Article snippet: When a woman screamed “You can hug and kiss me anytime!” to MORE at a campaign rally in Las Vegas this week, the candidate looked like had more to say. A laughing Biden, caught off guard, paused and looked down at his lectern. A few seconds later, he simply responded with the sign of the cross. “That’s very nice, thank you,” he finally offered, still chuckling. “Well, uh, on a serious note…” he then said before pivoting back to his stump speech. It was a small moment for the former vice president, but his allies say it was also an important one. The old Joe Biden, they said, might have made an unscripted, headline-inducing comment in response to the fan's remark. The new Biden contained any impulse to make a one-liner, and allies say that kind of self-discipline is what he needs to maintain his frontrunner status in the Democratic primary. “He’s hyper-focused and locked in on how he needs to run this campaign,” said one ally who has had conversations with Biden about the campaign launch. Biden is running a different kind of campaign than he ran in 2008, and his successes so far have surprised onlookers who thought he might struggle in the race’s initial stages. He’s been successful on the fundraising stage, he hasn’t had any major gaffes and his polling numbers are strong nationally and in early voting states. A Monmouth University poll in New Hampshire this week showed him winning twice the support of Sen. MORE (I-Vt.), his closest rival. To be sure, Bid... Link to the full article to read more