Brace yourself, America – the Democrats may be about to pull Hillary Clinton from the 2016 presidential ticket. And that could mean it's "Biden Time."

Clinton, once thought the inevitable nominee, looks weaker than ever. As Donald Trump unites the GOP and wins the support of onetime enemies like Marco Rubio, Clinton is still mired in an unexpectedly brutal primary with 74-year-old socialist Bernie Sanders.

Then a scathing new report from an inspector general for the State Department suggested the legal and political fallout from the email scandal is just beginning.

And Clinton's huge lead in the polls has vanished, with some polls even showing Trump pulling ahead.

TRENDING: Alan Dershowitz sues CNN to halt 'malicious' attacks on innocent people

All this is leading to speculation the Democrats will try to substitute Biden as the nominee at the Democratic convention.

What do YOU think? Will Clinton be the Democratic Party presidential candidate? Sound off in today's WND poll

Well-known investigative reporter and political commentator Carl Bernstein argued on CNN his own reporting has revealed people in the Clinton camp knew Hillary Clinton set up a private email server so she would not be subject to the Freedom of Information Act.

Bernstein said the former first lady's problems are "about lying" and called her actions "reckless." Bernstein also added the explosive claim Democratic Party leaders are "terrified" Hillary's campaign "is in freefall."

National Review Online's national-affairs correspond John Fund reports Democrat leaders are quietly "laying the groundwork to implement Plan B [a Biden/Warren ticket] if they think it will be necessary."

In a recent column, Ann Coulter pondered whether Barack Obama, widely believed to have a contentious relationship with Hillary Clinton, would allow Clinton to be indicted.

This would pave the way for a Joe Biden/Elizabeth Warren ticket. At a recent rally, Donald Trump suggested such a plan is already being widely discussed.

"I hear they’re going to actually slip Joe Biden in, and he's going to take Bernie's place," Trump said.

Mike Towle, a veteran reporter who has written more than 15 books, suggests there's a 50 percent chance it could actually happen, even with the general election less than six months away.

Related articles (story continues below):

Trump to Savage: I'd rather face Hillary than Bernie

'Crazy' Bernie, 'goofy' Biden or 'crooked' Hillary?

Clinton impeachment could determine election

Donald Trump turns to Hollywood for campaign help

'Never Trump' crowd hints at candidate David French

"In the 'old normal' world of politics, that would be too short a time to run a substitute candidate, but this is the 'new normal' world of Trump and Sanders so throw out the rule book," Towle told WND. "Throw out the rule book. Replacing Hillary with Biden – or even Liz Warren – could take place as late as July without further dragging down the Dems' chances of keeping the White House."

Towle has chronicled some of Joseph Biden's most outrageous and baffling declarations in his book "Biden Time: Crazy Uncle Joe In His Own Words." Despite Biden's well-known history of putting his foot in his mouth, Towle argues Biden will not face the same criticism for his gaffes as does Donald Trump.

"What benefits Biden politically in terms of his verbal missteps – such as the infamous Indians/Dunkin Donuts remark he made years back – is the double standard 'progressives' (a misleading term if ever there was one) have when it comes to political incorrectness," Towle said. "Biden or any other Dem politician will always be forgiven by party loyalists for anti-PC statements, while the likes of Trump get slammed from all sides for anti-PC comments, even when they're based in truth. In that regard, the Dems' general lack of objectivity grates at me."

Is this who the Democrats are really going to run in 2016? A hilarious look at Joe Biden, in his own words. "Biden Time" available now in the WND Superstore.

However, Towle suggested no matter how long the odds, Hillary Clinton will tenaciously fight to keep the position to which she believes she is entitled.

"Hillary still gives off the vibe she is entitled to the presidency, and you know she and Bill will fight to the gates of hell to keep her in the race," he said. "The Clintons together are a very formidable force in the Democratic Party, where many Dem power brokers cower before them."

But if Hillary Clinton stays in the race, some Democrats are terrified she will be crushed by Trump. And the mainstream media are reluctantly admitting Hillary may not have what it takes to defeat The Donald.

David Bernstein at Politico calls it a "terrifying moment" for Democrats and warns "panic is beginning to set in."

In a piece praising Elizabeth Warren's attacks on Trump, Jim Newell at Slate concedes Clinton backers have an "inability to settle on an overarching story about Trump" even as Trump revels in blasting Clinton as "Crooked Hillary."

And press outlets normally favorable to Hillary are beginning to criticize the Democrat front-runner, with the editors of the Washington Post lambasting Clinton's "inexcusable, willful disregard for the rules" when handling her communications as secretary of state. In a blistering editorial, the paper urged the FBI to finish its investigation quickly "so all information about this troubling episode will be before the voters."

If the Democrats pull Hillary at the last minute, it wouldn't be the first time the party used an emergency substitution to win an election. In 2002, notorious Democratic Sen. Robert "The Torch" Torricelli of New Jersey pulled out of an election he looked likely to lose after being enmeshed in scandal. Former Sen. Frank Lautenberg took Torricelli's spot as the Democrat nominee and was able to keep the seat for his party in the general election.

Towle argues Biden offers certain advantages over Hillary, especially in competing with Trump for white working-class voters.

"That's one area in which he can cut into Trump territory," Towle observes. "Biden grew up upper middle class, but he doesn't come from high-rolling privilege or wealth. While Biden in no way would ever be considered blue-collar, he can connect with working class folks because he has worked hard to get to where he is, overcoming setbacks and not being blessed with a lot of book smarts. Plus he's kept putting one foot in front of the other despite several personal tragedies in his life as well as his own near-death experience. He is approachable and he is flawed, yet he is a person of accomplishment. Many people recognize that in him."

Towle also believes Biden has a certain authenticity that Hillary lacks.

"What Biden has going for him that Hillary doesn't is transparency – he's human," Towle says of his subject. "He says some dumb things at times, but he has the ability to laugh at himself and he has a good heart. He's a good man, and voters from both parties know deep down that to be true."

But it's by no means certain Biden is a much better candidate overall than Hillary.

"Biden has a cleaner bill of political health and a lot less baggage than Hillary does, but he's also been a dreadful candidate numbers-wise the two times he has run in 1998 and 2008," said Towle. "The question Dems have to ask themselves, is it better to run with goofy (Biden) or 'crooked' (Hillary)? If I were a Democrat, I would lean to the former, because at least now Biden has seven-plus years of VP on his resume and that, pardon the expression, trumps whatever Hillary can put on an application."

Towle says it is impossible to overstate what a weak candidate Hillary Clinton really is.

"The most amazing thing about the 2016 election cycle is not the Donald Trump factor – it is how a fringe, relatively unknown candidate such as Bernie Sanders has lasted this long in the ring with Hillary when she should have been trouncing him by 30 or 40 points in every state along the way," he told WND. "Mind-boggling. It goes to show how disliked she really is, a horrible candidate even without the email scandal thrown in."

For that reason, some Republicans anxious to take back the White House in 2016 may actually be hoping Hillary Clinton can hang on to her lead in the polls – for a little bit longer, at least. But if Biden does become the nominee, Towle says it at least guarantees an entertaining campaign with two notoriously outrageous candidates competing for the nation's highest office.

"Maybe one of the reasons Biden hasn't taken Hillary's place yet is because the shorter his campaign is, the lesser the odds he will screw up in a town hall, a forum or a debate," Towle said. "Debates between Trump and Biden would be classic. Biden's debating Paul Ryan in the 2012 VP debates was meaningless in speculating how debates with Trump would play out. Ryan's almost-boring academic/intellectual approach is totally the opposite of El Trumpo.

"Trump would be hammering away at Joe, belittling him right and left, while Biden would just keep shaking his head and flashing that million-dollar smile while scolding Trump every chance he got. Trump's dynamic stage presence would disarm Biden at first but also would bring out another combative side of Biden we really haven't seen but which I believe is buried in there somewhere.

"Let the games begin!"

Is this who the Democrats are really going to run in 2016? A hilarious look at Joe Biden, in his own words. "Biden Time" available now in the WND Superstore.