[Margaret Layne]

A short while ago Vice President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from possible consideration as a Democratic nominee for President. It was a rather low keyed delivery by Joe Biden standards. It showed that it was a hard and conflicting decision that he had to make. I also think the timing is fortuitous for Hillary Clinton, especially as she is about to testify tomorrow at the Bengazi hearing. This shows a form of support from the Democratic vantage point. I’m sure she is a bit more at ease, but Biden has laid out some challenges to her indirectly and it would be interesting to see how things play out moving forward. Whoever wins the nomination Joe Biden will be a positive force and ally on the campaign trail. He has also challenged the Democrats to run on President Obama’s successes and to run on them and defend them. As Rachel Madow usually says “let’s watch this space”……