Oooops... I meant Hillary... sorry Joe!

Pocono Joe

A couple of days ago I half-heartily spoke about a Biden Health Watch in another thread. One in which some mysterious illness would cause Joe to drop out of the race and open up the VP slot for Hillary.

Today, after reading something from Biden himself, I don't think the idea of reopening up the VP slot to Hillary is so far fetched.

"Make no mistake about this," Biden said. "Hillary Clinton is as qualified or more qualified than I am to be vice president of the United States of America. Let's get that straight. She's a truly close personal friend, she is qualified to be president of the United States of America, she's easily qualified to be vice president of the United States of America, and quite frankly, it might have been a better pick than me. But she's first rate, I mean that sincerely, she's first rate, so let's get that straight."

With the sudden rise in the polls of McCain, brought on by the Palin juggernaut, democrats are privately worried that trend won't change, and emergency measures need to be decided on pretty quick. Meaning of course to get Hillary Clinton on the ticket, which would have almost surely guranteed Obama a November victory if he would have had the courage to make that pick in the first place.

Of course if Biden bows out for any reason, and Hillary "humbly" accepts the VP slot, it leads to a whole other dynamic in the race.

I think it would provide Republicans with a whole new set of attacks against the junior senator. Some come instantly to mind:

* Party First

* Barak Obama will lead our country based on the polls.

* Obama has said judgement is more important than experience. Bad judgement on his part?

* And as a spokesman from the McCain camp has already stated: "Barack Obama's most important decision of this election, and Biden -- the candidate he selects -- suggests, himself, that he wasn't the right man for the job, and that Hillary Clinton would have been a better choice. Biden certainly has a credible viewpoint on this."

I realize an Obama/Clinton ticket would be very formidable, even now, if it would shake out this way. But I wonder if it would only anger voters more, as it might be seen as a desperate attempt on Obama's part.

What twists and turns still await? I guess tomorrow is another day.

Overheal

Glenn Beck put out a media Amber alert on Joe Biden last night - he hasn't been seen in front of a recording device in almost a week.

alastair

Biden hasn't done anything to open the door for Hillary, and it's nonsense to suggest otherwise.

Biden was asked to run with Obama, not Hillary. Biden doesn't need to pretend he's the best guy on the planet for the job - just that he's capable, qualified and motivated. Even if he thinks Hillary would make a better VP, it's not his call, and he obviously took on the candidacy believeing he could help Obama win the thing.

BenjAii

Interesting theory, but it seems a bit unbelievable. Obama must have good reasons for not picking Hillary, McCain having an as expected post-convention poll bounce hardly seems likely to change that.

Someone should tell that Beck guy about Google news, Biden's been all over the place. link link

irish_bob

much as i was disapointed that hillary didnt get the nomination , i can understand perfectly well why obama didnt pick her , he couldnt , his biggest fear wasnt that hillary would end up being the real president but that bill clinton would baschically be getting a 3rd term and would completly over shadow obama , talk about the elephant in the room