I'm already on record as supporting Hillary Clinton. But were I to support a septuagenarian for the Democratic presidential nomination, I'd go with Bernie Sanders, who's 73. I noticed that you haven't called for his resignation from the U.S. Senate.

I fully understand -- and further share, at least in part -- your antipathy for Joe Biden, Jeralyn. But citing his age as a factor for not being able to hold his present job whilst running for another is rather petty.

You've already laid out a very cogent and compelling case in previous threads why Biden should not be president, based upon his own history as a U.S. senator. Please stick to that and don't risk incurring accusations of ageism, which some in the political blogosphere would use against you to undercut your own credibility in such matters.

We live in some pretty nasty times right now, and this is a high-stakes game. You've enough of a public profile in your own right, that you should consider the prospect of someone availing themselves of such comments to their own perceived advantage, which would likely come at your own ultimate expense.

What if Joe says to Elizabeth Warren, "You know I love Hillary, she's been absolutely wonderful in every job she's held. And, I would love nothing more than to just help her in every way possible to become our next President. But, you and I know it's just not going to happen. This email thing has really only gotten started. Her polls are cratering, and, all the important numbers regarding trust, believability, honesty.... the worst any candidate's ever had. It's over for her; you know it, and, I know it."

"Look at me, Liz. We can't just sit here, and, let those Neanderthals take the country away from the American people. We, simply can't let this disaster happen. And, if we don't do anything, the worst nightmare we could ever have dreamt will become the reality.

So, here it is. I know everything you've said before, but, that was when Hillary was a shoo-in. I want you to be the next President of the United States, and, I'll stay on as good, ole, Joe, you're time-tested Vice President. They know me, I'm their  comfortable pair of old shoes, "Uncle Joe." And, I know the public isn't clamoring for me as their President. But, You & me, The American people will go nuts over this idea, and, we'll win in the greatest landslide victory ever.

You don't have a choice any more, Elizabeth. The country needs you, the world needs you, hell, civilization needs you. And, of course, our grandchildren, and, their children, we just can't surrender them to that buffoon Donald, the deranged one, and his mob of psychotic sadists, just drooling at the thought of it all being theirs next year. So, leave it to me, I'll set everything up. You won't be just the first female American President, you'll be the best American President ever.

Thank you Madam President, a grateful country thanks you.

I'm going to go see Hillary and Bill now; we'll set up an announcement for next Wednesday.

Good Lord.

Several things: there's no way Obama can not give his so-called blessing, if that's really what it was.  To withhold it is to announce to the world that he thinks Biden's ceiling is being vice president.  To do that, he might as well just hold a press conference to show us Joe Biden's balls in bronze.

This trial balloon is starting to get on my nerves, but it does show us the power of hot air.

Of which Biden has massive amounts.

And the media...are they bored, annoyed that the Dems aren't giving them the same kind of three-ring circus atmosphere as their Republican counterparts?  Who knows?

Honestly, dude! If the State Department has already posted these emails online, doesn't it kinda sorta follow that its folks don't consider their contents as "classified"?

But then what the hell does the State Department know about national security and classified documents anyway, right? After all, it's only been in charge of maintaining our country's diplomacy and international relations for the past 226 years!

No, far better that we instead look for guidance in that regard from the same folks in the U.S. Intelligence Community who:

• Asserted in 1978 that "Iran is not in a revolutionary or even a pre-revolutionary situation;"
  
• Failed to foresee the 1991 collapse and implosion of the Soviet Union; and
  
• Assured everyone in 2002-03 that Iraq still possessed weapons of mass destruction.

'DISQUALIFIED': 18 U.S.C. Sec. 2071

Section 2071 of the U.S. Criminal Code sets out an unusual penalty for federal government officials who try to destroy official records - barring them from holding office in the future:

(a) Whoever willfully and unlawfully conceals, removes, mutilates, obliterates, or destroys, or attempts to do so, or, with intent to do so takes and carries away any record, proceeding, map, book, paper, document, or other thing, filed or deposited with any clerk or officer of any court of the United States, or in any public office, or with any judicial or public officer of the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.

(b) Whoever, having the custody of any such record, proceeding, map, book, document, paper, or other thing, willfully and unlawfully conceals, removes, mutilates, obliterates, falsifies, or destroys the same, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both; and shall forfeit his office and be disqualified from holding any office under the United States.

If just one of those 30,000 emails that she willfully obliterated and destroyed turns up and is government related, then she has broken this law.

Excuse me if I don't take this baths!t subthread, started by posting a link to a person who has at least as much credibility on electronic communications as Anthony Weiner seriously.

The State Dept. says that Mrs. Clinton's use of a private email account did not violate departmental policy.

Would that be the same State Department known as Foggy Bottom that Mrs. Clinton ran for 4 years and that let her hang onto classified emails for a year and a half and that just released emails that were classified by three other federal departments???

The question is not whether she was allowed by the department to use private email, but how she used it and abused it and compromised national security in the process of abusing it.

And her defenders at Foggy Bottom are in as much trouble as she is and yet you cite them as if they have any credibility in this matter.

And, I have to add - Joe Biden is NO insurance policy.