SWAP BIDEN FOR HILLARY RUMOUR STARTED HERE AT THE BIG FEED HITS THE MAINSTREAM PRESS

Maybe I didn't start it, but maybe I did. I know I was posting this hypothesis as early as 16 days ago:

See here.

And here.

And now, from Fox News:

It’s almost certainly just a case of the telephone game gone high-tech, but there’s an Internet rumor surging through inboxes and discussion boards that Joe Biden will drop out as Barack Obama’s running mate after his Oct. 2 debate with Sarah Palin — and that he’ll be replaced by Hillary Clinton on the Democratic presidential ticket.

The story line goes as follows: John McCain’s selection of Palin has generated so much interest in the Republican ticket that Obama needs to make a radical move to regain momentum. So in the days after the vice presidential candidates debate in Missouri, Biden will bow out, citing “health problems” (Biden underwent surgery in 1988 to repair two brain aneurysms). Enter Clinton.

Furthermore, the story goes, any damage the gaffe-prone Biden does during the debate will be erased by his abrupt exit.

Snopes.com, a site devoted to picking apart online rumors and urban legends, has labeled the status of the claim “undetermined.” Several online discussion boards have been loaded up with denials.

Biden has caused a few hiccups for the Obama campaign. On Monday, he had to issue a clarification after he called one of his own campaign ads “terrible” in an interview with CBS News. He also faced a rebuke from Obama after he spoke out against the government bailout of American International Group last week before Obama was ready to take a position.