US Vice President Joe Biden. AP FILE PHOTO
WASHINGTON, United States鈥擬ore than any other modern American politician, Joe Biden is living out his grief in the public spotlight, even as the vice president struggles privately over whether to run for the White House.
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Mourning over the loss of his son Beau who succumbed to cancer in May, the normally gregarious, grinning and gaffe-prone vice president has been openly questioning whether he and his family have the emotional fuel to mount a third presidential campaign.
Experts and former colleagues in Congress say Biden鈥檚 authenticity grows with every display of anguish and acknowledgment of family suffering.
Biden鈥檚 deepest public exploration of his grief came during a compelling Thursday interview with late-night TV host Stephen Colbert, exhibiting a sense of character that voters would unquestionably embrace in today鈥檚 age of prepared statements, fake smiles and over-choreographed media events.
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His popularity has risen steadily this summer, and whispers about a possible Biden challenge to Democratic frontrunner and friend Hillary Clinton quickly grew to an international buzz.
Politically, the green lights appear to be on. Clinton is slipping in the polls, her campaign marred by a lingering scandal over her use of a private email server while secretary of state.
People close to Biden say he is increasingly leaning towards a run, US media report.
He has been testing the waters, recently in battleground state Florida where a somber Biden said his family鈥檚 鈥渆motional energy鈥� was the primary factor, not whether he could raise funds or put together a campaign team.
Tragedy has visited Biden before. His first wife and infant daughter were killed in a car accident in 1972.
鈥淛oe鈥檚 agonizing is real,鈥� US congressman Bill Pascrell, a Biden friend since the late 1970s, told AFP.
Of the vice president鈥檚 appearance with Colbert, 鈥測ou had to reach out through the screen to console him,鈥� Pascrell added.
鈥淭his is not theater. This is what he鈥檚 really grappling with, and that鈥檚鈥� more important than what the polls are saying and more important than what other people want him to do.鈥�
Biden told CBS 鈥淟ate Show鈥� host Colbert that no one should run for president unless 鈥渢hey can look at the folks out there and say, 鈥業 promise you have my whole heart, my whole soul, energy, and my passion to do this.鈥�
鈥淎nd I鈥檇 be lying if I said that I knew I was there,鈥� he said.
Biden, 72, has emerged as the most human of the politicos on the national stage.
His authenticity and humility are 鈥渋mportant factors,鈥� and his likeability is simply something 鈥渢hat Clinton doesn鈥檛 have,鈥澛爏aid political science professor Timothy Hagle of the University of Iowa.
Biden鈥檚 relatability would prove immensely valuable on the campaign trail. And with Clinton struggling, 鈥渢here are probably some Democratic donors and supporters thinking he should get in because they see him as a stronger candidate that Hillary Clinton,鈥� Hagle said.
鈥淭here is great affection for him universally on our side of the aisle,鈥� said a US House Democrat who spoke on condition of anonymity. 鈥淏ut there鈥檚 skepticism about whether or not he is up to this.鈥�
Pascrell concurred.
Biden has shown remarkable strength and in the face of his suffering, and compassion for others in their grief, but while those qualities would endear a candidate like Biden to voters, 鈥渢hat doesn鈥檛 make you ready to be president,鈥� Pascrell said.
Colbert, who himself lost his father and two brothers in a plane crash when he was 10, practically pleaded with Biden to run, saying 鈥測our example of suffering and service is something that would be sorely missed in the race.鈥�
Meanwhile the sand sifts through the political hourglass, with experts debating whether it is too late for Biden to mount a viable campaign.
Biden has said he would decide by summer鈥檚 end, while others point to early October. The first Democratic Party primary debate is October 13.
Delaying further could be an option, especially if Clinton loses more ground to her current main challenger, liberal Senator Bernie Sanders.
鈥淚f Clinton goes into free fall, Biden could be seen as the person to come in and pick up that slack,鈥� Hagle said.
The vice president is already being touted as a potential game-changer for 2016.
After Biden鈥檚 Thursday interview aired, former White House assistant budget director Kenneth Baer tweeted: 鈥淭he more Biden opens up, the more appealing as a candidate he becomes.鈥�