davis who served as special counsel in the clinton administration. he'll talk about hillary clinton's testimony before the benghazi committee. a reminder you can join the conversation on facebook and twitter. vice president biden: as my family and i have worked through the grieving process, i have said all along what i've said time and again to others, that it may very well be that that process by the time we get through it closes the window on mounting a realistic campaign for president. that it might close. i've concluded it has closed. ♪ vice president joe biden at the white house announcing he will not seek the presidency in 2016. signally an approach, and ending

approach to a political career that has spanned four decades. the 13 minute speech with the president and his wife by his side, mr. biden a knowledge that time was not on his side to get in the racenow. we'll begin with your reaction to the news here. here is how we are dividing the lines. clinton supporter styling in at 74808000. -8001. supporters 748 @cspano send us a tweet wj or go to facebook.com/c-span. d morning too. let's listen to more of what the vice president had to say in the rose garden yesterday at the white house. vice president biden: unfortunately, i believe we are out of time, the time necessary to mount a winning campaign for the nomination. but while i will not be a

candidate, i will not be silent. i intend to speak out clearly and forcibly to influence as much as i can where we stand as a party and where we need to go as a nation. and this is what i believe. i believe that president obama crisis this nation from to recovery and we are now on the cusp of resurgence. i'm proud to have played a part in that. bes party, our nation will making a tragic mistake if we walk away or attempt to undo the obama legacy. the american people have worked too hard and we have come too far for that. democrats should not only defend this record and protect this record, they should run on the record. host: vice president at the

white house giving advice to those in the race for president in 2016. he has decided not to go forward. here is the reaction from those potential opponents. hillary clinton tweeting " a good friend and a great man. today and always inspired by his optimism and commitment to change the world for the better." bernie sanders had this to say" i thank the vp for his support of the middle class." and this this is from debbie wasserman schultz. will continue and to dedicate his life to helping every american do better. could not be prouder to call him a fellow democrat." what's your reaction to this news? alexandria, virginia. you are supporting hillary clinton. what do think about joe biden not running? sorry.'m i was going to call on another question. but biden not running.

i'll tell you the way he has been flip-flopping for the last letter two, i'm glad he decided not to, because if you cannot make up his mind in the length of time he was given, then, but my question on the benghazi hearings, why i called. it'snow, what gets me is unfortunate four deaths. whenack in the iraqi war were.n. peacekeepers requesting two weeks to verify whether there was wmd -- aboutwe are going to talk the benghazi hearing because that is happening on capitol hill today. hillary clinton will be testifying up there 10:00 a.m. eastern time. that will be shown on c-span 3 as well as c-span radio and our website c-span.org. if you don't have access, you have got your phone. you can call up the c-span app and listen on there.

we are going to talk more about it coming up in our first 45 minutes. let's stick to the topic at hand. david, oxon hill, maryland. what do you think of the news that joe biden is not running? iller: i heard him speaking, thought he was announcing he was going to run. i later realized he was announcing he was not running. and i was, i think it is unfortunate. i think he would've made a great president. host: why is that? caller: i think he is very down to earth. he cares about the american people. i think he cares about all americans. i think he has been a great, you know, just a great public servant. and it's unfortunate what happened with his son beau. he wouldink that he--

have kept this country going in the positive direction. host: are you a democrat? caller: i'm an independent. i voted republican and democrat in the past. i usually vote the person. host: if he had been in the race, sounded like he would have voted for him. are you leading, which way? caller: i'm leaning towards bernie sanders. what bernie sanders is saying. i like hillary clinton but not that, uh, yeah, i just like bernie sanders better. i think your clinton is -- -- hillary clinton is, her -- i mean, i would vote for the

democrats. i'm voting for pretty much the democrat. and bernie is an independent, too. i would vote for him. the one thing i can't do is vote for a republican. i voted for bush twice. mes going to take a lot for to vote republican again because the way that they have been acting. host: take a look at reaction from donald trump tweeting this. biden made the correct decision for him and his family. personally, i would rather run against tiller because her record is so bad." james gilmore. "biden decision means dems are left with clinton, sanders. socialist's policies would hurt those they claim they want to help." then you have rinse previous -- reince priebus saying that the vp's decision is a major blow for dems.

strongest candidate gone. party now saddled with scandal ridden clinton. we divided the lines by clinton supporters. those in the bernie sanders cap -- -- camp. what is your reaction to this? all others you can dial in 202-7 48-8002. frontw york times, their page story says this eases the path for hillary clinton. that is the headline. inside, this is what they report. fundraising was the biggest factor in his decision. he told aides and supporters "the strongest chance to continue the work that barack obama has done would be with him. he added that he believes mrs. clayton could lose the republicans -

-- mrs. clinton could lose to the republicans you remember the last time he ran in 2008. he did not win the iowa caucuses. therailed behind many of democrats in the race then. is supporting bernie sanders p what you make of this news he will not be challenged by joe biden? caller: i want to save is unfortunate that elections, and if you run for president, is determined by how much money you

have in the bank. and hillary clinton -- she does not have my vote in 2016. bernie sanders speaks for what i feel in my personal opinion we all believe in. and that's -- david.ood morning, caller: good morning. how are you? host: doing well. what do you think? caller: i really hate to see joe biden go. i think he was a really, really, really sincere. i thought he was really devoted. and standing with barack obama. throughout his presidency. i thought he was really dedicated to the democratic cause. personally, i thought he would make an excellent president. i don't care about the negatives that people talked to him. i think he was really sincere and dedicated. i really do believe that when

all is said and done, the country is going to regret having someone that is for real like joe biden for the everyday working person and for the veterans and minorities. i'm african-american, and he stood for minorities and the guy was just really genuine. i got saddened and teared up when i thought this through. that is the way i feel about it. i really, and tell you the truth, i don't think is too late for him. i think he would have more support than what some of these polls are showing. i really do. and i really wish he would reconsider it. i really do. so, that is kind of the way i feel about it. i'm still -- i'm in the democratic camp. i'm going to have to hear.

i do not think there are enough debates to , the six debates. i do not believe that was enough. i'm going to still have to hear what hillary and bernie have to say. but i really do wish that joe biden was back in the, would announce he would get into it. host: you mentioned polls. i want to show viewers what you are talking about because this is yesterday's wall street journal. showedatest poll that preference among democratic primary voters with biden in the race. he saw his preference rating drop in september to 17%, trailing hillary clinton and bernie sanders. it went to 15% in october. race,t biden in the hillary clinton's numbers jumped to 58%. then you have the front page this morning of the washington post noting that biden backers break for clinton.

hillary clinton was the second choice candidate for thie majority of biden supporters. this strengthening her candidacy for presidency and for the primary nomination for the democratic primary nomination. then also this in the papers this morning from the boston globe. they did this poll among new hampshire democrats. they find democratic socialist president is acceptable. 6 in 10 likely voters in new bepshire -- they would acceptable to have a democratic socialist president of the united states. so, bernie sanders still very much in this race. david in tulsa, oklahoma. what do think about all this? caller: you just got through speaking to me. host: let me move on. francis, spring hill, florida. what do you think of this that joe biden is not going to run?

caller: i'm glad he decided to get out. i think it's time has past. i love him. i think he did a wonderful job as a vice president. very loyal to president obama. but i think we need to move on. and i will never, ever -- i have been a democrat since i was 18. i'm 69. i will never vote for a socialist. i think it is a wasted vote. this country is not a socialist country. we're not socialist threat we are somewhere in between capitalism and socialism. socialism has a bad connotation to it. i am a hillary supporter. i remember when her husband and her fought for health care before anybody else did. people seem to forget that. she was vilified because of the process. i think president obama picked up the ball and advanced it. now we have health care. it is not socialized health care but it is good. he fulfilled his agenda. people, people are

mistaken if they think black people will not vote. i am an african-american for hillary. it is different being a person who lived in brooklyn and went to live in vermont. believe me, might granddaughter went to school in new hampshire. it was not a very from the atmosphere for black purses. i have nothing against bernie sanders. i do not think he is good for the country or the democratic party. his vote is a wasted vote. host: in other news on capitol hill, yesterday the freedom caucus is, put their support behind paul ryan, but not an official endorsement. th washington timese noting that paul ryan came up short of the number needed for an official endorsement. but it helps mr. ryan get closer to the 218 votes of support he will need when the full houseboats october 29 to replace john boehner. the day before is