The Biden Plot Thickens The White House Spokesman Gives Joe the Superlative Treatment.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-biden-plot-thickens-1440458272
The hints are growing stronger that Joe Biden might decide to run for President after all, and there’s no reason we can’t join the frolic among the tea leaves. Especially fascinating is what a Biden run would signal about Hillary Clinton’s political and legal vulnerability over her emails and Clinton Foundation donations.
The Vice President met privately with Elizabeth Warren on Saturday, a meeting no doubt leaked by the Biden team. The Massachusetts Senator is the patron saint of the Democratic left these days and Mr. Biden would love her support if he does run. Then on Sunday our colleagues in the Journal’s Washington bureau reported that the Veep is leaning toward a run. Other media reinforced the story.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest added to the intrigue when he volunteered to reporters on Monday that President Obama thinks his decision to choose Mr. Biden as his running mate was “the smartest decision he’s ever made in politics.” Mr. Earnest is a careful man who wouldn’t say this without clear presidential authorization.
“The Vice President is somebody who has already run for President twice,” Mr. Earnest added. “So I think you could make the case that there is probably no one in American politics today who has a better understanding of exactly what is required to mount a successful national presidential campaign.”
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So where does that leave Mrs. Clinton in the President’s esteem? Mr. Earnest described Mr. Obama’s “appreciation and respect and admiration” for Mrs. Clinton, citing his “warm” remarks in the past about her service. But the former Secretary of State did not get the President’s superlative treatment.
All of this is notable, and not merely for what it says about Mr. Obama’s fondness for Mr. Biden. The President is enough of a cold-blooded politician to know that a considerable part of his legacy will depend on whether a Democrat succeeds him in the Oval Office. Above personal feelings, he wants a Democratic nominee who can win in 2016.
Mr. Biden ran for President in 1988 and 2008 and lost, so why would he be a better candidate now? The Veep would be starting late, and most Democratic officeholders and donors are already committed to Hillary and Bill. Mr. Biden might figure he can run as a more authentic tribune of the middle class, but Bernie Sanders has a head start running as the economic populist. On paper at least, Mr. Biden would still be a long shot to defeat the Clinton machine.
Which leads us to wonder what Mr. Biden and Mr. Obama know about Mrs. Clinton’s mishandling of classified information on her personal email server while running the State Department. The FBI is now investigating, and it’s hard to believe the White House wouldn’t have some inkling about the seriousness of that probe.
The FBI pressed investigations that forced two CIA directors, David Petraeus and John Deutch, into pleading guilty to misdemeanors for lesser violations than Mrs. Clinton appears to have committed. FBI Director James Comey and Attorney General Loretta Lynch would be hard-pressed to block an FBI recommendation that sought a misdemeanor plea bargain if it were rooted in solid evidence and consistent enforcement under the law. Such a plea would be devastating to Mrs. Clinton’s credibility even if it didn’t end her campaign.
All of which is to say that the possibility of a third Joe Biden candidacy is looking more appealing than we ever imagined.
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