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U.S. NEWSThursday 22 October 2015

Biden Won’t Run For President, a Boost for Clinton

JULIE PACE decision too late for him to Vice President Joe Biden, with President Barack Obama, gestures as he speaks in the Rose Gar-
Associated Press mount a credible bid for den of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2015, to announce that he will not run
WASHINGTON (AP) — After a job that has long been for the presidential nomination.
months of tortured indeci- the north star of his political
sion, Vice President Joe ambitions. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Biden said Wednesday he “Unfortunately, I believe
won’t be a candidate in we’re out of time,” said
the 2016 White House cam- Biden, flanked by his wife,
paign, solidifying Hillary Jill, and the president.
Rodham Clinton’s status as Biden’s decision puts to
the Democratic front-run- rest the uncertainty hang-
ner and the party’s likely ing over the Democratic
heir to President Barack primary. The race now
Obama’s legacy. will likely settle into a two-
Standing under bright sun person contest between
in the White House Rose Clinton and Vermont Sen.
Garden, Biden spoke mov- Bernie Sanders, who has
ingly about mourning the energized the party’s liber-
recent death of his son, al base but lacks Clinton’s
Beau, a process he said campaign infrastructure
does not match the politi- and support from party
cal calendar. While he said leaders.
his family was emotionally Biden was seen by some
prepared to undertake a Democrats as an ideal
grueling presidential cam- blend of Clinton’s estab-
paign, they arrived at that lishment credentials and

Sanders’ populist appeal. port among liberals.
He also repeated a veiled
Interest in his potential can- criticism of Clinton that
had crept into his speech-
didacy was fueled both by es in recent days, saying
Democrats should not view
an outpouring of affection Republicans as their en-
emies. Clinton said in the
after his son succumbed to debate that she was proud
to count the Republicans
cancer in May and the per- among the enemies she’s
made during her political
sistent questions about Clin- career.
Biden’s decision gives Clin-
ton’s viability, particularly ton a boost heading into
her testimony Thursday
amid revelations about her before a Republican-led
House committee investi-
controversial email use at gating the deadly attack
on Americans in Benghazi,
the State Department. Libya, three years ago. With
Biden out of the race, Clin-
However, Clinton ap- ton’s campaign sees the
hearing as a final hurdle
peared to calm nervous before she can fully focus
on early voting contests
supporters with a com- in the states of Iowa, New
Hampshire and elsewhere.
manding performance in For many Republicans,
Biden’s decision comes
last week’s first Democratic as a disappointment.
Party leaders had all but
debate. What was already cheered his potential can-
didacy, eager to see the
a narrow path to the presi- Democratic race thrown
into chaos and perhaps
dency for Biden appeared distract attention from a
Republican primary that’s
to get even smaller. been roiled by the rise of
unorthodox candidates
In a written statement such as Donald Trump and
Ben Carson.
Wednesday, Clinton Trump praised Biden and
took a poke at Clinton in a
praised Biden’s “unyielding single tweet: q

faith in America’s promise”

and said she expected he

would “always be on the

front lines, always fighting

for all of us.” The two spoke

by phone shortly after the

vice president concluded

his remarks.

Biden notably did not en-

dorse a candidate in the

Democratic race. Instead,

he delivered a 13-minute

speech that very well could

have been a platform for

the campaign he’ll never

run. He decried the role of

big money in politics and

touted the importance of

reducing income inequal-

ity and making college ed-

ucation more accessible,

issues with significant sup-