What’s Up With Obama ‘Silently’ Standing Behind Joe Biden?

“People close to the former president say that he is standing behind Biden amid allegations from seven women that the former vice president made them uncomfortable by touching them inappropriately at public events. “President Obama thinks the world of him and thinks he'd be an excellent president,” one source close to Obama who has spoken to him in recent weeks told The Hill. “He's spent an infinite amount of time talking about his character, and they remain in touch and good friends,” the source said. “But Obama has so far refrained from weighing in on news events, much less the emerging Democratic presidential primary contest, those close to him noted, leaving it unclear whether the current controversy surrounding Biden could be an exception. “President Obama is not going to be weighing in on the primary and the day-to-day stories around it,” the source said. “And Joe Biden would be the first to tell you that he'll have to earn the nomination on his own.” “Biden sought to head off the growing controversy on Wednesday, posting a video message online in which he pledged to “be more mindful and respectful of people’s personal space.” “A number of Obama’s former aides and advisers have already spoken out on Biden’s behalf in the wake of the allegations.

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“Susan Rice, Obama’s former national security adviser, wrote on Twitter this week that while Biden is “warm and affectionate” with both women and men, she had never found his behavior to be “inappropriate or uncomfortable.” “Jennifer Palmieri, a former senior adviser to Obama, applauded the video message posted by Biden on Wednesday in which he vowed to be more mindful of people’s personal space, saying that the former vice president’s words were “heartfelt” and the “best thing he could do to help himself in this moment.” “And in a recent interview with NPR, Valerie Jarrett, a former senior adviser to Obama, said that while Biden has been “extraordinarily demonstrative to both men and women alike,” she never interpreted his behavior “as a sexual advance in any way.” “I had the honor of working with Joe Biden every single day for eight years, and I have an enormous amount of respect for him,” Jarrett said. “But Obama remains one of the Democratic Party’s most popular and beloved figures, and some Biden supporters believe that a vote of confidence from the former president would likely go a long way in reassuring many Democrats who worry that the allegations will taint Biden’s expected presidential run before it even begins.”

“Two weeks ago, at a sold-out event in Canada, Obama praised his vice president.  “He complemented me,” Obama said. “He looked at the world and approached certain problems with a different set of experiences. But he had integrity, and he is a big-hearted person and a loyal person. And we shared a common set of values.”

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