Joe Biden and Me Won’t Be Hillary’s VP

POPULAR TAGS

Joe Biden and Me Won’t Be Hillary’s VP

James Joyner | Monday, November 5, 2007

Joe Biden has categorically ruled out being Hillary Clinton’s running mate if asked. Just for the record, let me state that I would also decline such an invitation.

“If I don’t win the nomination, the likely nominee is going to be Hillary,” Biden, D-Delaware, told CNN, “and I love Bill Clinton, but can you imagine being vice president?” The former president “is such a dominant and powerful and positive force that I think the question is if you’re going to stay in public life do you want to be a contributor … I’m not looking for a ceremonial post,” he said.

Biden said he would like to remain chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee if he does not win the Democratic nomination, saying that position would allow him to make “a much greater contributor to the security of the country.”

Biden expressed confidence that he would be one of the top three finishers in the Iowa caucus in January. Biden said he believes the strong finish in Iowa will propel him to his party’s nomination. “I believe I’m going to do very well here,” the Delaware senator told Senior Political Correspondent Candy Crowley during an interview on the CNN Election Express. “If I end up one, two or three, then I believe I’m the nominee because all of a sudden the national press will have to cover me.”

Considering that Biden is running a distant 5th in Iowa, trailing number three John Edwards by 15 points, and is within the margin of error of me* in the survey, the odds of Biden finishing in the top three are, shall we say, somewhat low. Indeed, I’d put his chances of being asked to be Hillary’s running mate much higher. Bill Jempty, who has not ruled out being Hillary’s running mate, shares my view.

_______

* I’m currently at zero percent, owing to not being included in the polls and not being a Democrat. Still, at +/-4, I could theoretically be as much as three points ahead of Biden.

About the Author: James Joyner is the publisher of Outside the Beltway and the managing editor of the Atlantic Council. He's a former Army officer, Desert Storm vet, and college professor with a PhD in political science from The University of Alabama. He lives just outside the Beltway in Alexandria, Virginia with his wife and infant daughter.

Follow James on FriendFeed | Twitter | Digg

Recent Stories:

Tags | James Joyner Bill Clinton, Blogs, BlogSpot, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, John Edwards, NATO, Vice President

| Permalink | Send TrackBack

Comments

Just for the record, let me state that I would also decline such an invitation.

Are you serious?!? I know you just got a new job and everything, but as VP you would have a pretty sweet crib, a decent salary, private jets, the NFL DirecTV Ticket, etc...

Then, after four years, you would have your choice of think tank/distinguished professorship jobs to go back to!

Posted by Triumph | November 5, 2007 | 05:06 pm | Permalink

Just for the record, let me state that I would also decline such an invitation.

You will EAT THOSE WORDS one day, JJ!

Me, just for the record, let me state that I would *accept* such an invitation from Hillary, from Obama, or even from Kucinich (he has a hot wife, & the proximity couldn't hurt), contingent on a paid leave of absence from my day job. Sounds like fun.

Posted by Anderson | November 5, 2007 | 05:09 pm | Permalink