First on CNN: Biden expected to skip first Democratic debate

[George II]

Source: CNN

By Jeff Zeleny, CNN Senior Washington Correspondent

Updated 6:48 AM ET, Thu October 1, 2015

Washington (CNN)—Vice President Joe Biden has extended his window for deciding whether to jump into the 2016 presidential campaign, several Democrats say, allowing the contest to play out even longer before he answers one of the biggest questions hanging over the race for the White House.

He is not preparing for the first Democratic debate on October 13 in Las Vegas and is not expected to participate, people close to him say, because he feels no pressure to reach a decision by then. He is likely to reveal his plans in the second half of October.

For more than two months, Biden has been studying the mechanics of what it would take to launch a candidacy. He and his team have been inundated by mounds of research and battle plans, but his original end-of-summer deadline passed without him reaching a conclusion.

Campaign managers in key early-voting states have already been identified. Dozens of major donors have stepped forward. Domestic and foreign policy advisers are waiting in the wings.

(more.....)



Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/01/politics/biden-clinton-2016-democratic-debate/index.html

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Apparently Biden, who is in second place in some polls even though he isn't a declared candidate, isn't concerned about the debate schedule.

[Lychee2]

1. It's obvious why.

He is not going to run against Hillary. He is the reserve candidate, in case she has to pull out.

[Gamecock Lefty]

2. No Debate???

How long will it take BS supporters to come out of the woodwork and accuse the Vice President of being afraid to debate???

5 . 4 . 3 . 2 . 1!

[Lychee2]

4. Biden is not a candidate. He is insurance.

In case Hillary has to drop out.

[demwing]

14. So far, it's just you. /nt

[treestar]

3. Don't think he is running

The media is creating this to have a some drama and get hits and make it look closer than it is. Missing the debate would be silly for a serious contender.

[Lychee2]

5. He is contingently running.

He is the hypothetical candidate. And he will stay hypothetical as long as Hillary is in the race.

[appalachiablue]

6. Backup, always have it as they say.

[PatSeg]

11. I think he is seriously

considering running. He is being very thorough and calculating this time. He has so many more resources and backing this time compared to 2007.

And hi there!!! Haven't seen you in a long time!!!

[C Moon]

7. He's just Biden his time. :)

[Elmer S. E. Dump]

18. Oh no!

[alcibiades_mystery]

8. That's because he's not running for President

[roguevalley]

27. I don't know. I don't think he has money and people in place yet to do a good job

I think he's going to wait to see what the debate yields between Hillary and Bernie. He might base it on how she does and then decide.

[jalan48]

9. Looks like he's still getting ready in the bull pen in case he's needed in the late innings.

[PATRICK]

10. Smart move

or plain not moving, but what gain is guaranteed from a debate going in as a middleman? Has the name recognition and has not exactly refrained from doing himself harm in past primaries. A lot smarter than the GOP food-fighters. however you can't stay out too long or everyone leaves for the active candidates barring a real total self destruction of all the top contenders.
Still time to ride this out, much to the dismay of the Clinton campaign I suppose..

[PatSeg]

13. I think you're right

He isn't desperate and has so much going for him this time. Meanwhile, just NOT announcing is generating a lot of free media attention. It is all looking like a very calculated process.

[Historic NY]

12. Bets on that he endorses Clinton soon after the debate.....

and the the BS group will shout she doesn't deserve it. Hillary polls will then rise again, once he formally is out.

[demwing]

15. No need to wait

"SHE DOESN'T DESERVE IT"

I don't need to wait on Biden's move to know that...

[George II]

16. Yes, she'll rise again in the polls once he is formally out since 2/3 to 3/4 of his poll numbers....

...have come from Clinton.

[roguevalley]

28. if that many people who could have picked hillary picked him instead, why would they

go back to her? I hear that a lot here. They COULD have picked HER but they didn't. They picked him. How does that translate to them going back to her when they didn't want her in the first place?

[George II]

29. They won't be "going back to her", they'll remain with her. The premise is that he won't run, not..

....run and then drop out.

[roguevalley]

31. they aren't 'with' her now. They chose someone else. How does that equate to being with her?

I am genuinely curious on this.

[George II]

32. I'll repeat the post that you first responded to:

"Yes, she'll rise again in the polls once he is formally out since 2/3 to 3/4 of his poll numbers have come from Clinton."

[Yupster]

17. Smart move

He may not run. Hillary may get beaten up some. Why get in now.

If he gets in for the second debate it will have great anticipation to it.

Let the anticipation build if you do run, and no sense committing if you may not.

[WheelWalker]

19. Standing by.... brokered convention?

[TeamPooka]

20. Joe Biden is not a candidate. I don't think he will be one anytime soon either. nt

[LiberalLovinLug]

21. He is there as a stop gap

To seal down votes from people who do not feel totally comfortable with Hillary, or they are just loyal supporters of Joe perhaps for decades. I mean he's such a likeable guy. He is there as an easy alternative to Hillary, as he stands for the same things, a strong third way DLC led top-down system. More importantly, it veers and locks some Democrats from (and maybe liking) the Bernie Sanders platform.

It keeps these backup votes in Joe's pocket to use later. Later being as long as he can hold out not declaring, or if he does then just before the primary voting when Hillary could use a boost, and may just be in dire need of one if Bernie continues to rise. He will officially bow out and release his supporters with a strong, earnest plea to now vote for her inevitableness. Joe is her ace in the sleeve.

[TexasBushwhacker]

22. Benghazi hearing is October 22nd

Could he be waiting to see how that goes?

[George II]

33. I doubt it - thanks to McCarthy yesterday (or was it Tuesday?) that hearing has basically....

....been neutered. I wouldn't doubt that Hillary Clinton looks a lot better coming out of that hearing than going in.

[workinclasszero]

23. Because he's not running

Same reason I won't be there.

[Tarheel_Dem]

24. Uncle Joe is probably weighing the media hype that surrounded whether Scott Walker would "jump in".

We all know how that turned out. Fortunately, for JB he is much more charismatic than Walker, but the M$M will ignore him the same way they did SW, once he formally announces. Besides that, JB has a decades long legislative history that will be ripped to shreds if he gets in.

Even though the media knows that neither Trump or BS will ever in a million years get a nomination from a mainstream party, they are worth far more clicks than any of the so-called "establishment" candidates. So the media plays to their own bottom line.

[SheilaT]

25. His unwillingness to either declare he's in

or declare he's out, is getting a bit annoying.

It's hard to imagine Hillary pulling out before at least the first round of caucuses and primaries, and probably not until much later, maybe not until it's obvious to the most casual observer she can't win.

[jkbRN]

26. He needs to be taken out of the polls until he announces

This is getting ridiculous

[seaotter]

30. The only reason the Vice President will get into the race is if

it becomes clear that Hillary has been taken out.