Joe Biden could reveal his 2016 intentions on Stephen Colbert show, analyst says

It’s getting crowded on those fancy after-hours sets. Jeb Bush is scheduled as the first guest on the debut of CBS’s “Late Night with Stephen Colbert on Tuesday, to be followed 48 hours later by Vice President Joe Biden, and eventually, Democratic hopeful Sen. Bernie Sanders. Over on NBC, Republican front-runner Donald Trump will hold court on the “Tonight Show” on Friday.

Any minute now, the analysts will begin tracking how many times the hopefuls appear on the shows, because it means, well, something. This has been going on ever since then-Democratic candidate Bill Clinton stunned voters in 1992 by appearing on the Arsenio Hall Show, playing a saxophone and wearing sunglasses. In Mr. Biden’s case, it could mean something very specific — speculation is growing that he soon will reveal if he’s launching a bid for the White House.

“Will Joe Biden announce a 2016 run on Colbert’s ‘Late Show’ next week?” asks Mediaite analyst Matt Wilstein. “While it seems somewhat unlikely that Biden would use his first time on Colbert’s ‘Late Show’ couch to announce his decision to run for president, it is plausible that he could use the opportunity to announce that he has decided to forgo a 2016 campaign. At the very least, their interview is guaranteed to include plenty of awkward teases and speculation over the question on everyone’s minds.”

Other observers have noted that Mr. Biden, said to be involved in a number of strategic meetings and appearances, appears fairly cheerful and confident these days about a potential White House run.

The Atlantic’s senior political editor, Yoni Appelbaum asks: “There’s one intriguing theory that has so far garnered little attention: What if Biden knows something about Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton that the rest of us don’t?”