Official portrait of Vice President Joe Biden in his West Wing Office at the White House, Jan. 10, 2013. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann)
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Vice President Joe Biden announced earlier today that he will not run for president in 2016, because while his family has “worked through the grieving process” for his son Beau Biden, the window for “mounting a realistic campaign […] has closed.” Click through to watch Biden’s full statement from the White House Rose Garden. He vowed to stay involved in political discourse: “But while I will not be a candidate, I will not be silent. I intend to speak out clearly and forcefully, to influence as much as I can where we stand as a party, and where we need to go as a nation.”
Biden also urged other Democratic candidates not to run away from President Barack Obama as they seek office in 2016: “I believe that President Obama has led this nation from crisis to recovery, and we’re now on the cusp of resurgence, and I’m proud to have played a part in that. This party–our nation–will be making a tragic mistake if we walk away or attempt to undo the Obama legacy. […] Democrats should not only defend this record, and protect this record, they should run on the record.”
Any comments about the vice president’s announcement or the Democratic presidential race generally are welcome in this thread. I think Biden made the right choice. I don’t see the current Democratic field lacking the vision or the experience he would have brought to the table. Conventional wisdom suggests that Hillary Clinton will benefit more than Bernie Sanders from Biden staying out of the race. Martin O’Malley could gain ground too, because Democrats who were hoping the vice president would run again clearly were not satisfied with the current front-runners.
UPDATE: I enclose below reaction to Biden’s decision.
Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign issued the following statement:
“Joe Biden, a good friend, has made the decision that he feels is best for himself, his family and the country. I thank the vice president for a lifetime of public service and for all that he has done for our nation. I look forward to continuing to work with him to address the major crises we face. He understands the need to rebuild the middle class; and to address income and wealth inequality, a corrupt campaign finance system, climate change, racial justice, immigration reform and the need for publicly-funded higher education.”
Hillary Clinton posted on Twitter, “.@VP is a good friend and a great man. Today and always, inspired by his optimism and commitment to change the world for the better. -H”
Martin O’Malley posted on Twitter, “.@JoeBiden is one of the most decent, compassionate public servants our nation has produced—I respect his decision & wish him the best. -O’M”
Radio Iowa spoke to several Iowans who had been hoping Biden would run for president again.
SECOND UPDATE: The Des Moines Register’s Brianne Pfannenstiel published reaction from several of Biden’s strongest Iowa supporters, including State Representative Bruce Hunter and former Iowa House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy. She also interviewed Brad Anderson, who ran Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign in Iowa.
Brad Anderson, a Democratic strategist who worked on President Barack Obama’s 2008 and 2012 campaigns, said that in addition to fundraising problems this late in the cycle, Biden would have faced a number of organizational hurdles in Iowa.
“The potential precinct captains and county chairs out there have already committed to other campaigns, and it would have been very difficult this late in the game to get them to leave the campaigns that they’ve committed to and jump to another campaign,” Anderson said. “And to win the Iowa caucuses, you really need to have started lining up those precinct captains months ago.” […]
During that [2012] campaign, Anderson said he worked closely with Biden at a number of Iowa events. One in particular stands out for him.
It was an event in Clinton with 300 or 400 people, Anderson said. And after everyone had shaken hands with the vice president and gone home, just two people remained in the room: Joe Biden and a woman in a wheelchair who had stayed behind to talk with him.
“He was literally in this big room, just the two of them, and talking like we didn’t have a schedule and didn’t have anywhere else he needed to be,” Anderson said. “It was just one of those authentically Joe Biden moments where he really did care about this particular person and her story and what she wanted to share, and he was willing to spend the time with her. And that’s what makes him arguably one of the best retail politicians on the planet. He really takes the time to visit with people. And just the image of those two alone in the room really stood out to me.”
“One of the best retail politicians on the planet” sounds about right. Every time I saw Biden campaign in person, from a house party in Urbandale in the summer of 1987 to a house party in West Des Moines in late 2007, I was struck by how he made eye contact with and time for everyone who had a question for him or a point to make. I don’t recall ever hearing negative feedback from other Iowans who attended his events before the 2008 caucuses.