Will Vice-President Joe Biden run for president in 2016? The candidate is still pussyfooting with the 2016 race in full swing and the first Democratic debates held last week. How much longer can Biden can tergiversate? Team Biden is reportedly recognized that his indecision can’t play out forever and he is expected to give definitive “yes” or “no” by Tuesday, NBC reports, citing two unnamed sources .
With the first post-debate polls out, it’s clear that Joe Biden was one of the losers of the debate, slipping in the polls despite PAC money ads touting his name during commercial breaks. Biden may have seen this, and decide that it’s time to take his hat clearly out of the ring.
Conversely, Biden could vault in the polls if he announces soon, and shapes his run as a third-term for Obama, as Jack Schafer argues in the pages of Politico . Plus, Biden could give Clinton a run for her money, taking the stage of the next Democratic debate with a gravitas that no other candidate can.
Joe Biden has been unofficially running for president for weeks, as New York Magazine’s Gabriel Sherman points out. He’s been fundraising and building his potential supporter lists, calling Democrats and watching as his PAC hires dozens of operatives in primary states.
“Looking indecisive is a classic stalling technique,” Sherman writes.
If Biden says “yes,” we’ll likely look back at his vacillations as a stalling tactic which allowed him to put the machinery of his campaign in place.
Such a move isn’t unheard of. Just this year Jeb Bush stalled his own presidential campaign announcement for months, allowing him to sidestep finance rules and fly around the country with a low profile, quietly knocking of endorsements for his eventual run.
Strategy or not, Biden’s hesitation could come at a cost.
Late in the game, Clinton has already locked up the lion's share of Latino support . Bernie Sanders has won the trust of Black Lives Matter after some blunders. And between the Sanders and Clinton of them, organized labor support is already locked up, as we saw last week in Nevada .
With no correction yet from the Biden camp, NBC’s story about the 48 count down to Biden’s announcement is likely correct. For pundits and voters who appear tired of Biden’s indecision, relief could finally be in sight as the VP decides to s*** or get off the pot.
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