Would Joe Biden be a formidable Presidential candidate? I have read
more than one article that answers “no.” These articles note that Biden
ran for President in 1988 and 2008, and he did not do very well.
There are a lot of factors in whether a person does well in a
Presidential race or not. I think, though, that Biden could be a more
effective and formidable candidate in 2016 than he was in 1988 and
2008. The reason is that we have gotten to see more of Biden’s personal
side—-his honesty, his human vulnerability, his sensitivity. Speaking
for myself as a voter, when Biden ran in the 2008 Democratic primaries, I
saw him as a pompous jerk. Nowadays, I appreciate his human side more.
Although Hillary has a larger political organization, she remains
enmeshed in scandal, fairly or not. She is, and will continue to be, an
easy target by Republicans this election year. Republicans will
probably wear kid-gloves, however, when it comes to attacking Biden, or
at least they will focus on the issues rather than attacking Biden
personally. The reason is all of the things that Biden has been
through, and Republicans would look insensitive to attack him
personally.