Axelrod: ‘I’m a Little Skeptical’ About Joe Biden Running
GUTHRIE: “David Axelrod worked closely with Vice President Biden as a senior White House adviser and top strategist for both Obama-Biden campaigns. David, good morning. Good to see you.”
AXELROD: “Good morning, Savannah. Good to see you.”
GUTHRIE: “All right. How real is this? Do you think the vice president is seriously considering a run?”
AXELROD: “Well, look at it through his eyes. He was a United States senator for 36 years, very distinguished career there. He was one of -- he's been one of the most constructive vice presidents in history, very close relationship with the president. The middle class issue that is now the meme of this campaign has been the theme of his whole political career. So he's probably looking at this and saying ‘why not me’? But then there is the other side of the equation which is what it takes to put a presidential campaign together. Against a very formidable opponent and I think that is a real big reality check here. So I’m a little skeptical about -- the bombshell of the weekend.”
GUTHRIE: “Sometimes the speculation is just that. It’s out of thin air, comes from nowhere. Sometimes as you well know as a former top White House adviser, it is deliberately planted in the press. It’s a trial balloon to see if the support is there. Do you think that's what we're seeing here? Do you think that vice president or those close to him have let this kind of float out into the ether to see what people think of it?”
AXELROD: “Well, someone let it out into the ether. The question is whether it was him. You know, there's no doubt in my mind that he believes himself to be a peer of Secretary Clinton’s and probably feels that he would be a stronger, stronger nominee. But whether he wanted it to come out in this way, I have some doubts. And what he -- what he really has to measure, Savannah, is a cost benefit analysis. He has attained a great stature as a senior statesman within the Democratic Party. And does he want to risk all that in a battle that he would be very uphill.”
GUTHRIE: “It’s very personal. The vice president has told close aides, close associates that his son Beau Biden from his hospital bed urged him to run. In fact, the New York Times Maureen Dowd, the columnist, wrote about it this weekend – and some detail ‘Beau was losing his nouns and the right side of his face was partially paralyzed. But he had a mission: He tried to make his father promise to run.’ How much of this renewed consideration do you think stems from that? From the emotion of the loss of Beau Biden and his request that his father run?”
AXELROD: “Well, I’ve spent some time with the vice president and I think anybody who has knows just how hard that loss has hit him and how close he was to his son and what a loss this has been. But again, I think the other side of it, this is a guy who's been a presidential candidate or touted as one since 1972. He’s run twice, he knows what it takes. And I think that discussion has to be had yet. The emotion is powerful but it's not enough to make a decision to run for president.”
