Biden reportedly closer than ever to running in 2016

A decision is expected in September; aides had eyed Labor Day as the optimal time but don’t rule out that it could stretch later. Biden will also be involved in preparations for visits by Pope Francis and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Biden’s consideration of a run is complicated by two extraordinary situations.

While Biden has done little to lay the groundwork for a possible challenge to Hillary Clinton and the rest of the Democratic field, CNN has learned that a group of his friends and advisers are still urging him to keep the door open.

“He’s devastated. His head is in it, but his heart has to catch up”, she said.

Beau Biden, who was always a big supporter of his father’s political career, passed away from brain cancer on May 13. Alcorn traveled consistently with Beau and served as a political confidante.

“The scenario of a Clinton-Biden matchup brought mixed emotions inside Mrs. Clinton’s Brooklyn campaign headquarters.”

Biden’s first campaign in 1988 ended in heartbreak after news reports that he plagiarized parts of a speech and exaggerated his academic record forced him to drop out. He ran against her, and Obama, in 2008 when his political standing was less than it is now after almost seven years in national office.

The support Biden has garnered speaks to growing concerns among Democrats that Clinton could lose in Iowa and New Hampshire, as the populist message of one of her opponents, Sen. In June, Mr. and Mrs. Clinton attended the funeral Mass of Beau Biden.

Biden’s entry could fundamentally reshape the dynamics of the Democratic primary, giving the party another option that might appeal to a wide swath of voters.

A campaign for president would offer a diversion from grief, they say.

“My sense is that he is getting nearer to creating a choice and I am hoping that call is he’ll throw his hat into the ring”, stated Dick Harpootlian, a longtime pal of Biden’s and the previous chair of the Democratic Celebration in South Carolina.

That left some prominent Democrats non-plussed.

While several are questioning Biden’s interest in running, it seems like things could be moving towards the positive if it was a wish from his late son. “So you’ll be able to’t actually ask for rather more than that”, she stated. His former vice president considering a run against – his vice president considering a run against his former secretary of state.

PIERCE: I haven’t had any direct conversations with anyone in his inner circle, but in the coming days and weeks, we’ll be making some announcements about some new staff and advisers joining onto our effort, just because they’ve seen a momentum that the vice president has been seeing as well.