Graphic via NY Daily News
Neil Munro from the Daily Caller is reporting that in the wake of Vice President Joe Biden’s very bad week, he has been sent home to Delaware to start his weekend early.
The updated White House calendar for Aug. 17 reports that “in the morning, the Vice President will meet with senior advisers. Later, the Vice President will be in Wilmington, Delaware.”
“There are no public events scheduled,” said the 5:36 p.m. White House announcement, titled “Daily Guidance for the Vice President.”
Biden’s retreat home during the increasingly frenetic 2012 race comes amid increased criticism for his campaign-trail performance.
Biden was slated to share an uncomfortable lunch with President Barack Obama on Thursday, following his disastrous week on the campaign trail, which culminated with a racially inflammatory warning to African-American supporters that Mitt Romney will “put y’all back in chains.”
The flubs revived chatter about whether the president will drop Biden, and seek a substitute vice president to win the tough 2012 race.
Obama’s spokesman Jay Carney on Thursday provided a tepid defense of Biden when he was asked if the vice president would remain on the ticket.
“Yes and that was settled a long long time ago,” Carney said, before quickly changing the subject to Medicare.
Here’s the transcript from CNBC’s The Kudlow Report:
KLEIN: Larry, just before we went on the air tonight, I checked with my sources in the Clinton camp and I took notes because I want to be careful. And here is what they told me: Up until just a couple of weeks ago, the White House was putting out feelers to see if Hillary would accept the vice-presidential nod and replace Joe Biden. Bill Clinton was, I’m told, urging his wife to accept the number-two slot. He saw this as a great launching pad for her for running in 2016. But, then, Hillary had lunch in the White House a couple of weeks ago with Valerie Jarrett, Michelle’s best friend, senior adviser to both the first lady and the president. And she told Valerie Jarrett that she would not accept the vice-president spot. The lunch was ostensibly about other matters, but it came up. The vice-presidential thing came up. Hillary felt burned out after four years as secretary of state. But I’m told there were more important reasons for her not accepting.
KUDLOW: Such as?
KLEIN: Number one, she felt that if she were on the ticket with Obama and he lost, she would be tarred as a loser when she tried to run in 2016. On the other hand, if she was on the ticket and he won, and he continued his far, left-wing socialistic policies, she would have to defend those policies when she ran in 2016.
KUDLOW: It’s already tough enough for her to defend some of the foreign policies that he has been putting forward.
KLEIN: Exactly.
KUDLOW: So let me just get that. You’re saying, two weeks ago, that White House staff put out feelers to Hillary about going on the ticket as vice president.
KLEIN: That’s right.
He’s a liability, and Obama’s got a shit-ton of liabilities on his hands already.
I do not believe he will be on the ticket.
Bill Kristol of the Weekly Standard thinks otherwise:
Years from now, men and women of good will laud President Obama for his decency, his loyalty—nay, his humanity—in resisting all entreaties to cast Joe Biden overboard, in refusing to leave Joe Biden a prophet without honor in his own party, in standing by his man Joe. There are worse things than being a one-term president.
Living up to Kristol’s praise, the President told People Magazine that Biden is an “outstanding vice president” who is sadly misunderstood:
The president said people get “obsessed with how something was phrased,” even if that’s not what was meant.
Obama knows all about being taken out of context, don’t you know.
UPDATE:
AoSHQ: Run, Joe. Run. American Crossroads Makes Its Case For Biden:
Is Joe Biden just a great Vice-President? Or is he the Greatest Vice-President Ever!?
A new ad from American Crossroads tries to answer that question …
Hat tip: Charles B
August, 17, 2012 at 4:19 am
If I remember correctly, a party can not change its presidential/vice-presidential ticket within 60 days of the general election. So Obama has only about three weeks left to find and corral a substitute for ol’ Joltin’ Joe. Given the abysmal prospects for Obama’s re-election, I doubt he’ll find anyone with a better public profile than, say, Ted Kaczynski.
August, 17, 2012 at 7:44 am
Braindead Joe Biden. The best Vice-Pres. for the hateful, spiteful President-In-Name-Only Buh-rock obama mmm-mmm-mmm!
August, 17, 2012 at 10:39 am
Apparently Bill Kristol has not checked under that Obama bus lately. As soon as Joe Biden’s slips include something personally objectionable to Barack Obama that is where you will find Biden. Most likely Obama keeps Biden because he serves the President’s purpose. Few people of worth would consider doing what Joe Biden does for this President.
August, 17, 2012 at 11:53 am
[...] VP Rumors: Biden Benched! Hillary Offered Spot but Not Interested! Will He Stay or Will He Go?! (nicedeb.wordpress.com) [...]
August, 17, 2012 at 2:00 pm
I’d love to think that Kristol’s comment was just in gest, but I fear not. It has been a long and steady downward slog for BillyBoy the last several years. He seems to be comfortable just living on the conservative genetic laurels that were bestowed upon him. Other than a couple of on the mark “kristol ball picks” he hasn’t been right very often.
It was only a couple of weeks ago he managed to leave Liz Cheney speechless on FNS, and that isn’t hard too do. That sound you heard in the background that day was Liz’s jaw hitting the round table [thump!], as her eyes popped out of her head. If the conservative movement had such a nomination procedure for a “the Con Joe Plugs Award”, Billy would be very close to the top of my selection list. I think they give him a three day pass over at the Weekly Standard for him to make appearances on FNS, just to keep him out of the Office as much as possible.