Clinton ally questions Biden’s desire to curb Wall Street

A longtime Clinton ally is questioning Vice President Joseph R. Biden’s “passion” for cracking down on Wall Street abuses.

Robert Reich, a liberal economist who was secretary of labor in the Clinton administration, said Mr. Biden might not be able to fire up progressives if he decides to seek the Democratic nomination for president in 2016.

“I think the one question that I would have about Joe Biden, is whether he is capable of igniting the kind of passionate enthusiasm that we need in order to mobilize against the big corporations, Wall Street, and the very wealthy people who are now taking over our democracy,” Mr. Reich said Tuesday night in a conference call hosted by the progressive group Democracy For America.

He added, “Joe Biden is a question in my mind. Is he passionate enough and is he tough enough about these issues that we’ve been talking about to really lead the charge?”

Mr. Biden, who is reportedly close to making a decision on running for president, said this week he has no issues with the rich and powerful in America.

During a discussion at the White House about ending tax breaks for oil and gas companies, Mr. Biden said, “By the way, I’m not one of these guys, you know, ’Let’s go after the rich and the powerful, they’re the problem’ — they’re not a problem. But everybody has to do their part, man. There has to be some rationality to this process.”