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Biden says "no rush" in decision on presidency bid

Xinhua, September 22, 2015 Adjust font size:

Just three weeks before the first Democratic primary debate, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said on Monday he would not "rush" in his decision to run for presidency in 2016.

In an interview with U.S. news organization America Media aired on Monday, Biden said the impact of a presidential campaign on his family played a decisive role in his decision.

"Your whole family is engaged, so for us, it's a family decision," said Biden. "I just have to be comfortable that this will be good for the family."

"It's not like I can rush it (the decision)," he added.

Biden's freshest flirtation with a White House run first surfaced on Aug. 1 after a New York Times column claimed that Biden's associates had already started to contact Democratic leaders and donors who have so far not endorsed Hillary Clinton or who have become increasingly concerned about odds of a successful run by Clinton.

However, Biden recently on several occasions spoke up his concerns of how a presidency bid would impact the family which were still grieving Biden's son Beau Biden's death and questioned whether the family would have the "the emotional energy to run."

Despite his overt indecision, The Wall Street Journal last week cited Biden's aides as saying that Biden was more likely than not to run.

The first Democratic primary debate is slated for Oct. 13, and as one of the only six debates scheduled by Democratic National Committee, the first debate would be crucial to get voters know the candidates and their policies.

It remains unknown whether Biden will join the first debate, but even if he misses the first one, damage to his run would be limited since he was second only to Clinton in terms of name recognition in the 2016 election cycle, according to a Gallup survey in 2014.

As a staunch supporter of policies of U.S. President Barack Obama, Biden would also have little difficulty in getting voters acquainted with his stances on policies.

In each election cycle, difficulty in fundraising proved to be a poisonous issue for latecomers. However, a cohort of big donors had already petitioned him to run last week and that could translate into huge amounts of donation.

However, Biden would have to submit paperwork before Nov. 6 as the first filing deadline facing Democratic candidates is Alabama, where candidates are required to file paperwork by Nov. 6 to get on the primary ballot. Enditem