JOE SPEAKS, AND HE SOUNDS LIKE A CANDIDATE – AT 1:16 P.M. ET:   The former vice president has his eyes on 2020, and would enter the race as, probably, the best-known candidate.  From The Hill:

Former Vice President Joe Biden fueled speculation he might make a 2020 bid for the White House, saying Monday night that he believes he is the “most qualified” person to take on President Trump.

“I'll be as straight with you as I can. I think I'm the most qualified person in the country to be president,” Biden said at a stop for his book tour in Missoula, Montana. “The issues that we face as a country today are the issues that have been in my wheelhouse, that I've worked on my whole life.”

“No one should run for the job unless they believe that they would be qualified doing the job. I've been doing this my whole adult life, and the issues that are the most consequential relating to the plight of the middle class and our foreign policy are things that I have – even my critics would acknowledge, I may not be right but I know a great deal about it,” he added.

Several election prognosticators believe Biden is laying the groundwork for a presidential campaign and that his association with former President Obama, who remains popular, and the Scranton, Pennsylvania native's appeal to middle America could make him a worthy opponent to the Republican nominee. However, Biden said the decision will be made in consultation with his family. 

“I have two young grandchildren my son left who love me and adore me and want me around. I want to be there to take care of them, so we've got to figure out whether or not this is something we can all do as a family,” he said. “We're going to make that decision in the next six weeks to two months, and that's the basis of the decision.”

Biden deflected several possible disadvantages of a potential campaign, including his gaffe-prone rhetoric, his age and his chairmanship of the Senate Judiciary Committee during the Anita Hill hearing, which has sparked concerns that he is not in touch with the concerns of the #MeToo movement.

COMMENT:  Biden is generally seen as one of the more decent liberal Democrats, but he has a history of being wrong on foreign-policy issues, and he is hardly a dazzling campaigner.  He will be 78 in 2020.  The president will be 74. 

Biden could be useful as a compromise candidate, a party peacemaker, someone who is respected by most factions.  That is also a weakness – the proverbial voice from nowhere. 

December 4, 2018