When the 2016 Democratic presidential primary rolls around, many political observers expect Vice President Joseph Biden to be on the ballot.
But the gaffe-prone 70-year-old says he has yet to make a decision, and whether he takes another stab at becoming commander-in-chief hinges on how energetic he feels as the Obama administration winds down.
“I can die a happy man never having been president of the United States of America … But it doesn’t mean I won’t run,” he told GQ Magazine in a lengthy profile piece on the vice president released on Thursday.
“The judgment I’ll make is, first of all, am I still as full of as much energy as I have now — do I feel this?” Mr. Biden continued. “Number two, do I think I’m the best person in the position to move the ball? And, you know, we’ll see where the hell I am.”
The in-depth profile also explains, in Mr. Biden’s own words, how President Obama convinced him to take the vice president role — a job he didn’t initially want.
“He said, ’Help me govern, Joe,’ ” Mr. Biden said. “Not that I’m so special … But guess what, there was a war in Afghanistan going on at the same time, a banking system collapsing. It was a boulder rolling down a hill here. No matter who [Obama] was, no matter how brilliant … he doesn’t have the space on his desk to pick up all of those pieces.”
• Ben Wolfgang can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.
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