U.S. Vice President Joe Biden announced today, Wed., Oct. 21, that he will not run for president.
Rumors had been swirling over the past several months that Biden was considering a run in light of Democratic front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton’s numerous scandals and faltering polling numbers.
Biden’s son, Beau, who died this summer, had reportedly urged his father to run for president. That made a compelling story, the kind that could have launched a campaign on a sympathetic note. But Biden and his family were clearly deeply shaken by the death of their son, and it was not a propitious moment for kicking off such a campaign.
Word of high-level meetings Biden held with major Democratic fundraisers and advisers leaked into the media over the past several months, perhaps because those meetings actually happened or perhaps as a way to test the media and public response.
But after months of appearing to consider whether he would take the plunge, Biden announced from the White House, with his wife, Jill, and President Barack Obama at his side, that he will not run.
Biden said that it was too late in the game for him to get a campaign up to speed.
“Unfortunately I believe we’re out of time, the time necessary to mount a winning campaign for the nomination,” Biden said.
He added, “While I will not be a candidate, I will not be silent.”
This news has to make Hillary Clinton happy. Jim Webb, former senator from Virginian and another potential candidate for the Democratic nomination, withdraw from the race yesterday.