CBS on Biden’s Run: Hillary’s Soft Poll Numbers, E-mail Issues ‘Reignited’ Talks on Backup
O’DONNELL: “Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton is focusing on family in the first TV ads of her campaign. The ads will air tomorrow in Iowa and New Hampshire. They highlight Clinton’s support of families and her close ties to her mother. Nancy Cordes is in Washington where she's reporting on whether Joe bidden is now going to get into the race. Nancy, good morning.”
CORDES: “Good morning. The vice president has always left the door open for a run but he hasn't made any overt steps toward a bid either. But Clinton's e-mail troubles and some soft poll numbers have reignited questions about a backup.”
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CORDES (voice-over): “The latest round of speculation about a Biden run was sparked by a column in The New York Times. Maureen Dowd wrote that Biden had been ‘talking to friends, family and donors about jumping in’ to the race. And that, before he died, Biden's son, Beau ‘tried to make his father promise to run, arguing that the White House should not revert to the Clintons and that the country would be better off with Biden values.’”
B. BIDEN: “My friend, my father, my hero, the next vice president of the United States, Joe Biden.” (Applause)
CORDES (voice-over): “Beau Biden, passed away from brain cancer on May 13. Father and son were very close.”
HARPOOTLIAN: "My sense is that he's getting closer to making a decision and I'm hoping that decision is he will throw his hat into the ring."
CORDES (voice-over): “Dick Harpootlian, is a longtime friend of Biden's and the former chair of the Democratic Party in South Carolina.”
HARPOOTLIAN: "Democrats have not connected with Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders and they're open to another candidate and they're willing to listen. So i don't think it's too late.”
CORDES (voice-over): “Biden’s past two bids for the presidency were rocky ones. The first time, in 1988, he dropped out after news reports revealed he plagiarized part of a speech. In 2008, he got just one percent of the vote in Iowa. Clinton got more than 29 percent. Polls now show she is vulnerable on questions of trust and honesty. But she still leads Biden in a hypothetical matchup, 55 to 13 [percent] according to a recent poll.”
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CORDES: “Biden, would be arguably the most experienced candidate on either side: two terms as vice president, 36 years in the Senate. In a statement this weekend, the vice president's spokesperson would only say, ‘As the Biden family continues to go through this difficult time, the vice president is focused on his family and immersed in his work.’”
