Vice President Joe Biden’s oldest son sought to persuade him to run for the presidency before his death in May, The New York Times reported Saturday.
Times Columnist Maureen Dowd reported that both Beau Biden, who died after a battle with brain cancer, and Hunter Biden pushed their father to continue his public service with a presidential bid. The Wall Street Journal first reported that Biden’s sons had urged him to jump into the 2016 race, citing anonymous friends and advisers of the vice president’s.
Beau Biden became adamant about his father’s political future once his own health started to seriously deteriorate, according to Dowd. The source of Dowd’s information is unclear.
“He tried to make his father promise to run, arguing that the White House should not revert to the Clintons and that the country would be better off with Biden values,” she wrote.
Joe Biden has previously said that he’d likely make a decision about whether or not to seek the presidency by August.
Is there any good reason to believe the New York Times reporting something negative about Hillary Clinton? It might very well be true that Beau said such a thing, but it seems more likely that the Times is just trying to continue to grind its axe against the Clintons. And if Beau really did want his Dad to run for President, I don’t blame him for believing in his father, that’s very touching, but it would be bad advice. Joe wouldn’t win the nomination, and probably would come in 3rd after Bernie Sanders. It would be humiliating and tarnish his reputation.
Biden has a populist perspective that sees beyond the so-called “hot button” issues of our age. He is a pragmatist who can successfully work with, and when necessary, stare down the the extremists on both sides, but particularly those of the right wing. Biden is a long-term public servant who truly understands what that means. He would make an excellent president.
The country would be better off with Biden. The country would be better off with Sanders. Unfortunately the standard is not good values or a good stand on the issues, it’s “who would you rather have a beer with” vs. “first woman president”.
Yeah, I love Joe and I think he’d probably be a terrific president, but you’ll forgive me for not seeing the thousandth Clinton-trashing Maureen Dowd column as the thing that should open Democrats’ eyes about who their standard-bearer should be.