Obama says rumors of him dropping Biden are ‘completely unfounded’

In a new interview, President Obama calls talk of replacing Joe Biden as his running mate in 2012 — perhaps in favor of Hillary Clinton — “completely unfounded.”

“Completely unfounded,” Obama repeated during an interview with National Journal magazine. “They are both doing outstanding jobs where they are.”

A Biden-Clinton swap has been a favorite topic of Beltway politicos and cable news channel for months. But the gossip was given credibility recently by author Bob Woodward, who said such a scenario was “on the table” as he promoted his new book.

Biden since has said that the president has asked him to be his running mate again. Obama had not been asked about the talk until now, though he did offer strong praise for his vice president last week during a campaign appearance in Delaware.

“I’ve had to make a lot of decisions over the last 24 months — both before I was president and since. The single best decision that I have made was selecting Joe Biden as my running mate,” he said Friday.

Another topic Obama has not yet discussed at length is whether he plans to run for reelection. Instead, he’s been focused on helping keep Democrats in power in 2010. Asked by National Journal if he would seek a new term, Obama answered: “I haven’t made any formal decision, but I feel like I’ve got a lot of work left to do.”

Told that sounded like a yes, Obama added: “Take it as you will.”

mmemoli@tribune.com

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