Biden Backers To Naysayers: Not So Fast

By Dan Balz and Paul Kane October 16 at 10:17 PM

Democrats loyal to Vice President Biden have a three-word response to the politicians and pundits who say Hillary Rodham Clinton’s performance in Tuesday’s Democratic debate makes a Biden campaign less likely: Not so fast.

Appearing eager to tamp down talk that the window of opportunity for the vice president to launch a campaign nearly closed after the debate, loyalists are taking steps to assure potential supporters that there is still a path to the nomination, however competitive and challenging, if Biden decides to run.

The clearest evidence came Friday as the International Association of Fire Fighters informed the vice president the union will endorse him if he enters the race, according to a source familiar with the union’s thinking. That followed a letter e-mailed late Thursday to Biden’s political support network by former senator Ted Kaufman of Delaware, who said a Biden campaign would be “optimistic,” “from the heart” and unscripted.

“If he runs, he will run because of his burning conviction that we need to fundamentally change the balance in our economy and the political structure to restore the ability of the middle class to get ahead,” Kaufman wrote.

Even as initial polls showed a bump for Clinton after her performance, Biden’s lingering shadow continued to leave a sense of instability over the Democratic race, leading to questions on the subject for President Obama during a Friday news conference with the South Korean president. “I am not going to comment on what Joe is doing or not doing,” Obama said. “I think you can direct those questions to my very able vice president.”

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/biden-backers-to-naysayers-not-so-fast/2015/10/16/2aeb26be-73c3-11e5-9cbb-790369643cf9_story.html