Biden ‘proud’ of Dems in debate

Vice President Biden said Wednesday he is “proud” of the Democratic presidential candidates’ performance in Tuesday’s debate, which he sat out as he mulls whether to jump into the race. 

“I thought every one of those folks did well, thanks,” Biden told reporters after a speech on infrastructure investment at the White House complex. 

{mosads}Many political observers have said former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s strong performance in the debate may have narrowed Biden’s window to enter the race. 

But Biden gave no indication Wednesday that he has a set a deadline to make a decision. 

Calls for the vice president to enter the race grew as Clinton struggled to contain the controversy surrounding her use of a private email server as secretary of State. Clinton also saw her lead over Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) narrow, with the liberal taking the lead in polls of New Hampshire.

On Tuesday night, Clinton had a memorable moment with Sanders when the Vermont senator defended her on the email issue. The two smiled and shook hands after Sanders said people were “tired of hearing about your damn emails.”

At the White House, Obama spokesman Josh Earnest praised the Democratic candidates for “vowing to build on the important progress that has been made over the last seven years.”

“I watched the debate last night and the thing that I was stuck by after having watched the previous two Republican debates is that it was a keen reminder you can run a presidential campaign on things other than appealing to people’s fears and anxieties about the future,” he said.