Politico

Despite a recent statement in New Hampshire, Biden’s campaign says his stance hasn’t changed.

By NATALIE FERTIG

02/06/2020 02:23 PM EST

Former Vice President Joe Biden's opposition to fully legalizing marijuana is well known, but on the campaign trail in New Hampshire this week he appeared to change his position.

"I think it is at the point where it has to be, basically, legalized," Biden said on Tuesday in a recording obtained by POLITICO.

Marijuana legalization advocate Don Murphy of the Marijuana Policy Project approached Biden at a campaign event Tuesday and asked about the candidate's "hawkish" cannabis policy. In the recording, Biden restated his cannabis plan — which would decriminalize cannabis, expunge some cannabis-related records, make medical marijuana legal and create opportunities for more research — adding twice that he does not believe cannabis is "a gateway drug." He then said he thinks cannabis needs to be "basically, legalized."

But Biden wouldn't be willing to legalize marijuana right away, unlike other 2020 contenders. Sen. Bernie Sanders has said he'll remove the federal ban on marijuana during his first 100 days as president. Biden, however, remained firm that he wants scientific research to support his decision, saying he is "not prepared to [legalize] as long as there are serious medical people saying, ‘We should determine what other side effects would occur.'"

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Politico

The election mess robbed Buttigieg of his election-night laurels while allowing Biden’s campaign to limp ahead.

By MARC CAPUTO

02/04/2020 09:18 PM EST

NASHUA, N.H. — Joe Biden entered the presidential race leading in Iowa. Later, he predicted he’d win the state as he rolled up local endorsements galore.

So Biden’s likely fourth-place finish in Iowa would normally put his campaign in ICU, especially when a former no-name mayor of a small town in Indiana came in first and bested the former vice president along with four senators.

But this is no normal campaign.

Iowa Democrats so badly botched their caucus that the results weren’t released until nearly a day later — and even now only two-thirds of the vote is in — making the biggest storyline about a broken app. It robbed Pete Buttigieg of his election-night laurels while allowing Biden’s campaign to limp ahead.

Because of the disarray, “The people like Biden who have ‘splaining to do aren’t ‘splaining,” said Joe Trippi, a veteran Democratic consultant of multiple presidential campaigns.

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Politico

His revolution was not televised from Iowa on Monday night.

By HOLLY OTTERBEIN

02/04/2020 09:53 PM EST

ABOARD BERNIE SANDERS’ CHARTER PLANE TO NEW HAMPSHIRE — The political revolution was put on hold.

When Bernie Sanders’ campaign was preparing for a potential win in the first 2020 contest Monday, his aides and allies envisioned him giving a primetime victory speech, raising millions of dollars from small-dollar donors amid their ecstatic high, and savoring proving so many elites wrong at a party at the Holiday Inn.

Instead, Sanders and his senior aides found themselves working to reassure demoralized and shaken staffers and volunteers on Tuesday.

In a last-minute all-staff call around noon, Sanders’ campaign manager, Faiz Shakir, told aides that the Iowa Democratic Party had been incompetent and the delayed results were frustrating. But, he said, it was critical to appreciate what had just happened despite receiving the most negative news coverage of any 2020 campaign.

With 62 percent of precincts counted, initial results released Tuesday showed Sanders and Pete Buttigieg in a close race for first place, and Sanders aides think there is a good chance they will win in the end.

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