President Obama Gives Joe Biden his Blessing for His 2016 Presidential Bid

Vice President Joe Biden received President Barack Obama’s “blessing” to make a 2016 bid for the White House, according to a senior Democrat...But that’s if Biden chooses to run — the decision is his. While he doesn’t need the President’s permission, of course, a potential presidential candidacy was among the topics of their lunch Monday at the White House. The President made clear he would not stand in his way or counsel him against a run, the senior Democrat said.

The Vice President’s office downplayed the speculation about Biden’s political future.“Sources continue to speculate about something they know nothing about,” Biden spokeswoman Kendra Barkoff said. “This lunch was a private meeting between two people — the President and the Vice President.”

The Vice President was expected to huddle at his home Monday night with Anita Dunn and Bob Bauer, the husband-and-wife team who have been at Obama’s side for much of the last decade, two people familiar with the meeting told CNN. Steve Ricchetti, the Vice President’s chief of staff, was also expected to attend.

“As a general rule, we are not going to confirm the Vice President’s private meetings or provide a readout of them,” an aide to the Vice President told CNN on Monday.

Dunn, a former White House communications director, and Bauer, a longtime lawyer to Obama, were among those invited to a meeting at the Naval Observatory in Washington. Ted Kaufman, a loyal Biden confidant who briefly occupied his Senate seat from Delaware, was also among those gathering to discuss how Biden could run, if he decides to do so.