If not, why not? I read an article* somewhere recently that said he was, in fact, the ideal Democratic candidate.
- Can’t remember where. It was either NYTimes, Washington Post, Atlantic, or TIME.
He would be–he’s the epitome of “establishment.”
Except for his fatal flaw. His chronic foot in mouth disease.
I’ve always thought much the same. He’s tenacious, intelligent and center-leftish. And a damn fine speaker.
The supposed “foot in mouth disease” is exaggerated, if not complete baloney and media distortion.
But there is no way I can see him launching a head to head challenge against Hillary.
Plus, recent tragic family events are likely to change his personal focus considerably.
Gerald Ford had that, too. He survived it. I think the public would find Biden’s candor a refreshing change from over-scripted candidates who are afraid to alienate anyone by admitting to having an actual opinion.
I think Biden’s “foot in mouth disease” is pretty much the same as Obama’s “apology tour”, entirely fiction but some people believe it because of sheer repetition.
If Biden had any desire to run, I think Beau’s death pretty much ended them. As a parent, I can’t imagine going through the death of a child and then wanting to jump right in and start the grueling campaign process. As far as we know, he hasn’t been lining donors up or assembling a campaign staff and at this point it’s probably too late, barring death or scandal for Hillary.
Biden’s not running because Clinton is.
He’s a savvy enough politician to realize both that he can’t beat Clinton and that for him to try would be tremendously damaging for both of them.
However, should Clinton be forced out of the race for some reason, I have no doubt that Biden is ready to step in as the wise, experienced hand ready to carry on the Obama legacy. Particularly if Clinton drops out after or even shortly before the primary/caucus voting starts, he would have a very strong case to be a consensus candidate that the country as a whole could support more than the relatively unknown challengers already in the race.
Entirely fiction, eh?
http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/completelist/0,29569,1895156,00.html
He’s not viable because he’s not running. Should he decide to run, he’d probably shoot immediately to 2nd place, still far behind HRC. Should Clinton drop out, he’d be the instant front runner.
Foot-in-mouth is not a media fiction for him. But it’s not a big deal, because he is a VERY likable guy.
He does not have foot-in-mouth disease. That’s when you say things you didn’t mean to. His “problem”, such as it is, is that sometimes he says exactly what he means.
By what standard? He was never voted in as President or Vice-President, he lost his re-election bid and his most lasting legacy was abusing the presidential pardon to protect his friend and establishing the precedent that the president is above the law.
Nixon and he were never friends and I’d question the idea that he abused presidential power.
Ford said they were.
No because he is too far to the left
I looked at the first 6 of those and there wasn’t much of substance so I didn’t bother with the rest. Sorry; tempest in a teapot, each one.
Though not in 100% agreement, these two posts pretty much sum it up.
So in the past seven years as Vice-President, what verbal gaffes has he made? I don’t recall any, but it’s not like I’ve been paying much attention to him.
Joe Biden’s 72 years old. I like the man, but 72 is kind of long in the tooth for a presidential run.
Joe Biden would make a fine President, and an interesting one as well.
Eh, he did tell a Democratic politician in a wheelchair to stand up so people could get a better look at him, and when he met the Irish Prime Minister on St Patrick’s Day, he made a joke about not allowing anybody wearing Orange in the room, which annoyed Irish Unionists. He also, at one point, insinuated the former Irish Prime Minister’s mother was dead, when she wasn’t.
He also called the recently deceased President of Singapore “the wisest man in the Orient”, which, while not really a gaffe, annoyed the people who don’t like the term “Orient”.
Biden only gaffes in the traditional sense: he tells the truth. He tells you what he’s thinking. He’s incapable of lying, not a bad trait in a leader. Although often inconvenient for him and those around him in power. One thing a Biden administration would not be good at is spin. Thank goodness. Spin and messaging are the bane of the Republic.
His “you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy” was a serious stumble for his 2008 campaign - while everyone understood what he really meant, the implications of his actual words were pretty offensive.
I’ve never been much of a Biden fan, and apart from his verbal gaffes he’s had a few incidences of public handsinessthat have been faintly creepy (albeit, again, minor in themselves). Add to that his age and recent family tragedies and I don’t think he could go the distance despite his various positives.