Democrats loyal to Vice President Joe Biden have a three-word response to the politicians and pundits who say Hillary Clinton’s performance in Tuesday’s Democratic debate makes a Biden campaign less likely: Not so fast.
Appearing eager to tamp down talk that the window of opportunity for the vice president to launch a campaign nearly closed after the debate, loyalists are taking steps to assure potential supporters that there is still a path to the nomination, however competitive and challenging, if Biden decides to run. The clearest evidence came in a letter e-mailed Thursday to Biden’s political support network by former Delaware senator Ted Kaufman, who said a Biden campaign would be “optimistic,” “from the heart” and “unscripted.”
“If he runs, he will run because of his burning conviction that we need to fundamentally change the balance in our economy and the political structure to restore the ability of the middle class to get ahead,” he wrote. The Associated Press first reported the contents of the e-mail message. The Washington Post later obtained a copy. Kaufman’s words were arguably less significant than the author behind them. The former senator is Biden’s longest serving adviser, bridging the divide between the generation of staff who worked for Biden as a senator in the 1980s and a new crop of lieutenants who came up through the past decade of the family's public service. The main issue, still apparently unresolved, remains whether Biden and his family feel ready for the rigors of a presidential campaign so soon after the death of his oldest son, Beau, late last spring. Nothing Biden has said publicly in recent weeks suggested an affirmative answer, but he has not addressed the issue directly since before the visit to the United States by Pope Francis last month. According to those tracking Biden’s deliberations, a decision could come at any time, although the only certain timetable is the one set by the deadlines for qualifying for the primary and caucus ballots around the country. Those deadlines began to take effect at the end of the month.
Biden loyalists have tried not to be swept up by shifting assumptions about the strength or weakness of the Democratic front-runner, believing she was never as damaged as some were suggesting a month ago. At the same time, they are not persuaded that this week’s debate fundamentally changed the race in her favor. What has guided Biden advisers is their own assessment of whether there is a constituency for a Biden candidacy, the resources to run a competitive and potentially lengthy campaign and whether he has a persuasive message for Democratic primary voters. As of late this week, advisers remained convinced of the viability of all three. Polls and other evidence suggest that if Biden were to enter, the Democratic nomination campaign would quickly become a three-way contest. Those who have been assessing fundraising capabilities for a possible Biden campaign believe he too would have the money to remain in the race. There were many lines in Kaufman’s letter that suggested Biden still wasn’t ready to make a decision, despite the encroaching deadlines.
Kaufman’s letter began with an equal dose of hint and caution in terms of timing, suggesting that Biden was well aware that big filing deadlines loom in the next few weeks. But Kaufman also added that he couldn’t “add much” to what has already been debated in public.
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THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
