As Hillary Self-Destructs, Biden Shrewd to Sit Back and Watch

As Hillary Self-Destructs, Biden Shrewd to Sit Back and Watch

Hillary Clinton struggles to get her campaign on track, lurching to the left on a variety of issues near and dear to the hearts of the progressive base and facing the fallout from her decisions as Secretary of State as her poll numbers tank.

Here’s a chart via Hot Air that shows the trend of her and other Democrat candidates’ polling (Real Clear Politics has an interactive version, if you’re interested):

According to Fox News’ Special Report, the coming few weeks will be key to determining the success of these attempts.  Watch:

The report indicates that in order to reboot her campaign, she needs to navigate the upcoming perilous waters very carefully. Huma Abedin will be testifying before Congress on Benghazi on Friday, October 16th, Clinton herself will testify the following week, and then at the end of the month, another batch of emails are scheduled for release.

In addition to all of that, the first Democrat debate will be held on Tuesday, and this will be key for Hillary.  With the news that CNN has shaved an hour off the debate, she may think that she’ll have an easier time of it; however, as we’ve noted, Lincoln Chafee will undoubtedly be a thorn in her side.

Additionally, Bernie Sanders has indicated that he’ll be quite scrappy with Hillary about her “inconsistency” on key issues, and Martin O’Malley’s “Wow! That’s a reversal” response to Hillary’s recent change of heart regarding TPP does not bode well for her with a debate looming in only a few days.

When you’ve lost MSNBC . . . . Watch as Chris Matthews lays out all of Hillary’s “new” positions and as he and the panel annihilate her for being not only inconsistent but also insincere:

As evidence mounts that Joe Biden is seriously considering entering the presidential race, he’s wise to sit back and watch the events of the next couple weeks unfold.

Back in March, The Atlantic was already speculating that Biden was running a stealth campaign for president.  Not only had he already visited Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina by then, but he was also indicating that a third Obama term—under his leadership, presumably—would be just what is needed for Democrats to win in 2016.

To hear the vice president tell it, however, that’s exactly what he’ll be considering over the next several months. Unlike Clinton, Biden has never been coy about his interest in seeking the presidency for the third time since 1988. Asked by ABC’s George Stephanopoulos in January whether he might challenge the former secretary of state, Biden replied, “Yes, there’s a chance.”

He said he views the 2016 field as “wide open” on both sides and emphasized that he doesn’t need to make a decision on the race until late in the summer. Speaking in Iowa last month, Biden also notably embraced the idea—leveled as criticism by Republicans—that the Democratic nominee in 2016 would be running for Obama’s third term. “I call it sticking with what works,” the vice president declared.

. . . . “I can tell you without any fear of contradiction, her decision will have no impact on his,” Dick Harpootlian, the former state Democratic chairman in South Carolina, told me last week. A colorful personal-injury lawyer in Columbia, Harpootlian has emerged as Clinton’s chief antagonist within the party in recent weeks. When he’s not telling anyone who will listen that the scandal over Hillary’s secret email system will torpedo her candidacy, Harpootlian has been talking up Biden as the party’s best alternative.

Although Biden can, according to CNN rules, show up on the day of the debate and still take part in it, it seems an unlikely proposition given how long he seems to have been seriously, if quietly, positioning himself for a run.

As Hillary’s declared rivals jostle for position ahead of the first Democrat debate, Biden is smart to sit it out (if that is indeed his decision).  While it seems evident that he will be declaring his candidacy at some near point, he’s shrewd to let the other candidates take shots at her while she totters along in self-destruct mode.  At least for a little while longer.

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