Biden to enter the race, Hillary climbs against Sanders, Carson closes on Trump

Race could change dramatically over the next two weeks.

Vice President Joe Biden is about to enter the Democratic presidential race while Hillary Clinton gains on Sanders and Carson gains on Trump, according to a poll from NBC and the Wall Street Journal. The race which until recently has been capped with antics on one side and congeniality on the other, is about to change character and grab a lot more attention.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - The breaking news is that Vice President Joe Biden has indicated to insiders that he has decided to run. The Vice President has been carefully considering the possibility amid a backdrop of challenging factors. His son, Beau Biden, died earlier in the year, throwing Biden and his family into deep mourning. Then, Hillary Clinton, who long appeared as the heir apparent to Obama, began to falter in the polls. Scandals took their toll on her numbers.

A Democratic outsider, Bernie Sanders, who is a registered Independent, started to rise against Clinton and Clinton has not fared well against hypothetical matchups against likely Republican contenders. The result is a lot of pressure from Democratic insiders on Biden to run.

Insiders close to Biden have said the Vice President will make his announcement within the week, and possibly as early as today. He is speaking at a function on Saturday and that may be his moment to announce.

However, if Biden delays much further, his opportunity could escape as Hillary Clinton begins to rise in the polls once more.

Clinton, who has long been plagued by scandals and accusations that she lacks charisma, has been on a charm offensive. This was very apparent during the first Democratic debate a week ago in Las Vegas. Clinton was well-practiced, poised, and presidential. She promoted her experience and this seems to have carried the day with voters.

Sanders, on the other hand, gave her a free pass on her email scandal, surrendering a major talking point to Clinton, and one of her greatest political vulnerabilities. Sanders made the move to focus on the issues, where he is strongest. However, the move is a blunder because the American people tend to think less of issues and care more for image. Of course, this is a classic problem in debate, and complaints about this fact have troubled thinking voters since antiquity.

Although more Americans have now been introduced to Bernie Sanders, his poll numbers have dropped in the latest NBC/WSJ poll. Sanders lost four points to 25.4 percent support among Democrats. Hillary increased her lead to 47 percent. The rest support Biden, who is yet to formally enter the race. It is expected that if Biden enters the race, it will steal support away from Clinton, who is closest to Biden ideologically.

However, even with Biden in the mix, Clinton will remain the clear leader.

In the Republican camp, Donald Trump continues to lead the pack with 25 percent support from Republicans, which is the highest level of support he has had yet. However, Ben Carson continues to gain on Trump and now has 22 percent support, putting him within striking distance.

Marco Rubio, perhaps the most well-spoken of the Republican candidates by far, stands at 13 percent and could become a contender, especially as both Trump and Carson are prone to gaffes and odd statements, things that gain attention, but can burn support. Rubio's position on the issues is conservative, level-headed and reasonable.

Ted Cruz is behind Rubio at 9 percent. Speculation abounds that if Trump wins the nomination, Cruz could become his VP pick.

Jeb Bush has fallen to just 8 percent support and may soon be out of the race. The other candidates can now only steal time and the spotlight from the front-runners, unless they can break out in the next debate. Carly Fiorina almost did that in September, but her camp has not capitalized on her post-debate gains, and she is now down to 7 percent. Mike Huckabee, John Kasich, Rand Paul, and Chris Christie are well below 3 percent. No other Republican candidate registers in the poll.

Likewise, the Democrats have a few non-contenders including Lawrence Lessig, Lincoln Chaffee, Jim Webb, and Martin O'Malley.

These contenders have good things to say and should be heard on the issues, but probably not this year.

The next two weeks will be important because the entire race will be shaken by Biden's entry. Republican contenders will have one more chance to stand out, then it is reasonable to expect that several non-contenders on each side should exit the race, allowing the public to focus on the frontrunners and their positions on the issues that matter most to Americans, instead of on antics.

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