Curmudgeon's Corner

Will He Stay or Will He Go?

Posted by Al Campbell on Aug. 16, 2012

U.S., Political, People Making A Difference

Will Vice President Joe Biden stay on the ticket for the coming election, or will he be replaced?  Some are venturing that President Obama is now considering Hillary Clinton as his running mate while others say that will not happen.  The Drudge Report front page speculated on that subject this morning and, coincidentally in all probability, Sec. of State Clinton and VP Biden and the President are meeting/have met in the Oval office this morning. 

Some speculate that this meeting is about nothing more than the regular periodic briefing the three engage in as part of their functions.  Others seem to think there may be fire where the wisps of smoke are coming from and note that the President has until very early September to make his final decision on who he wants as his running mate.

First, I am hopeful that the ticket will stay the same because it seems to me that Hillary would be significantly more formidable than is Biden.  Her polling shows she is highly respected and she could not have better name recognition having served as first lady, senator and in her current role.  I frankly think she would be a decidedly tougher candidate than Biden, and would add to the Democrat’s ticket.

Second, I doubt that the President will decide to make such a change on a couple of counts:

1)     *  I am not at all certain that Hillary would say yes if asked, although she might swallow hard and recognize this could be her ticket to the Whitehouse in 2017 if she could help President Obama retain his office for a second term.  I doubt that the President would want to risk being turned down.

2)     *  I think that such a decision, the one to dump Biden, would set the President up for having to defend why he ever made the selection in the first place.  That issue would tend to dominate and would not likely go away before the actual vote takes place.  If the nation saw the Biden decision to be an exercise in poor judgment, it could also ask itself what other poor decisions the President might make in a second term.

No matter your politics, you have to admit that Biden has added some ‘whatever you wish to call it’ during his three and one-half years in office in keeping with the reputation he had earned as a senator. 

Biden tends to keep things exciting since no one knows when or how the next ‘whatever you wish to call it’ will occur, but they are quite certain it will.