Biden, Clinton swap denied by Obama insiders

(UPI) -- A new book looking into the 2012 presidential campaign alleged the campaign to reelect President Barack Obama secretly considered dumping Vice President Joe Biden and replacing him with then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as Obama's running mate.

Double Down, a book from journalists Mark Halperin and John Heilemann, said members of the "top echelon of Obamaworld" conducted polling and research in late 2011 to look into making the switch.

Then-White House chief of staff Bill Daley was the fiercest advocate of considering a change in running mate, which the authors said the team discarded after concluding Clinton "wouldn't materially improve" their chances.

But senior adviser David Plouffe, who was part of Obama's inner circle, wholly denied the report.

"Never any -- any -- consideration of VP/HRC switch," Plouff tweeted Thursday. "Not even entertained by the only person who mattered. Or most of us. Back to Halloween."

Never any - any - consideration of VP/HRC switch. Not even entertained by the only person who mattered. Or most of us. Back to Halloween.

— David Plouffe (@davidplouffe) October 31, 2013

And Friday, White House press secretary Jay Carney praised the vice president, fully denying the president had ever considered dumping Biden.

"What I can tell you, without a doubt, is that the president never considered that," Carney said. "And had anyone brought that idea to him, he would have laughed it out of the room."

And Daley, who the book claims pushed the campaign to consider Clinton, played down the book as "overhype."

"I think one of the jobs of Chief of Staff is to recommend lots of things out of the box, but not for a moment was there a serious discussion or a belief that Joe Biden should be replaced, period," Daley said.

Clinton, who left her post at the State Department in February, is considered an early frontrunner in the 2016 race, leading all Democratic contenders and potential Republican opponents by large margins.