Hillary Clinton’s poll numbers are inexorably sliding and sliding. This is leading Joe Biden to take a closer look at running for President.
Biden’s Possible Contributors
Mr. Biden has had some discussions with President Obama contributors and his own long time network of donors consisting of trial lawyers, Jewish leaders and Greek Americans. One of these is George Tsunis who helped raise $750,000 for the Obama-Biden ticket and has said he would be there is Biden needed him.
More worrying for Hillary is that some Hillary supporters have said they might switch allegiance if Biden enters the race. One is Tom Daschle, a former Senate leader. Then there is the Draft Biden group that has gone beyond fundraising to hiring staff and field operatives. Biden is likely to portray himself as upholding Obama’s legacy more than Ms. Clinton would.
Poor Clinton Poll Numbers
Beyond possible problems with contributors are the poll numbers. Recent polls in 3 key states, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida showed 60% of the people having an unfavorable view of Hillary and felt that she wasn’t honest and trustworthy. Only 4 in 10 had a favorable view of her.
Timing?
Biden would need to make a decision before the first Democratic debate which is October 13th. He realizes that if she bounces back from the email and other problems she will be hard to beat and it is unlikely that he would enter. But, if she continues to struggle or things get worse, there is a good possibility he would join the race.
Biden has also put out feelers to the gay and lesbian communities since he came out in favor of gay marriage before either President Obama or Hillary Clinton did.
Hillary Crash and Burn?
Some see Hillary Clinton crashing and burning, not only because of the emails but also the funding she and President Clinton have received for speaking engagements. According to an article in the US News and World Report, a Russian company needed State Department permission to corner the world uranium market. Bill Clinton was paid $500,000 for a speech by the Russian Investment Bank that was rating the stock of the company buying the uranium.
In addition, of $500 million given to the Clintons’ foundation, only 15% has gone to charities and $300 million has gone to “other expenses”.
A Biden Run Helps Hillary?
Others feel that Biden running would help Ms. Clinton’s campaign. They said she is a terrible front runner but does quite well when she is in the middle of a race. They feel Biden running will force her to run a better, more competitive campaign and hone her for the race against the Republican candidate.
Unsurprisingly, they weren’t sure where Biden would get his support from since Bernie Sanders is exciting the liberals and Obama supporters are mostly backing Hillary Clinton according to this line of thinking.
So, there is obviously a wide range of opinion about a Biden run, but it should be interesting to watch and see what happens.