Everyone who has read Shattered, the grotesque play-by-play of Hillary Clinton’s disastrous losing campaign, is familiar with the tale—starting very, very early in the process, Clinton and her team locked up almost every important Democratic endorsement in the country, including a silent but no less significant nod from Barack Obama himself. It effectively boxed out every other mainstream candidate, ensuring her a nice, smooth ride in the Democratic primary…well, if not for that pesky outside Bernie Sanders. Among those left without a piece of the centrist pie was Joe Biden, who was reduced to playing the waiting game, only to enter the race if Clinton completely bombed before reaching the general election. She only kinda bombed, though, and all he could do was take his hat out of the ring and make vaguely positive remarks about Sanders as he watched the presumptive favorite march to November.
It’s unclear whether he’ll make a presidential run in 2020, as he did in 1988 and again in 2008, but what’s not unclear is his intention to avoid the fate of 2016. At the very least, the man is giving himself a choice. Politico reports that along with accepting very political invitation within a 1,000-mile radius, Biden and his staff are plotting out an “18-month timeline” designed to make sure that if he does run, he’s going to lead the pack.
Biden, who will be 77 when the first primaries roll around in 2020, has plans to give speeches in New Hampshire, new York, florida, and Las Vegan in the next month alone, while he’s also slated to headline three different commencement ceremonies (Harvard, Colby, Morgan State). As Politico notes, the schedule reeks of presidential aspirations.