The “bromance” between former President Barack Obama and his second-in-command Joe Biden has been fodder for social media memes for years. But according to a new book, the fun loving friendship between the two men allegedly had a rocky start.
According to Newsweek, Steven Levingston‘s new book Barack and Joe: The making of an extraordinary partnership outlines the at times awkward friendship between the two men.
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Levingston says when the duo crossed paths during the early days of Obama’s political career, while listening to a tedious speech given by Biden, the then-senator wrote his adviser a note saying, “Shoot. Me. Now.”
As some continue to question why our former POTUS has yet to endorse his former Vice President’s bid for the oval office, this book highlights the evolution of their relationship which it claims is a lot more complicated than the public would think.
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“Joe, despite his many virtues, was just another white guy, one in a long line of American presidents—hardly the symbol of the Teutonic change that Obama hoped would mark his place in the history books,” Levingston wrote, implying Obama would have preferred former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton be his successor.
“‘Barack had placed his bet on Hillary, the one he believed would confirm his revolutionary stamp on American’s political culture—the first black president passing the baton to the first woman president,” the author continued.
Although the pair obviously became close throughout their time as president and second-in-command, in 2012 Obama’s advisers allegedly looked into replacing Biden with Clinton to make the ticket stronger.
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Levingston suggests Obama’s current resistance to publicly endorse Biden during this current election demonstrates “a pattern of political expediency from Obama that put a strain on his relationship with Joe, especially as they went their separate ways after the White House.”
But Biden repeatedly insisted that he personally asked Obama not to endorse any of the candidates – himself included – in order to allow the public to choose from a level playing field.