Biden Pondering Presidential Run

Vice President Joe Biden — the Scranton native and former longtime U.S. Senator from Delaware — is pondering a late entry into the 2016 presidential race, multiple reports say.

“Vice President Joe Biden met privately with Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Saturday in his residence at the Naval Observatory, CNN has learned, another sign he is seriously deciding whether to jump into the Democratic presidential race,” CNN reports. “Warren and Biden discussed economic policy during a meeting that lasted about two hours, a person familiar with the discussion told CNN, adding that the presidential campaign or Biden’s future was not a particular focus of the discussion.”

If he enters, Biden would face a formidable Democratic frontrunner in Hillary Clinton. But she’s showing signs of weakness that may invite his entry.

“The vice president’s deliberations illustrate how, with just six months before the first presidential nominating contests, both major parties’ campaigns are in a state of flux,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “Democrats are increasingly insecure about Mrs. Clinton’s candidacy, given her dipping approval ratings and continuing questions about her use of a private email server while secretary of state.”

Both have served in President Obama’s administration, and the president finds himself stuck awkwardly in the middle.

“While many say they’ll stick by Clinton, several members of the Obama orbit acknowledge they’ve become hesitant to say positive things publicly about Clinton, worried that this could be interpreted as tipping Obama’s hand toward her or insulting Biden,” Politico reports. “It’s not so much lingering animosity against Clinton from the 2008 campaign, that’s dividing loyalties, but the intense affection so many of them have developed for Biden as part of Obama’s team, and the personal connection he’s formed with so many of them.”

No word on when Biden will make his decision.