Looking ahead: Biden vs. Clinton?

>>> we're back. and i said what a day. hillary clinton 's strong performance today was a reminder to many that she would be a formidable candidate. who doesn't know that, in 2016 . today we got hints about another one. vice president joe biden . he clearly wants to run. he seems to be laying the groundwork for a run which he was asked about on cnn yesterday. let's listen to what he said.

>> is there any reason you wouldn't run?

>> there's a whole lot of reasons why i wouldn't run. i haven't made that decision and i don't have to make that decision for awhile.

>> so are you ready to run against hillary clinton in 2016 ?

>> i haven't made that judgment and hillary hasn't made that judgment. but i can tell you what. everything that should be done over the next two years that i should be part of would have to be done whether i run or i don't run. if this administration is successful, whoever is running as a democrat is better positioned to win. if we're not successful, whoever runs as a nominee is going to be less likely to win.

>> well, brand new poll out today from the washington post and abc news shows how popular hillary clinton is. she's not quite at chris christie 's level in jersey but close nationally. 67% say they have a favorable view of her. joe biden is viewed favorably by 48%. he's been in the line of fire. and until today secretary clinton wasn't. looks like biden is making a run. let's talk about this. i think he's one of the best columnists around right now. and nia-malika henderson is with the post. she's just starting. the big guns coming out in her career. let's talk about this. we have a nice mix here. let me talk about i'm a pure political person. it's all i think about is politics most of the time.

>> nothing wrong with that.

>> i think biden is trying to get his foot in early and maybe hope she'll not decide to run and he'll be there. he also hopes putting his foot down early, establishing new facts like i'm running may slightly intimidate her not to run. one more thing to fight with is a fight in iowa. and she doesn't plan to go out to iowa and play that game. first question, is biden running?

>> we don't know. we don't know if -- in some ways he's been running since 1998 . his performance, it was classic biden . he clearly enjoys this stuff. i think it all depends on hillary clinton .

>> okay.

>> he can't scare her away. she's not scared of anyone.

>> i want some more skin in the game here, nia. is the president helping him by giving him jobs like the fiscal cliff negotiations?

>> i don't think that helps.

>> giving him the gun issue.

>> i don't think that helps him ultimately because it puts him in the line of fire. his approval ratings will likely decline in the way obama's will decline over the next year. hillary clinton will be off safe somewhere not political skin in the game.

>> look, it may hurt him in a general election , but i would say joe biden would be thrilled to have to worry about a 2016 general election . i do think guns, if he can do something, helps him. helps with the inside crowd. and i do think -- if you would ask joe biden today, hey, joe. and it wasn't on television, are you running for president you know what he'd say? yes. and i don't think he would pause.

>> although hillary clinton is formidable. it's "saturday night live." it's the parodies.

>> that's right.

>> those guys, they decide to caricaturize you, you're dead. hillary clinton came across today as presidential. listen to her.

>> today after four years in this job, traveling nearly a million miles , visiting 112 countries, my faith in our country and our future is stronger than ever. every time that blue and white airplane carrying the words united states of america touches down in some far-off capital, i feel again the honor it is to represent the world's indispensable nation.

>> you know, again, it's tricky to talk about fashion and everything. i think everything she did today, the hair, the suit, the glasses was very serious and very attractive, likable for a political figure of her age. i think she came across perfect today . your thoughts.

>> imagine all the other people. andrew cuomo , joe biden , imagine them in a situation like this. they're not the secretary of state. but what this does, it demonstrates that she has both massive understanding of how washington works and massive ability. she spent the equivalent of a full day facing many adversary i can't tell questions. you know what we're talking about? we're talking about her performance, maybe ron johnson or rand paul. you know what we're not talking about? hillary clinton made news in a bad way on benghazi. do not underestimate how hard it is to talk for seven full hours and basically keep the story that you've been telling. the same story at the end of the day that --

>> what i like, i liked her candor. she didn't come on and straight arm the thing and say we did everything right. people died. a close friend of hers died, chris stevens . she talk about terms of resources and priorities. they weren't always right on priorities. they didn't have enough money. she admitted they would change the system afterwards. to handle the high security problems. she admitted all that. it was a layout in terms of okay we're not perfect. we blew it in a way. we're not the worst people on earth, but we didn't do it right.

>> she talked like somebody in the arena. those are the people who get the credit. i also think the big question for 2016 is who can carry -- who can make the obama coalition the democratic coalition . and if you look at those numbers, the washington post poll, she's high favorability among african-americans, among women, among hispanics, and lower educated voetders.

>> do you think she will run the way the george w. bush 's father did after a third term fn reagan?

>> no.

>> her ego --

>> right. but in terms of -- i think that's right. but in terms of the attachment and the enthusiasm of the base of the democratic voters, she has that.

>> we're going to jump on it. i think she historically is to the left of jackson, somewhere around humphrey. right in the middle of the democratic party historically. she said we're the indispensable country. none of this pulling back, come home america.

>> yes. tough, but one other point. you know what she did? she did concede we made mistax but she also when tested by ron johnson most notably, she did not back down. the liberal base of the party didn't want hillary clinton to go and concede everything on benghazi because they believe she did the best of her ability. i think the wins points say everything didn't go perfectly but i'm not going to stand here and let you attack me and say we're to blame for everybody.

>> jim demint 's favorite senator. didn't look good today. thank you very much. we'll be right back. i wasn't being sarcastic. you're great. this is "hardball,"