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Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio continues to fan the media flames over his potential run for governor by announcing that he will not announce his gubernatorial plans this weekend because Vice President Joe Biden will be in town for a Democratic Party dinner on Saturday night.
If you’re thinking Arpaio’s decision to wait has something to do with the amount of media attention he might attract with the announcement, you’re right.
“I’m not going to make a decision on May 1,” Arpaio told reporters yesterday. “I wouldn’t want to take the press away from Vice President Biden, who happens to be here on May 1. So, I’ll wait a few days.”
That might sound considerate, and all, but allow us to translate: If Arpaio plans to announce he’s running for governor, he wants to make sure that a visit from the VP — or anything else for that matter — isn’t gonna steal any of his ink.
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It does raise concerns that he’s really considering a run, though.
If he weren’t planning on running, it would seem that the vice president coming here would be a welcome diversion for the media, while he holds a press conference to announce that — once again — he’s been blowing smoke up everyone’s ass with the incessant hints that he was planning a run.
If he were to run, winning might not be the slam-dunk he probably expects. A poll released yesterday shows that Attorney General Terry Goddard leads Arpaio — and every other potential Republican candidate — by at least three percentage points.
