Hard to argue Hillary means ‘change’

Democrats think they’re sitting pretty for the 2016 presidential election. They have an all-but-anointed standard bearer in Hillary Clinton, one who has the extra appeal of possibly making history as the first woman commander-in-chief, while the Republicans again face a crowded, ideologically divided field with the potential of a blood-letting primary season that could leave the GOP with a wounded nominee.

Then again, politics have a funny way of confounding expectations. Clinton was supposed to be the nominee in 2008 but along came Barack Obama. This time, the conventional wisdom goes, she doesn’t have to face the prospect of a once-in-a-generation charismatic political phenomenon upsetting the apple cart.

But she might not get a free ride in the primaries and caucuses. Vice President Joe Biden, age 71, knows 2016 affords his last chance at the top job and is making noises like a would-be candidate. For example, he huffed and puffed left-wing rhetoric in a Labor Day address to a union crowd, saying, “It’s time to take back America.” He didn’t say take back from whom — the people who’ve been running the country for the last six years? As they say in email shorthand, lol!

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