Way back in the olden days - 2015 to be precise - I really believed that Joe Biden was going to run for President. It just made sense. Despite his inarguable status as America's touchy-feely gaffe machine, 'Crazy Uncle Joe' has a proven track record of winning.
'Crazy Uncle Joe'
At the time, I felt (and still feel) that Biden would have been a much more dangerous candidate than Hillary. Anyone with a pair of third-rate eyeballs could see that Mrs. Clinton was going to be a disaster. Biden may be wrong about everything but, unlike Hillary Clinton, he carries precious little baggage. He's weirdly likeable, he's not quite so left-wing-crazy, he likes to shoot shotguns into the air, and he doesn't have a 40-year history of abject criminality.
There's no way to know if he could have beaten Trump, but I've always maintained that he would have done better than Hillary. He gave a lot of reasons for not running but, in the end, it's likely that he bowed to the "it's her turn" pressure.
It wasn't "her turn."
So, is Joe eyeballing 2020?
Look, I suspect Biden is in "half joking" mode here. He's probably not 100% serious, but he must know that a statement like this will get the speculation running. So, he floats a possible run and waits. If Trump tanks, he can return in 2020. If not, no big deal.
It's the smart play and, whatever else he may be, Biden is not a politician you should underestimate.
Perhaps the bigger story here is the tongue-wagging response from Chris Matthews & Co. It's clear that the left is desperate for someone - anyone - to pick up the flag and carry on the progressive fight. They know how bad their current situation is.
...And they're frantically searching for a savior.
