Remember last year when I said that, based on a "Salon" I attended, Hillary Clinton would be running

[brooklynite]

Well, I was at a dinner last night. Joe Biden is -not- going to be running.

(and not for lack of people in the room asking him to).

[MannyGoldstein]

1. So who will Wall Street run to stop Sanders? nt

[Agschmid]

3. It is going to take a lot more than Sanders as President to change Wall Street.

[MannyGoldstein]

4. For starters, the President appoints regulators

Ending the practice of appointing Wall Street to regulate Wall Street would be a good start, yes?

[Agschmid]

5. Sure great start, but you want change overall in the system...

We need to impact more than the presidential election.

So far DU is pretty quiet on that one.

[MannyGoldstein]

11. In the case of Wall Street,

the President can do a ton. Beyond going from zero enforcement to robust enforcement, Sanders would likely end staggering agression against the 99%, such as:

- TPP
- TTIP
- Last year's sick spectacle of our President teaming with Jamie Dimon to convince legislators to allow Wall Street to gamble with the FDIC insurance fund

I would normally agree with you, but the assault from the Executive branch has been so egregious that simply switching Presidents would go a long way.

[Admiral Loinpresser]

30. The key difference between Bernie and every other candidate

is that he is calling for the movement to continue after his election. After his inauguration, he is calling for a million young people to march on Washington and demand real reform. Occupy Wall Street on steroids, imo. He wants the movement to make Congress "an offer they can't refuse" (direct quote from Bernie).

Check out the linked interview at 20:15 and you will get Bernie's view of "political revolution."

[ellisonz]

43. This reminds me of my undergraduate days at a liberal arts college. n/t

[Admiral Loinpresser]

44. Don't get it. n/t

[ellisonz]

45. Revolution man!

[Admiral Loinpresser]

46. Exactly.

Revolution from childhood poverty, pervasive corruption, wealth inequality and environmental holocaust.

[MADem]

29. And who confirms them? Hmmm? Presidents are not kings. nt

[sabrina 1]

17. Yes, we know that. And we know what the campaign plans to do to make sure it isn't just

one person. THAT is the whole point of Bernie's campaign, that it ISN'T about HIM other than to give a voice to the PEOPLE who are now probably more angry AND aware than they have been for a very long time.

Did you not know this, or were you simply trying to remind people that Bernie is the least part of this campaign? He's certainly said it often enough and the major work being done by those who have volunteered to work for the goals he was courageous enough to be a spokesperson for, ISN'T so much about him. It IS about making sure that no one person will or could do the work that needs to be done to UNDO the damage of the last several decades.

[Agschmid]

2. I agree.

[PoliticAverse]

6. There was some doubt Clinton was running? n/t

[brooklynite]

10. Around here? Yes there was...

[LuvLoogie]

40. I remember...

Health questions, missed her turn, she's a grandmother now...

[steve2470]

7. I'd be very surprised if he ran

He just doesn't sound like his heart is into it, understandably.

[leftofcool]

8. I never doubted you.

[cherokeeprogressive]

9. I wonder why he doesn't just put the speculation to an end then.

[Hestia]

16. Sure seemed like he did last night on The Late Show. Intimated that his heart just isn't in it.

[cherokeeprogressive]

18. Intimated. How about "I will not run for, nor shall I accept..."?

Put the speculation to rest in no uncertain terms.

[brooklynite]

21. ...because it worked so well for Elizabeth Warren?

[cherokeeprogressive]

22. Oh my. I had no idea she'd been forced to run...

Warren manufactured the speculation by using waffle words and absolutely refusing to give concrete answers. I think she loved the attention.

[MADem]

31. Ha ha ha!!!

Boom!

[Raine1967]

26. I saw the interview and came away with the same thoughts.

That is good enough for me.

And — damn, that interview was so open and heartfelt. What an amazing human being.

[MADem]

32. That was a conversation between two very devout Catholics.

That puts a different spin on it for the Freedom From Religion set, I should imagine.

[Raine1967]

34. Didn't think about it like that.

I just saw it as two people discussing things they had in common.

I didn't see it as religion, but rather, faith shared by two people.

I still think it was a raw amazing empathetic interview.

[MADem]

42. Watch it again. There was a connection of religiosity that was quite palpable.

Both of them are VERY (not playing, not fronting) devout Catholics, and both of them have suffered brutal family loss. Their lives are informed by their religion. This probably makes some (not all, of course--many are in the "don't give a shit either way" camp) of the non-religious uncomfortable, but there it is.

I don't point out their 'communion' to put them down or disregard the conversation--no need to "still think." But it was what it was--the connection between them was, and is, amplified by a common religious core.

Muslims do this too--so do Jews. It's not a Catholic thing, or a Christian thing. It's a "faith" thing -- a "common to the core" thing between two individuals.

[SouthernProgressive]

12. A couple of things.

One, I really never thought he was running unless Hillary seriously faltered. Even then I wouldn't be so sure. Second, I hope he is enjoying this. He deserves a smile and being a clear second has to give him a smile. A Biden smile is priceless. Third, I think he has enormous respect for Hillary and has a connection with her. I think he is currently helping her by not making a definitive claim.

[sabrina 1]

19. Actually he's helping Sanders. In polls where he is NOT included, Bernie is still rapidly gaining

btw, so Biden's support isn't affecting Bernie.

Otoh, Biden has indicated several times that he both admires Bernie, telling people just last week to 'vote for Bernie' because 'he is a good man'. And just a few weeks ago giving a passionate speech to young people about the devastating effects of MONEY on our electoral system and that THIS issue MUST be the #1 issue in this campaign or 'nothing else can be done'.

He went even further saying the 'Democrats have to LEAD THE WAY' to get the 'Money out of politics' AND he went even further than THAT saying that 'people should NOT accept the excuse that Dems have to take it because Repubs do it'. He said that is not true.

So I agree he most likely is not running, he went on and on about how money has corrupted our system and told his audience they should not even trust those they like, such as himself, when it comes to that money.

After hearing that speech, it seems that he regrets being part of this corrupt system and would want to do what Bernie is doing IF he did run.

[SouthernProgressive]

20. He kicks ass. I'm so happy he gets to see the support. I'm sure it means a lot to him.

Always have loved Biden.

If Biden doesn't announce, they will remove him from the polls being done. Every intelligent analysis says that his numbers will break for Hillary over that of Sanders. If that day comes, Hillary will gain even further frontrunner status without lifting a finger. The polls will simply look much different and Hillary will get two weeks of coverage about her commanding lead. That's without lifting a finger. It's a pretty big positive for her.

[Disco Inferno]

23. Whose analysis?

If those Biden voters are ABC, then they will move to Sanders, or become a solid Sanders supporter.

[SouthernProgressive]

24. ok. lol.

Some polling places have removed Bidens name in back to back polls. As one would expect, Hillary went up at a greater rate than Sanders. That is without even taking into consideration the "surge." Under no rational thought would it work any other way. I get that those with CDS don't get the fact that others aren't suffering the same symptoms.

[gateley]

35. I trust Biden to make the best decision for himself, the party and the country.

Interested to see what happens.

[gateley]

37. I agree that Hillary is a big factor --

and that he has enormous respect for her, and truly considers her a friend.

I remember during one of the 2007 debates he said something in a response that could have been seen as a snarky slam towards Bill. He realized, too late (classic Biden ) how it might be interpreted and his eyes got wide, his head snapped around and looked at Hillary and he sincerely said "I didn't mean..." and Hillary was nodding, said "I know".

She knows he's not out after her and if he does run, like Bernie, will not be ugly.

[morningfog]

13. What a scoop! Lol.

[marble falls]

14. No inside scoop or crystal ball needed to predict Hillary was going to run. I remember one Bill's...

news conferences after the election and he said "with Hillary, voters would be getting two presidents "for the price of one"." She's been running since '92.

[Peacetrain]

15. You are better than me.. I did not think Hillary would run at all

She had so much on her plate..and there was talk of Supreme Court Judge.. it was not until Chelsey quit her job that it finally hit me.. Yep she is running.. because Chelsea is getting ready to back up her Mom..

[Raine1967]

25. I haver a very good friend who worked with Biden in 2008 and is still in touch with many people

from his campaign. More important is that he knows Biden personally. This was before Beau passed and before anyone publicly knew he was ill.

I asked him about this at his super bowl party, he said the same thing.

[elleng]

27. Yes, Raine, I agree (from my uninformed perch,)

so LET's GO!

[MADem]

28. Of course he's not. If he could run for VEEP again, he'd get a ton of support. He's liked.

He's just not liked for the top spot.

Some people play lead, some play 'best supporting'--Biden's a supporter, not a lead actor.

He pretty much said so on Colbert yesterday as well. And Jill went back to school.

And he doesn't want to be the asshole who stood in the way of history.

Signs point to NO.

[Salviati]

33. After hearing all the hubub about Joe getting into the race...

I had a lot of concerns about any potential candidacy, and after seeing his interview with Colbert the other night, I was relieved to hear Joe echo exactly 100% of my concerns. After that interview, I'm sure that whatever decision he comes to, it is the right one for him. No matter what else one may say about Joe Biden, one cannot deny that he is one of the most honest and forthright politicians we've got today.

[whatchamacallit]

36. So he directly stated he won't be running? n/t

[gateley]

38. Nope. nt

[AgingAmerican]

39. That became pretty obvious

When he said he didn't know if he could handle it emotionally.

[JI7]

41. many of us could have said the same without attending the salon

And other things.

I do think Biden would run if for whatever reason Hillary had to get out or implodes. And both of these are very unlikely to happen.