Joe Biden's decision on whether to run for president is largely emotional in the wake of his son Beau's death last May – but also in part keenly calculated,
Politico reports.
"Calculation sort of sounds crass, but I guess that’s what it is," one unnamed source tells Politico.
"The head is further down the road than the heart is."
Biden's 46-year-old son, who died of brain cancer, "is constantly on his father's mind," Politico reports. "But so are [Hillary] Clinton’s poll numbers, and his own," as well as the historic significance of Clinton's possible election as the nation's first woman president.
According to Politico, Biden has met with Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and hinted there might be a running-mate opening for her. Biden is polling with 18.8 percent, behind Clinton's 41.5 percent and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders' 25.4 percent, according to an averaging of national polls by
Real Clear Politics.
"His bet is that disaffection with Hillary will allow him to peel away some of her donors and operatives," former Obama adviser David Axelrod told the
Associated Press last week.
Politico on Monday reported Biden could make a decision on whether to run this week.
What kicked off the maneuvering, according to Politico, was an Aug. 1 column by the New York Times'
Maureen Dowd – for which Biden himself talked with the columnist – describing how son Beau pleaded for his father to run for president because "the White House should not revert to the Clintons and that the country would be better off with Biden values," Politico reports, citing "multiple" sources.
With both Biden and his family, however, still uncertain about their strength to run a campaign, it's become Biden's surviving son, Hunter, who now "remains the main agitator supporting a campaign," Politico reports sources saying.
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