Biden Lays Groundwork for 2016

The New York Times notes that New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan (D) was among the people to join Vice President Joe Biden, his family and close
political associates at the vice president’s residence for his official
swearing-in ceremony yesterday. And the night before, Biden attended a
pre-inaugural party of Democrats from Iowa.

Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal notes Biden “is expected to visit a Latino inaugural ball on Sunday
night at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, reaching
out to a fast-growing constituency that helped the Obama-Biden ticket
win in 2008 and again last year. For his swearing-in earlier in the day,
Mr. Biden selected Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who is of Hispanic
heritage, to administer the oath of office.”

First Read: “The governor of New Hampshire? Partying with Iowa Democrats? Hmmmmmm….
In all seriousness, he’s been carefully laying the groundwork with Iowa
and New Hampshire Democrats for months. Throughout the re-election, he
was keeping tabs on those key early states, congratulating winners
there, etc. Sitting VPs may be Jay Leno punching bags, but they are
familiar to activists.”