $80 million plan to clear the backlog of rape kits in police departments around the country. He appeared with Governor Andrew Cuomo at a rally with some of the city's most powerful unions to support Cuomo's push to hike the minimum wage. He made his now-famous appearance on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert. He took part in an evening roundtable for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. And, the next day, he delivered remarks at a 9/11 memorial aboard the Intrepid Museum, at which firefighters, cops, and other first responders chanted, “Run, Joe, run!”

Each of these events was freighted with political meaning. For some, the turn on Colbert, with Biden expressing his enduring anguish about the loss of his son Beau and his heartfelt doubts about his ability to rise emotionally to the rigors of a campaign, was the most telling, signaling what many in the political establishment have believed for weeks: that for all of Biden's dalliances with a bid, he would in the end find himself unable to get to yes.

And that may still prove true. But fewer than 12 hours after the Colbert interview aired, Biden partook in a meeting that signaled something entirely different. The meeting appeared nowhere on his public schedule. It was held in secret at his hotel in Midtown Manhattan and lasted for more than 90 minutes: a private, one-on-one session with one of the most prominent and powerful fundraising stars in the Democratic firmament—a mega-bundler who happens to be, at least for now, publicly committed to Hillary Clinton.

Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-09-14/biden-secretly-met-with-top-obama-bundler-during-new-york-swing

Interesting. Biden's earlier statement about his current doubts and lack of committment is certainly something that is reversible, should he choose to announce a new found committment. I don't fault him for proceeding carefully . Equally important I think the Democrat establishment has a particularly difficult and delicate situation on its hands. The prospects of Hillary's failure is real and perhaps imminent. However, a step that adds to these risks at a critical moment is hard to rationalize as long as hope persists.

My bet is the Clintons won't give up easily - the taste of power and the rewards associate with it are very real to them. They will likely need a nudge to get off the stage, even as the curtain comes down. I suspect the persistent Biden talk shows some folks are preparing for that possibility.

Lends credibility to my speculation that the talk show "honesty" to the tune "I am not ready to run" was a shake of the D money tree, that " not ready" meant "SHOW ME THE MONEY!".

Agreed. His statement was less than Shermanesque. ("If nominated I will not run etc...)

Just a trivia question... when you refer to it, why is it "Democrat" party and not "Democratic" party. Isn't that like saying "Republic" party and not "Republican" party?

Grammatically you may have an argument. However that is the correct name of the party. Take your issue up with them.

Who says that's the correct name? The DNC is officially The Democratic National Committee. The convention is officially The Democratic Party Convention.
I think the diminutive "Democrat" moniker was thought up by some egghead like Frank Luntz and passed along until it was part of the lexicon of the right. You are even trying to brush it off as "the correct name" with nothing to support that.

Funny how its Republicans who keep correcting it to Democrat party. That some trifling stuff right there.

Well my father was a Democrat Congressman for a couple of decades, and that's the term I grew up hearing.

I do not like Biden but we all must be mindful that unlike Hillary he knows how to play this game.

Well I guess I have to take your word for that personal family factoid. But that's worlds different than claiming it's "correct" according to the party itself. Use it if you insist, but it's not correct. I'm proud of the Democratic party and what it stands for (since the Dixiecrats left). Words matter

Give it a go, Joe': Pittsburgh union crowd cheers on Biden

By KEN THOMAS
Sep. 8, 2015 1:11 AM EDT



Vice President Joe Biden puts on a United Steelworkers hat before he spoke to a crowd before he... Read more

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Hearing chants of "Run Joe, run," Vice President Joe Biden marched in Pittsburgh's annual Labor Day parade on Monday as speculation swirled about a potential late entry into the Democratic presidential campaign.

The vice president donned a black-and-gold United Steelworkers union hat and told hundreds of union members that the gap between the wealthy and poor was hurting the nation.

"The tax code's not fair. It's simply not fair," Biden said in a city long associated with organized labor. "The wealthy aren't paying their fair share. There used to be one America."

Biden later walked along the city's downtown with a large contingent of steel workers, hearing encouraging words along the parade route.

"Give it a go, Joe!" shouted one woman.

Biden is seriously considering a late entry into the 2016 Democratic presidential campaign. His entry could jumble a Democratic contest that has seen front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton's lead diminish in early states against Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent who describes himself as a democratic socialist.

Underscoring the volatile nature of the race, an NBC News poll released Sunday showed Sanders gaining an advantage over Clinton in New Hampshire, a state where Bill and Hillary Clinton have maintained deep ties during their political careers.

Biden, however, said last week he wasn't certain if he and his family had the "emotional energy" for another campaign.

But the campaign was clearly on the minds of his audience. During a speech before a few hundred steelworkers, Biden said the media liked to portray him as a populist. "They'll probably say (I'm) competing with Bernie Sanders, who is doing a helluva job by the way."

When one man shouted that Biden should run for president, the vice president responded, "You gotta talk to my wife about that. I gotta talk to my wife about that." His wife, Jill Biden, is said to share some of her husband's misgivings about whether the family should pursue another presidential bid following the death of their 46-year-old son, Beau Biden.

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, who joined Biden at the parade, said the vice president got a strong response from the city's workers.

"If you're looking for energy, this is a great place to get energy today," the labor leader said.

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