Atlanta – Vice President Joe Biden said Thursday he was unsure if he will seek the Democratic presidential nomination, telling a Jewish audience that his decision will hinge on whether he and his family have the “emotional energy to run.”
“Unless I can go to my party and the American people and say that I am able to devote my whole heart and my whole soul to this endeavor, it would not be appropriate,” Biden said, responding to a question following a foreign policy address.
Biden offered his most extensive remarks regarding his deliberations about entering a Democratic primary race that includes front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and others. His entry would shake up the race at a time when some Democrats would like to see more options, with Clinton’s campaign struggling with questions over her use of email when she was secretary of state.
The vice president, who unsuccessfully sought the White House in 1988 and 2008 before becoming Obama’s running mate, said he did not know if he would seek a campaign that would come months after the death of his 46-year-old son, Beau Biden.
“The most relevant factor in my decision is whether my family and I have the emotional energy to run,” Biden said, responding to a question posed by his longtime friend, Stuart Eizenstat, a former U.S. ambassador to the European Union.
He added: “I have to be honest with you. I can’t you look you straight in the eye and say now, ‘I know I can do it.’”
As reported by Vos Iz Neias