I for one, was a big fan of putting Biden on the ticket in 2008. I think Obama needed to bolster his foreign policy credentials heading into the general election against McCain and Senator Joe was able to fill that void. Now, I believe is the time to consider the possibility of replacing Biden with Hillary Clinton on the ticket in 2012 - just consider, since we are more than two years out, no need for a quick decision.
The reason why I am saying this, is that Joe Biden is seen as a human gaffe machine and as an incumbent president running against a motivated Republican party, I think it is very important to run a campaign that will not be undercut by having to "clarify" what a candidate on our own side has said. Obama can run on the experience of actually being president, and a more disciplined running mate (Hillary) could run on foreign policy credentials. I also believe that putting Hillary as VP in 2012, can put the Democrats in the best possible position to win in 2016.
Historically after a two term president has left office, unless immensely popular, the other party gets a turn at the Oval Office. If Hillary can prepare a 2016 run in the last year of Obama's presidency in 2016 (she needn't jump in too early due to high name recognition), we would be well positioned for at least 12 straight years of democratic leadership
Below is a list of statistics that show the substantial popularity gap between Hillary and Biden and the strength of Obama-Clinton in 2012 compared to Obama-Biden.
Per the Cleveland Plain-Dealer:
Clinton, however, may want to reconsider her stance. According to the results of a recent poll conducted by Fox News, voters are very open to the idea. By more than two to one, voters said they would prefer to have Clinton (55%) as VP than Joe Biden (25%), who currently holds the job.
Amongst Democrats, the preference was even stronger. 67 percent preferred Clinton, and 25 percent preferred Biden.
Rather than just continuing to ramble on, I would like to get your input. Wwhich will be a stronger ticket in 2012: Obama-Biden or Obama-Clinton