OBAMA URGED ME NOT TO RUN, BIDEN SAYS

WASHINGTON Barack Obama repeatedly discouraged Joe Biden from running for the presidency to clear the path for Hillary Clinton, the former U. S. vice- president has claimed. In his new memoirs, Biden says Obama played up the appeal of leaving politics and gave little encouragement about a possible bid for the White House.

He says Obama’s pollster effectively told him he had “no real path to the nomination” and that running for would “rock the boat.” Biden even reveals suspicions that Obama gave an “explicit commitment” of support to Clinton, believing she could best secure his legacy.

The revelations, made in the book Promise Me, Dad, come with Biden openly contemplating whether to run for president in 2020.