Should President Obama consider replacing Joe Biden on the ticket?
There's a growing chorus of voices suggesting that President Barack Obama should dump Joe Biden as his running mate in light of the vice president's latest mistake.
Biden told a mostly black audience in Virginia this week that Mitt Romney's vision of regulating Wall Street would put "y'all back in chains."
And even though the White House is standing by Biden, a lot of people think those comments were unacceptable.
Former GOP presidential candidate Sen. John McCain told Fox News "it might be wise" for Obama to swap out Biden for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Just today – the White House said it's not going to happen, adding that the one place they wouldn't go "for advice on vice presidential running mates is to Senator McCain."
Obama told People magazine Biden is an "outstanding vice president." The president said people get "obsessed with how something was phrased," even if that's not what was meant.
But Former Democratic Virginia Gov. Doug Wilder said he thinks Clinton would be a better choice. Wilder actually called for the switch back in 2010, and he said if the president had replaced Biden on the ticket several months ago, he'd have a bigger lead over Romney now.
As for Clinton, she has made it clear many times that she's not interested, but it's probably wise to never count a Clinton out.
Legal experts tell The Weekly Standard that it's still possible for Obama to change his running mate. The Democrats have until September 6 to nominate their presidential ticket.
Here's my question to you: Should President Obama consider replacing Joe Biden on the ticket?
Tune in to "The Situation Room" at 4 p.m. ET to see if Jack reads your answer on the air.
And we'd love to know where you're writing from, so please include your city and state with your comment.
Should White House apologize for Biden’s ‘chains’ comment?
By CNN’s Jack Cafferty:
President Obama isn't backing away from Joe Biden's comments about putting people "back in chains," which is pretty remarkable when you think about it.
Speaking to a predominantly black crowd yesterday, the vice president said Mitt Romney's vision of regulating the big banks would quote "unchain Wall Street" and put "y'all back in chains."
Biden said this in Danville, Virginia – a city with a long history of racial tension.
He later tried to clean up after himself by saying he was referring to the Republicans' use of the word "unshackled" when talking about banks. It was too late as he had already caused a firestorm.
Biden has a long history of saying dumb stuff. What's alarming here is the nation's first African-American president is OK with this kind of language.
The president's deputy campaign manager told MSNBC she doesn't think Biden went too far when taken in context. She said, "We have no problem with those comments."
This is the same kind of insensitivity the president showed when he said "If you've got a business, you didn't build that."
Romney is blasting Obama, saying his campaign is all about "division and attack and hatred." The Romney campaign calls Biden's comments "a new low." Hard to argue with that.
Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani questions whether Biden has the "mental capacity" to handle the presidency.
Often times what Joe Biden says is entertaining and can be written off to be putting his mouth in motion without engaging his brain. But the comment about putting people back in chains is loaded with racial overtones and is a long way from being cute.
It should have been embarrassing for the nation's first black president.
But apparently it wasn't.
Here's my question to you: Should the White House apologize for the vice president's remarks about putting people "back in chains"?
Tune in to "The Situation Room" at 4 p.m. ET to see if Jack reads your answer on the air.
And we'd love to know where you're writing from, so please include your city and state with your comment.
Would you vote for Joe Biden in 2016?
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
It's never too early to start looking ahead to the next election.
President Joe Biden.
You may or may not think it has a ring to it.
But that may be just what the vice president has on his mind for 2016.
According to Politico, the often-unpredictable and entertaining Mr. Biden, who's already been down this road twice before, is quietly assembling a team of advisers which includes a top Clinton-era operative.
So one might wonder if Biden thinks the third time might be a charm.
Close friends say right now he's focused on helping President Obama win a second term.
He's already popping up on the campaign trail-and depending on what's on his mind, he can arguably be the most interesting one out there.
After that though, friends think - and think he thinks - a potential White House run could be on the table.
Not everyone says that's such a great idea.
After all, he'll be 73 and has been known to put his foot in his mouth on occasion - sometimes on no occasion.
Of course there is also Hillary Clinton - who is a much bigger star in the Democratic party. She ran in 2008 and came very close to beating Obama for the nomination.
There was even talk she was going to replace Biden on the ticket as President Obama's running mate this go-round.
There are also some younger up-and-comers who could potentially breathe new life into the party and may want to give it a go.
Politico suggests New York Governor Andrew Cuomo or Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley, to name a couple.
Never mind all that. I hope Biden jumps in. It would be the most refreshing thing to happen to presidential politics since, well, Obama ran.
Here’s my question to you: Would you vote for Joe Biden in 2016?
Tune in to the Situation Room at 4pm to see if Jack reads your answer on air.
And, we love to know where you’re writing from, so please include your city and state with your comment.
Should Pres. Obama drop Biden for Clinton in 2012?
(PHOTO CREDIT: JIM WATSON/AFP/GETTY IMAGES)
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
President Obama should drop Joe Biden and put Hillary Clinton on the ticket with him if he runs for re-election in 2012.
It's an idea that's getting lots of attention these days... despite the fact that the election is still more than two years away.
This all heated up after a piece on Politico.com this month by former Virginia Governor Douglas Wilder. He says as Secretary of State, Clinton has been nothing but a team player. Wilder says she's been tough and commanding when necessary... as well as graceful and diplomatic. He then compares her to Biden, who as Vice President has continued to make his infamous gaffes.
Wilder also points out that Clinton might be able to help the President win key voting blocs, like middle class Independents and working class voters.
Since the Wilder piece, the idea is popping up all over, from the pages of the Wall Street Journal to Time magazine, AOL's Politics Daily and The Daily Beast.
Some suggest Clinton and Biden should swap roles as Secretary of State and Vice President... while others argue that putting Clinton on the ticket will give Pres. Obama the best shot at re-election.
And then there's the whole notion of President Obama creating yet another historic ticket - with the first female vice president.
As for The White House - it quickly shot down this idea, insisting Joe Biden will continue to be a "trusted partner" for the president.
Of course, this could be a moot point if Mrs. Clinton decides to make another run at the top job.
Here’s my question to you: Should President Obama drop Joe Biden for Hillary Clinton as his running mate in 2012?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Obama’s Best Use of VP-elect Biden?
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/11/13/art.obama.biden.b.gi.jpg caption=" How should Obama make the best use of Biden?"]
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
Today we're going to spend a couple of minutes talking about the vice presidential candidate who actually won the election, Joe Biden. Remember him?
After 9-11, one of the first things President Bush did was find a secure, undisclosed location in which to store his Vice President, Dick Cheney. Once hidden away, Cheney could begin pulling the strings for the new administration. Secret energy meetings with that fun bunch from Enron, drawing up plans to invade Iraq as well as the lies they would need to cover it, figuring out how to operate the most secretive administration in history without being accountable to anyone. He had his assignment clearly defined right from the start.
It's always been a bit of a problem figuring out what to do with the vice president. As long as the president's alive, his official job description is limited. Break the ties in the Senate, sit behind the congressional leaders during the State of the Union address, and try to look interested when out in public.
Julian Zelizer, professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University says Biden could best be put to use soothing a Democratic Congress that's had a tense relationship with the Executive Branch in recent years. He believes Biden should be "a point man on Capitol Hill to help twist arms, make arguments and build voting coalitions."
Here’s my question to you: How should Barack Obama make the best use of Vice President-elect Joe Biden?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Is Biden an asset or a liability for Obama?
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/09/26/art.biden.ap.jpg caption=]
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
Senator Joe Biden is never at a loss for words. That is both the good news and the bad news.
See not everything Biden says is helpful to the Democrats' cause.
Example: He told the CBS Evening News this week that in 1929 "when the stock market crashed, Franklin D. Roosevelt got on the television and didn't just talk about the, you know, princes of greed. He said, 'Look, here's what happened,'"
Only FDR wasn't in office in 1929 and there wasn't any television then either.
In the same interview, he called an Obama ad attacking McCain as computer illiterate "terrible." Last week, he criticized the government bailout of AIG without checking with the campaign first. Barack Obama later said, quote, "I think Joe should have waited."
There's more. Biden said that paying higher taxes was the patriotic duty of the rich. And earlier this month he told a crowd that Hillary Clinton may have been a better vice presidential pick than he was. Like we said…never at a loss for words.
Here’s my question to you: Is Joe Biden an asset or a liability for Barack Obama?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
@jackcafferty on Twitter
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