In an interview published today with America magazine, Vice President Joe Biden once again answers the question on everyone’s mind – are you running for president in 2016.
“I mean, I’ve just got to be certain that if I do this, I’m able to look in the eye and everyone else and say I’m giving all my passion, all my, all my energy and will not be distracted. And secondly, equally as important, the other piece is: Is this moment, is this the best thing for the family as a unit?” Biden said.
Biden remarked that he has known “almost every person” who has made a White House bid since the age of 29, and the decision always hinges on “personal considerations.”
“Your whole family is implicated. Your whole family is engaged. So for us it’s a family decision, and I just have to be comfortable that this will be good for the family,” he explained.
“We’re just not there yet and may not get there in time to make it feasible to be able to run and succeed because there are certain windows that will close. But if that’s it, that’s it. But it’s not like I can rush it. It’s not like it either happens or it doesn’t happen. I know that’s not satisfying to anybody, but people who have been there, I know they understand,” the vice president said.
US Vice President Joe Biden speaks during the closing plenary session of the US-Ukraine Business Forum at the US Chamber of Commerce on July 13, 2015 in Washington, DC. AFP PHOTO/MANDEL NGAN (Photo credit should read MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images)
US Vice President Joe Biden (Photo credit should read MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images)
With Hillary Clinton’s campaign dogged by more and more questions about government emails on her private servers, and the apparent collective decision by the press to turn their backs on Bernie Sanders, many in the Democratic party are starting to look elsewhere for someone, anyone, to run for president. And Biden’s name has come up more than a few times.
Well tonight, while speaking at a synagogue in Atlanta, the Vice President came as close as he possible could in answering the call to run in 2016
“The most relevant factor in my decision is whether my family and I will have the emotional energy to run,” Biden said, according to AJC.com.
“Some might think that’s not appropriate. Unless I can go to my party and the American people and say I’m able to devote my whole heart and my whole soul to this endeavor, it would not be appropriate,” he added.
“Can I do it? Can my family undertake what is an arduous commitment? … The honest-to-God answer is I just don’t know.”
Well, yes and no. Aren’t all presidential elections the most important election in history? It certainly feels that way, especially if you listen to the media buzz that emanates every four years. The future of the country is at stake. The direction of our foreign and domestic policies will be set by the voters in this election.
So it shall be in 2016, but this time there is some truth to the hype. We’ve just witnessed a few Supreme Court decisions that have profoundly changed the country’s political and social landscape. We are still suffering from the after-effects of the Great Recession. Race has roared back as a flashpoint issue. The world situation is critical (as it always seems to be). And by the end of this month, we’ll likely have over 20 people who’d like to run this government formally declare their intention to do so. Impressive. Or foolish.
Right now I would say that the edge in the race has to go to the Democrats, if for no other reason than they have a clear front-runner in Hillary Clinton and control of the electoral college map. The Republicans are far more split than the left and the remnants of the Tea Party are forcing some of the more moderate candidates to run farther to the right than they’d like. Of course, Bernie Sanders might have that impact on Clinton, forcing her to the left, but she has the advantage of being a known quantity for the past two decades. In addition, more of the Republican candidates are nationally known than are Martin O’Malley and Jim Webb, which means that it will be more difficult for their messages to find daylight.
The Republicans will have the burden to show that they can run the country more effectively than President Obama has during his term. The problem is that more Americans favor the Democratic position on most major issues. Most of the GOP candidates have come out against the court’s marriage equality ruling and want to enact religious freedom laws to protect those people who oppose that decision. These laws might be popular in certain states, but when Indiana tried to enact such a law in March, it met with intense opposition from the business community, the NCAA, and other groups who are committed to a diverse educational and workplace environment. Plus, moderates favor marriage equality, and the GOP will need those voters in key states if it wants to win next November. Rolling back the major civil rights issue of our day will likely be a self-inflicted wound from which the Republican Party will not likely recover.
The same is true, to a lesser extent, on the issues of health care and immigration. The American public is still split on whether the ACA is good policy, but most people want the law to be fixed, not repealed. That the Supreme Court saved the law will provide fundraising fodder for the right, but the GOP cannot afford to take health insurance away from those who already have it under the exchanges. They have floated a fix, but it would repeal the personal mandate, and that would cause havoc because those premiums are keeping the law afloat. And the health care industry is changing so rapidly because of the law that companies and hospitals would probably oppose anything that cuts into their profits or practices. Remember that the ACA was based on conservative principles. The GOP should recognize that. If they can’t find a way to fix the law, they might find that public opinion turns more to the left, and towards a public health care system that’s the dream of most Democrats.
Donald Trump notwithstanding, the Republicans have a big problem when it comes to immigration. Any candidate that echoes Mitt Romney’s “self deportation” policy in 2016 will lose badly. Marco Rubio supports an immigration plan that is more progressive than the other candidates and he’s paying for it by losing support among conservatives. One of the candidates is going to have to convince the faithful that a new immigration law is in the best interests of the party and the country. That candidate will then have chance at winning the general election.
The Democrats have their own problems because they can’t run too far away from President Obama, but they can’t be too close either. Americans like the idea of more forceful environment action, but don’t like executive orders. They want higher wages and less income inequality, but don’t want higher taxes or government regulation of the economy. And I suspect that most people don’t want the government to punish banks, as Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have advocated.
The Republicans need to present a more positive message to the country about what they’re going to do if elected, not continue to be against everything that the Democrats are for. They have to realize, as the Democrats did in the 1980s, that their policies are not connecting with enough voters for them to win a national election. This election, though, like most, will be fought on economic and security grounds. Again, the GOP is on the defensive as they are seen as the protectors of the wealthy and against spending on infrastructure, public education, and health issues. An arch conservative, like an arch liberal, will not win in 2016. Pragmatism and a vision to move us forward will.
Because this is the most important election of them all.
Speaking to ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, Carly Fiorina, the GOP’s female version of Mitt Romney, announced that she is in fact running for president in 2016. And the occupants in the GOP clown car increased by 1.
“Yes, I am running for president,” she said on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” where she made the announcement to host George Stephanopoulos. “I think I’m the best person for the job because I understand how the economy actually works. I understand the world, who’s in it, how the world works.”
“I understand bureaucracies, and that’s what our federal government has become — a giant, bloated, unaccountable, corrupt bureaucracy,” she said. “I understand technology, which is a tool both to re-imagine government to re-engage citizens in the process of government, and I understand executive decision-making, which is making a tough call in a tough time with high stakes for which you’re prepared to be accountable.”
Democrat Lincoln Chafee has decided to maybe cast his hat into the ring for the 2016 presidential run and in the process, the former democratic governor of Rhode Island has something to say about Hillary Clinton, the number one Democrat vying for the top spot.
In an online video posted earlier today, Chafee – who was once an Independent and a Republican – praised President Obama, saying the president has lead admirably. But his words for Mrs Clinton were… well, not too nice.
“I would argue that the decision to invade Iraq has destabilized the Middle East,” Chafee says in a second video. “As a senator I voted against the war authorization.”
He added that he believes the war with Iraq was “one of the worst decisions in United States history.”
Clinton, a senator at the time, voted to authorize military action against Iraq, a vote she says she got wrong.
Chafee also stressed international affairs during his announcement video, saying he’s “alarmed about the international instability, especially in the Middle East and North Africa. I don’t like where this is going.”
He said moving forward the United States “will need fresh ideas and the most skillful diplomacy in dealing with this ever changing world.”
Not that anyone really cares what Charles Barkley has to say about politics, but someone did ask and Barkley of course, offered his opinion.
“I am paying close attention to the political situation,” Barkley said, when Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch asked him in a new interview for his thoughts about the 2016 presidential election . “I have always voted Democratic. But I like some of the Republicans this time around. I like Chris Christie. I like Jeb Bush. I like those guys.”
Asked about Hillary Clinton, Barkley laughed and said, “Well, I just told you I was thinking about voting Republican.”
“But I was very disappointed in Chris Christie the other day on the measles thing,” he said, referring to the New Jersey governor’s comments about vaccinations. “It is a shame that these guys are afraid of just answering the question and trying to make everyone agree with you.”
Barkley said he did vaccinate his daughter but did not appreciate how Christie started to change his position once he received “blowback” from the media. “I’m like, dude, your opinion is just your fucking opinion,” he said. “I don’t understand why you answer a question and think everyone is going to agree with you. You can’t live your life like that.”
You got to face it. No one would be talking about Republican joker Mike Huckabee if it weren’t for his constant whippings on Beyoncé. The 2016 potential Republican presidential candidate even dedicated a part of his new book to the singer, insinuating that she is a prostitute and her husband, Jay Z, her pimp!
Well now, it seems that running on the Beyoncé platform is doing good for Huckabee. In a new NBC News-Marist poll, Huckabee is leading all potential Republicans in Iowa with 17 percentage points. Second is George Bush’s brother, Jeb Bush, with 16 and union bashing Scott Walker comes in third with 15.
Rick Perry, Ted Cruz and Lindsey Graham scrapes the bottom of the barrel with 4,2 and 1 percentage points respectively.
On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton leads all potential candidates with 68 percentage points. Vice President Joe Biden is a far second with 12 followed by Bernie Sanders with 7.
Like one of my twitter friends said, “the clown car has pulled up” and the clowns are hopping in. Add Mike Huckabee to the list of Republican clowns vying for the White House in 2016!
Television host and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee says he is leaving his Fox News talk show as he considers whether to seek the 2016 Republican nomination for president — a decision he expects to reach in the spring.
Huckabee said Saturday night’s edition of “Huckabee” would be his last as he ponders his political future. “There’s been a great deal of speculation as to whether I would run for president. And if I were willing to absolutely rule that out, I could keep doing this show. But I can’t make such a declaration,” he said at the end of Saturday’s program.
“Now, I’m not going to make a decision about running until late in the spring of 2015, but the continued chatter has put Fox News into a position that just isn’t fair to them — nor is it possible for me to openly determine political and financial support to justify a race. The honorable thing to do at this point is to end my tenure here at Fox. Now, as much as I have loved doing the show, I cannot bring myself to rule out another presidential run.”
After the failure of his brother, George W. Bush in the White House, another Bush is thinking about giving it yet another try at the presidency.
In a message posted on social media on Tuesday, Bush said he’s discussed his plans with his family.
“As a result of these conversations and thoughtful consideration of the kind of strong leadership I think America needs, I have decided to actively explore the possibility of running for President of the United States,” Bush said.
He added, “In the coming months, I hope to visit with many of you and have a conversation about restoring the promise of America.”
Kristy Campbell, a spokeswoman for Bush, said he has not yet made a final decision on whether to seek the Republican Party’s presidential nomination in 2016. She said Tuesday’s announcement marks the “next phase” of his consideration process.
She said he will now gauge “if there is support for a potential candidacy.”
So according to this poll, Mitt Romney is not only giving other Republican candidates a run for their money, he’s also causing some headaches for Hillary Clinton, the presumed Democratic nominee.
According to a Quinnipiac University poll of registered voters, if the Republican primary were being held today, he would receive 19 percent of the vote. The only other potential candidate who would finish with double-digit support is former Florida Governor Jeb Bush at 11 percent.
It shouldn’t be too difficult to guess who his Democratic opponent would be. Yeah, it would be Hillary Clinton. According to the poll, she’d receive 57 percent of the vote. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is the only other potential candidate to receive double-digit support with 13 percent of Democrats and Democratic leaners saying they’d opt for her.
As of now, Romney would give the GOP its best chance of defeating Clinton. According to the poll, he’d defeat her by one percentage point.
Clinton is ahead of every other Republican she was polled against.
Ann Romney has a lot of memos to send, and she should start sending them to the voters in Iowa. Although Ann tried today to guarantee Americans that Mitt Romney would never run for President again, Iowa voters are not listening. They want Mittens more than they want any other Republican candidate in 2016!
Romney was the top vote-getter in the poll with 17 percent and Dr. Ben Carson, a conservative neurosurgeon who has never held public office, came in second with 11 percent.
Carson told Fox News’ Sean Hannity Monday night that the chances of him running are “50/50.”
Iowa Republicans were less enthusiastic about other potential candidates, most of whom currently hold public office and are better nationally recognized.
Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul came in third in the poll with 10 percent, but New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush failed to make waves with 6 percent and 4 percent each.
The poll results came a day after Romney’s wife Ann insisted to the Los Angeles Times that there was no chance of a third Romney presidential bid.
Ted Cruz was born in Canada. Ted Cruz was born in Canada. And for those who need to hear things 3 times to understand… Ted Cruz was born in Canada.
But I digress.
According to sources close to the Texas senator, Cruz could be preparing for an end-of-year announcement and is now dedicating considerable time and effort to cultivating a foreign-policy foundation that might help his candidacy stand out in what is guaranteed to be a crowded field.
“At this point it’s 90/10 he’s in,” one Cruz adviser said. “And honestly, 90 is lowballing it.”
The senator’s choreography since arriving in Washington has long pointed to a presidential run. His office meticulously documents the details of his meetings and events to guard against opposition research. He has aggressively pursued visits to important primary states, including Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina. Late last month Cruz hired three prominent consultants with experience in national campaigns and extensive contacts in early nominating states. And he recently moved his chief of staff, Chip Roy, from his congressional office to the campaign operation, sending the clearest signal yet to allies inside and outside the Capitol that a bid for the White House is imminent.
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