Since the gay marriage flap last week, there’s talk about that President Obama might dump Vice President Joe Biden for a younger, fresher Veep. We know from all the (wink, wink, nudge, nudge) leaks that Obama is mad as hell at Biden these days. One fellow at work repeated last year’s rumor that Hillary would take the job, setting herself up for a run in 2016. And by swapping places with Biden — he’d become SecState — Obama could avoid the embarrassment of throwing Biden all the way under the bus.
But I don’t see it. I mean, I don’t see the Hillary part. She says she’s done with electoral politics, and I believe her. She’s had a decent enough run at State to retire with her reputation, such as it is, intact. I think 2008 might have something to do with her decision, too.
There’s something else though. After last week, Obama can’t dump Biden, even if he wanted to, even if he had Hillary all ready to go for the big Veep-State swap.
See, Biden owns Obama now. Biden forced Obama into revealing (further “evolving?”) his position on gay marriage, and in the most awkward of ways. Two-thirds of Americans believe that Obama made his announcement for purely political reasons. That’s an almost absurdly high number — but they’re correct to believe that way.
If Obama dumped Biden now, that number would jump to 80% or higher. With one genial statement on national TV, Biden assured his place at his President’s side.
Do you think an old pro like Joe Biden did that on accident? And what was the West Wing chatter that could have forced Biden to make such a bold play? And don’t you just love a good conspiracy theory?
Join the conversation as a VIP Member