Happy Monday! Former Vice President Joe Biden is leading in all the polls for the Democratic presidential nomination but his rivals are planning for that lead to fizzle as time wears on. The other contenders seeking the nomination have all written into their campaign plans the opportunity of “when Biden fails.” “It’s a deceptive lead, because it really doesn’t get tested until we get down to a narrower race in which, at some stage, people are going to have to say, ‘Is he our guy or not,” says one Democratic pollster. [Politico]
Topping the news: The Tribune’s Peggy Fletcher Stack went to Russia this summer to look into how the country treats religions other than its officially sanctioned Russian Orthadox Church.