With eight weeks to go to the midterm Congressional elections, and with the Gallup polls showing volatility and flux, it is time for President Obama to unleash his "secret weapon", Vice President Joe Biden!
Obama is actively being more aggressive, a la Harry Truman, but Joe Biden is naturally a great campaigner, who knows how to inspire audiences and how to go on the attack against the opposition!
This is not a time, again, to act "nice", as the opposition Republicans have no limits in tactics or speech regarding their purpose to destroy the Obama Administration!
So, Mr. President, it is time to "unleash" Joe Biden, send him out on the road, being as good if not better than Harry Truman, and not worrying about Republican and conservative talk show host criticism!
One good point, among many others, about Joe Biden is that he easily deflects irresponsible criticism, and is willing to anger and infuriate the opposition and still can sleep at night! 
Joe Biden is one of the greatest assets Barack Obama has, and the President MUST utilize him to the fullest, as Joe is totally loyal to his President and will do whatever he is asked to do!
So hopefully, Joe Biden will be a true asset in this midterm Congressional election campaign!
Yesterday, a Chicago dentist paid for a commercial that is stirring a lot of discussion, proposing that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton run for President in 2012, replacing President Barack Obama!
This activity was NOT promoted by Hillary Clinton, but is stimulated by this person's loyalty to her, plus the problems that are now faced by President Obama, due to the weak economy and the predictions that the Republican Party will win control of the House of Representatives, and long shot chances to win the US Senate!
Hillary Clinton has made clear that she does NOT plan to run for President again, that she has been through that, and has no desire to do that again! Of course, it is nothing new that politicians declare they are not interested in running for President, and then proceed to do just that!
Of course, there have also been proposals and speculation that Obama might tap Clinton to run for Vice President for the second term, replacing Joe Biden!
It seems clear that there is no possibility of the first scenario, and only a very slight possibility that the second situation might occur!
It has not been possible for a challenger to a President within his own party to defeat the President for the nomination, with well known politicians including Theodore Roosevelt in 1912, Ronald Reagan in 1976, Ted Kennedy and Jerry Brown in 1980, and Pat Buchanan in 1992, having only accomplished the defeats of Presidents William Howard Taft, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and George H. W. Bush!
As far as Vice Presidents being replaced, it has been extremely rare, even if the person involved was seen as a weak figure, such as Spiro Agnew in 1972 and Dan Quayle in 1992. When Gerald Ford decided to replace Nelson Rockefeller with Bob Dole in 1976, it actually seems to have undermined his chance at reelection, on top of the challenge from Ronald Reagan earlier in that year!
So despite the wishes of some to see Hillary Clinton on the national ticket in 2012, it is extremely unlikely it will happen, but should Hillary Clinton want to run in 2016, her record so far and moving forward as Secretary of State, should put her in good position to do so six years from now!
Vice President Joe Biden gave a "pep talk" to the Democratic National Committee yesterday, predicting that the party would retain control of both houses of Congress in the November 2 midterm elections!
Smartly, he did not give any numbers as to the party balance, and did not state that the party would retain the same number of seats, as that would be foolhardy, when one looks at the history of midterm elections!
But he pointed out that the Republican party has offered no real alternatives other than "repeal and repeat", and that the American people, going through the roughest time since the Great Depression, would come to their senses after Labor Day, and realize that slow progress has been made, and it makes no sense to go back to the failed policies of the George W. Bush years, which led to this economic disaster!
The Tea Party activists running on the GOP line will weaken the party, Biden predicted, and with all of the propaganda going around that the Democrats are going to lose many seats, it is a fact, well known and reported, that the Republican National Committee is running low on campaign funds, while the Democrats are in much better financial shape!
So the media reports that are widespread, making it seem as if the Democrats are in retreat, may not be the case, as the author feels! But, of course, it is essential that all who believe that a return of the Republicans to control of Congress would be devastating, to get out there and work for the party and vote!
Sally Quinn of the Washington Post recently came up with the suggestion of Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton switching positions for the Presidential Election of 2012!
Now, former Virginia Governor Douglas Wilder has made the same suggestion in an article on the Politico website!
His argument is similar to Sally Quinn's view: that President Obama is going to need the support of Hillary Clinton fans to win in 2012, and that Joe Biden cannot help him win the next election!
The argument is that Hillary is able to win the white working class vote, both male and female, and that is Obama's major Achilles Heel! Hillary would bring out more committed and emotional support, and would be seen as the heir apparent in 2016!
Meanwhile, Biden could have the position he always seemed to want--to be Secretary of State, since he has always been particularly involved in and fascinated by foreign policy, and was long time Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee!
The question is how both Hillary and Joe feel about this concept, as well as President Obama's view! It is clear that Obama is close to Biden, and sees him as an integral part of his administration!
But at the same time, Hillary Clinton has been a very active and committed Secretary of State, and very loyal to her former rival!
So this question will obviously be bandied about a lot in the next six to twelve months, and the question will arise whether the switch would occur with the election, with both Hillary and Joe as "lame ducks' until January 20, 2013, or whether the 25th Amendment would be utilized for the first time since 1974 to make the switch BEFORE the election!
Was this the purpose of the 25th Amendment, to change the Vice Presidency holder for the upcoming election, or only when there was a vacancy due to death, bad health, impeachment, or resignation for corruption reasons of the Vice President or the President?
That is the key issue involved here, and it will certainly be discussed and debated until the situation is clear as to what President Obama, Vice President Biden, and Secretary of State Clinton decide is best for the three of them and for the nation!
Governor Charlie Crist of Florida continues to lead public opinion polls over Marco Rubio, since he left the Republican Party and started an Independent race for Senator!
Crist is gaining a large portion of Independents, as well as Democrats, who are not thrilled by either Congressman Kendrick Meek , or his primary opponent, billionaire real estate investor Jeff Greene!
Crist could become the third Independent Senator next January as a result, joining Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, both of whom ally with the Democratic caucus and often vote with the party!
The question that arises is what Crist would do if he won the Senate seat, but it seems likely that he would ally with the Democrats as an Independent, similar to Lieberman and Sanders!
This issue could be more than just interesting; it could be decisive in organizing the Senate if the Republicans, somehow, manage to gain eight seats, and Crist joins the Democratic caucus, creating a 51-49 Democratic Senate!
Of course, if the Senate was evenly divided, Joe Biden could organize the Senate by his tie breaking vote! But a nine seat gain could also be resolved without Biden, if Crist declared he was in the Democratic caucus!
So Charlie Crist could be the man of the hour and the year, and in some ways, become the most important US Senator next January!
I am sure the thought must please him greatly, particularly after the collapse of his GOP support, which led to his Independent candidacy in the first place!
Many observers have stated that, in a sense, we have two "royal families" in our midst--the Bushes and the Clintons!
Years ago, it was thought that the Kennedys were a "royal family", with John F. Kennedy in the White House, Robert Kennedy as Attorney General, and Ted Kennedy in the US Senate!
But then President Kennedy was murdered; Robert Kennedy, after being elected to the Senate and running for President, was also assassinated; and Ted Kennedy "self destructed" as far as the Presidency was concerned, as a result of the Chappaquiddick tragedy, although he served a long, distinguished career in the Senate!
But the Bush Family saw George H. W. Bush serve one term as President, and son George W. serve two terms in the White House!
The Clinton Family saw Bill Clinton serve two terms as President, and wife Hillary seek the position as the first serious woman candidate in 2008, and then end up as Secretary of State under her rival, Barack Obama!
The rumor mill now has it that Jeb Bush, former Governor of Florida, brother of George W., and younger son of George H. W., will seek the White House in 2012 to reassert the Bush reputation and please his parents, in their high 80s but hoping to live to see a second son become President of the United States! This rumor, the author would say, is quite valid and more expected now than even a few months ago, as the Presidential nomination season comes closer to its start after the midterm elections!
Meanwhile, Bill Clinton has been restoring his reputation as a political "genius", the most active former President ever to get involved in electing others of his party! The former President has become "gold" to candidates, most notably home state Arkansas Senator Blanche Lincoln, who received tremendous campaign support from Clinton in her winning primary challenge! Bill Clinton is actively pursuing helping others as well, and sometimes in various primaries, has endorsed someone other than who the Obama Administration supports! If the Democrats retain much of their margin in Congress and the state governorships, Bill Clinton will gain a lot of the credit!
But there are still rumors that the Clintons and Obama do not like each other very much, despite the fact that Hillary Clinton has been a loyal, hard working Secretary of State for the President. So rumors have it that Obama may not run, and Hillary will run in his place for the Presidency in 2012; or that Hillary will switch positions with Joe Biden, and become the Vice Presidential running! mate for 2012, giving her an edge for the 2016 Presidential nomination; or that Bill and Hillary will repudiate Obama after expected disastrous midterm election results, and that Hillary will resign from the cabinet, and challenge Obama in the 2012 Presidential primaries!
It seems to the author that the first rumor, that Obama will not run, is highly unlikely, although Obama did say once he would rather be a good one term President than a mediocre two term President!
The second rumor seems more possible, that Hillary and Biden might switch roles for the 2012 election, putting Biden in a position that he certainly fits into very well!
The third rumor is preposterous on its face, as Presidents regularly see repudiation in midterm elections, and still come back to win another term handily, as did Harry Truman in 1948, Ronald Reagan in 1984, and Bill Clinton in 1996! Since Hillary agrees with most of what Obama has tried to do, for her to challenge him would only weaken the Democratic Party, divide it, and lead to a GOP victory for the White House in 2012!
Remember that every time in the last century that a sitting President has been challenged for renomination, he has overcome the opponent, but then lost reelection--William Howard Taft vs. Theodore Roosevelt in 1912; Gerald Ford vs. Ronald Reagan in 1976; Jimmy Carter vs Ted Kennedy in 1980; and George H. W. Bush vs Pat Buchanan in 1992!
So likely, the Bush rumor is true, and the second Clinton rumor might be true, while the first Clinton rumor is highly unlikely, and the last Clinton rumor is extremely preposterous on its face!
The growing role and influence of Vice President Joe Biden is becoming evident.
The replacement of General Stanley McChrystal by General David Petraeus was due a lot to the disrespect that McChrystal demonstrated toward Biden in his published comments in Rolling Stone Magazine!
Biden is the skeptic on the inside of the Obama Administration who has the expertise and experience that Obama does not have, and Obama greatly respects him!
But Biden is also the loyal supporter of the President in public, and he goes behind the scenes on many undisclosed missions to help promote the foreign policy of the the administration!
An example of his influence is his surprise trip to Iraq , to celebrate the Fourth of July, and to work with the Iraqi government on moving ahead on setting up a stable government and constitution. He went with his wife, which was a first for a top government leader, and he informed the Iraqi government that compromise was necessary, just as with the Constitutional Convention and the Founding Fathers in 1787!
Biden is also the link between the administration and the US Senate, as Biden spent more years in that body than all but a small number historically! He may not be able to vote in the Senate anymore, but as its constitutional officer, Biden still wields influence over his former colleagues!
President Obama this afternoon did the absolutely proper thing, when he dismissed General Stanley McChrystal as head of American and NATO forces in Afghanistan, and replaced him with his superior, the head of Central Command in the Middle East, General David Petraeus!
No military leader can be allowed to be disrespectful to the President of the United States, as civilian command over the military is paramount in our system of government! McChrystal's insubordination, on top of his coverup of the "friendly fire" death of Pat Tillman, the football player who volunteered to fight in Afghanistan, required his dismissal, as no General is indispensable! 
Petraeus is an excellent alternative, although it adds to his total burden, being in both positions, so one wonders if he will keep the head of Central Command for long, or whether someone else will eventually become the head of forces in Afghanistan, once things settle down!
In any case, Obama took the right step, but now he needs to go one step further, and have the courage to do what his Vice President, Joe Biden, a foreign policy specialist in his 36 years in the Senate, has been advocating!
Biden has been the loyal partner, not complaining that Obama chose to escalate US involvement in Afghanistan, but Biden is still advocating that we rapidly withdraw troops a year from now, to keep with Obama's date of starting to remove our combat soldiers!
Biden has not been afraid to contradict Petraeus on the need to have rapid withdrawal next year! It is obvious the battle for the heart and mind of President Obama continues on this issue!
With so many problems at home, and such a big budget deficit, we need to lay down plans to withdraw, and not only save hundreds of billions of dollars annually, but also the lives of our courageous troops!
President Obama, the author has stated this before, and says it again! We need to get out of Afghanistan, a cemetery for the British and the Soviet Union, and fight terrorism in other ways! Listen to Joe Biden, as he is a brilliant man who knows what he is talking about! And realize the fact that McChrystal's ridicule of Biden should be seen for what it is: McChrystal is not to be respected, as he has attacked the man who, in many ways, makes your Presidency better than it could have been with anyone else in the Vice Presidency!
Joe Biden should be respected and listened to, as he has the proper perspective and insights, and he is there to support you and back you up! He is an jewel of unlimited value!
Lately, there has been speculation about the future of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Acknowledged by most observers as doing an exceptional job as Secretary of State, and reported to have a very close relationship with President Obama, one would think that Clinton would simply stay on as Secretary of State, until her plans at some point in the future to retire, self declared by her recently.
But instead, there are rumors that she will replace Secretary of Defense Robert Gates when he leaves at some point in the future, and returns to Texas!
There is also the suggestion by Sally Quinn of the Washington Post that Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden should switch positions, with Hillary becoming Vice President under the 25th Amendment, after Joe Biden resigns and becomes Secretary of State, having the opportunity to shape foreign policy, his greatest love and passion!
The argument is that Biden has no intention of seeking the Presidency, as he would be 74 at the end of a second Obama term.
But supposedly, Hillary Clinton might still be interested in seeking the Presidency at the age of 69 in 2016, younger than Ronald Reagan, Bob Dole, and John McCain, when they finally were nominated for President!
The argument is that Hillary Clinton could help President Obama win a second term, and with her experience and gender, could negate the effect of Sarah Palin or any other woman in the Republican party, and would have exceptional credentials to replace Obama if, for some reason, he left before the end of the second term. In any case, she would have a tremendous edge on the 2016 nomination and election from the Vice Presidency!
Of course, all this is speculation and rumor, but it certainly is interesting and fascinating to discuss and think about such scenarios as Secretary of Defense and Vice President for Hillary Clinton!
Barack Obama proved once again how much he respects and relies on Joe Biden when he came out with the Vice President to hail the passage of Health Care reform legislation on Sunday evening, and had the Vice President introduce him on Tuesday as he signed the landmark legislation.
It is not typical for a President to allow his Vice President to share the limelight with him at key moments in his Presidency. Some Vice Presidents have been kept at a distance, such as Richard Nixon, Lyndon Johnson, Hubert Humphrey, Spiro Agnew, George HW Bush and Dan Quayle.
Only Walter Mondale and Al Gore were seen as real partners with their Presidents, but even they rarely shared the limelight with Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton. Dick Cheney was sometimes in the background, but was much more often not present at all in the public spotlight.
But Joe Biden has become an important part of decision making under Barack Obama, and he is totally committed to and loyal toward his President, and Barack Obama knows it and trusts him implicitly. Obama is not an egotist who needs the total spotlight for himself, and is very generous in having Joe Biden, his good friend, rejoice in the successes of the administration.
We are very fortunate to have a team of Obama and Biden, as together they are dedicated to essential change and reforms at home and abroad!