Comments

  1. Robert B. says

    Biden’s not bad as establishment Democrats go, but neither is O’Malley and O’Malley gaffes less, so this is probably a good idea, yeah.

  2. tulse says

    I never figured out why Biden would run. Or, more accurately, I never figured out what Biden’s case to the electorate was supposed to me other than “I’m not Hillary”. I had no idea what his stand was on any particular issue, or what his principles were, much less how he thought he distinguished himself from Clinton.

  3. carlie says

    much less how he thought he distinguished himself from Clinton.

    Well, by being male and all.

  4. sparks says

    All that which all the people who have ‘never figured out’ is inconsequential to everyone except those who ‘never figured out’. And you have our sympathies. :)

    But seriously, in a system where we always seem to be torn between An Evil and A Lesser Evil, what’s the fucking point?

  6. Lady Mondegreen says

    Yeah, I was hoping he’d run, and split the primary vote in Sanders’ favor.

    –But figured he wouldn’t, because the Dem establishment know perfectly well that if he did he’d split the vote in Sanders’ favor.

    #gamingthevote #firstpastthepost

  7. says

    Cross-posted from the Moments of Political Madness thread.

    Good decision, I think.

    Biden made some good points about the achievements of the Obama administration (which are his achievements too), and advised Democratic candidates to run on those achievements.
    Biden also promoted some Democratic Party policy goals:
    – 16 years of free public education
    – policies that reduce the gap between poor and rich
    – an argument for diplomacy and against war
    – recovery from the Bush/Cheney caused recession
    – funding for research and development in science and medicine
    – equality for LGBT people
    – reforming the criminal justice system
    – reducing racism

  8. says

    Ha, and Oh! This is hilarious. When Republican National Committee Chair Reince Priebus says it is a disaster for Democrats that Biden withdrew from the campaign, you know that Biden’s decision is good for the Democratic Party. Thanks for the comedic moment, Reince.

    The Vice President’s decision not to enter the 2016 race is a major blow for Democrats, who now will almost certainly be saddled with their unpopular and scandal plagued front-runner Hillary Clinton,” said Chairman Priebus.

    “Vice President Biden was the most formidable general election candidate the Democrat Party could have fielded, and his decision not to challenge Hillary Clinton greatly improves our chances of taking back the White House. With each revelation about her growing email scandal or conflicts of interest at her State Department, Hillary Clinton is getting more beatable by the day.”

  9. petesh says

    Biden is 72 now, and would be 74 when sworn in should he have run and won, 78 at the end of his term. Speaking as someone not all that far behind him in age, I don’t think that’s in his favor. Clinton (dammit, it’s easier to call her Hillary, but that just sounds wrong) would be 68–72, which I think is pushing it a bit. Sanders would be 75–79. Certainly age is just a number, to some extent, but it’s not unreasonable to think that mid- to late-70s is suboptimal for the job. (Reagan was by far the oldest, 77 at the end.)

    But I do hope we see old Joe on the campaign trail!

  10. says

    I agree with you, petesh @9, it will be great to see Joe Biden stumping for whomever Democrats choose to be their nominee for president. Looking forward to that.

    Text below is cross-posted from the Moments of Political Madness thread.

    Oh, for fuck’s sake. Like the comments from Reince Priebus, this is funny in a way. But then again, it’s yet another FFS moment brought to you by Fox News. It seems Faux News is spinning Biden’s withdrawal as an attempt by the Obama administration to cover up or to distract from an “administration wide scandal.”

    [Fox News host Andrea Tantaros said:] […] when you look at the two scandals that we’re facing, that all eyes are going to be on tomorrow, Benghazi, and the email scandal — these are administration-wide scandals. All three of them, President Obama, Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton were there that night, this is their scandal as well. This email scandal is their email scandal as well.

    There is no way, there is no chance, that Joe Biden, and President Obama, and their national security team did not know that she was using a private server, breaking the law. There is no way, this is why this is an administration-wide scandal that they are covering up, they are all in on this, and they are circling the wagons, I cannot stress this enough. This goes all the way to the west wing, both Benghazi, and both the email scandal, and you’re watching it play out exactly today. The timing is not a coincidence!

    Media Matters link

  11. slithey tove (twas brillig (stevem)) says

    [Zero Mostel: singing] Tradishionnnnn [*]

    As in, I think it is (somewhat) traditional for the VP to run, after a “lame duck” POTUS, to essentially be the POTUS 3rd term.
    (often, being a single-term POTUS).

  12. robro says

    …their unpopular and scandal plagued front-runner Hillary Clinton.

    Let me guess: “unpopular” is their code for “white guys don’t like her because, well, if you haven’t noticed…she’s a woman.”

    “Scandal plagued” is the code for “hammered on by Republican political opportunists in Congress.”

  14. bossy22 says

    Considering how many lives the horrifying policies he supported and in some cases spearheaded, I was kinda shocked he could be considered a viable candidate. He would’ve split the vote though, which would probably bode well for Mr Sanders’ campaign who I do prefer.

  15. Nick Gotts says

    But figured he wouldn’t, because the Dem establishment know perfectly well that if he did he’d split the vote in Sanders’ favor. – Lady Mondegreen@6

    But the Democratic establishment might just as plausibly want him to enter, to provide an establishment alternative in case Clinton comes badly unstuck. I don’t see any reason to regard this as anything other than a personal decision by Biden. In those terms, it’s thoroughly understandable: 72-year-old man who has recently lost a son decides he doesn’t want to spend the next year campaigning and under constant attack by Faux Noise, and if he wins, the subsequent 4 years doing one of the toughest jobs in the world.

  17. amandajane5 says

    Well, I’ll tell all y’all exactly why we couldn’t possibly elect an enormously competent woman with significant, if not unsurpassed previous experience with the job. She has lady parts! And a lady brain! *whew* Glad we covered that. Now let’s go see if we can’t find some white guy from Texas who thinks he’s just *awesome*!