Dem
51
GOP
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Normally, if someone shares their "guess" that Joe Biden will announce his reelection bid shortly after the holidays, that is not really newsworthy. After all, you know what they say about the similarities between opinions and certain body parts. However, when the person sharing their "guess" is the White House Chief of Staff, that's worth taking notice of. And yesterday, Ron Klain was attending an event staged by The Wall Street Journal, and he sat for an interview with the paper. Asked about the President's reelection plans, Klain said that an announcement would be made sometime in January. He also added: "I expect the decision will be to do it."
There is absolutely no chance that a White House Chief of Staff would say these things off the cuff. He was certainly given permission to share this "guess," and was probably instructed to do so, so that the White House can see what the response is. There's no harm in having a little extra information to work with.
So, barring something unexpected. Biden will soon announce that he's running again. Note that this doesn't actually tell us all that much, though. The last time a president served one term and then did not stand for reelection was 142 years ago, so it is very likely the President will run again, octogenarian or not, announcement or not. And if he is running, it is best for both him and the Party to tamp down on any talk of primary challengers.
Meanwhile, if he doesn't end up running, Biden is still best served by telling everyone that he is. Otherwise, he gets to spend the second half of his term as a lame duck, which is not generally a good way to get things done. He can always change his mind later if politics or his health make that the right choice. Remember that, at this point in the cycle in 1950 and 1966, Harry S. Truman and Lyndon B. Johnson were plotting reelection bids that never actually happened. After all, as we've pointed out roughly 10,000 times, a week is a lifetime in politics, and between January 2023 and the 2024 presidential election, there will be just shy of 100 weeks. That's 11 cats' worth of lifetimes. (Z)