President Obama is heading to Philadelphia this afternoon as part of his “Moving America Forward” campaign. He’ll be joined by Vice President Joe Biden, along with senate contender Joe Sestak and gubernatorial hopeful Dan Onorato. Battle ‘10 will be there for the rally.
For anyone surprised that Obama and Biden will be appearing together at the same event with only three weeks remaining in a bruising election season, Metro Philadelphia’s Laura Goldman might have an answer:
I called a 30-year aide of the Vice President to find out the real reason for the joint appearance. Biden, who was often considered the third senator from Pennsylvania while Senator, is coming with Obama to the rally because they want to “stop dead in its tracks the rumor” that Clinton and Biden are switching jobs. The White House wants their personal chemistry on display because they do not need the distraction of the Bob Woodward started gossip.
Indeed, Obama and Biden have been so far campaigning separately, like when they held simultaneous rallies at different colleges late last month. Chatter about the president replacing Biden with Secretary of State Clinton began in earnest this week when veteran reporter and insider Bob Woodward told media it was “on the table” in advance of 2012.
If Ms. Goldman’s source is correct about the reason for this afternoon’s joint appearance, there might be as much coverage of the motivation behind the rally as its alleged purpose to marshall support behind Sestak and Onorato’s flagging campaigns.