Colbert Gets Personal With Joe Biden: VP Talks Family, Loss & Suffering

On “The Colbert Show” Thursday night Biden, still grieving the loss of his son Beau, talked candidly about what it takes to run.

The roughly 10-minute Biden interview Thursday night transfixed official Washington. But it’s rare to see politician reveal his or her vulnerability before a mass television audience. Like most things Biden this summer, there’s no consensus on the answer. “He is obviously conflicted, and that is a bad place to be for anyone considering running for president“.

The Biden appearance slapped the nation awake, reminding us that we’ve become nearly numb as we listen to the excuses, the prevarications, the bragging, the naked vanity that seems to dominate both major parties in this election season. Not the most ringing of political endorsements, but it is somewhat an endorsement of him as a human being. “There is nothing more genuine, authentic, and real than that”. And they have contributed to Biden’s skyrocketing personal approval rating in polls.

Biden has been evaluating whether to challenge former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the current front-runner for the nomination to represent the Democratic Party in the November 2016 presidential race.

Not immune to an opportunity, Biden grinned and said, “I imagine that would be a hell of a job”.

Instead, their discussion focused on more profound questions of faith and loss, prompted by the recent death of the Biden’s son Beau, and by the 1972 vehicle accident that claimed the life of his first wife, Neilia, and daughter, Naomi.

Watch the whole interview, broken into two parts, below.

“It was going great“. Bronze Star, sir. I served with him in Iraq, ‘ and all of a sudden I lost it… He trailed off. He has run for president twice before, but this time they have a tragedy to overcome.

Delaying additional might be an choice, particularly if Clinton loses extra floor to her present principal challenger, liberal Senator Bernie Sanders. Clinton will try out her comedy chops next week on NBCs “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.”.

Colbert urged the vice president to run. He added: “No one owes you anything”. I don’t know how to explain it more than that. “And for myself and, I suspect, for millions of people out there, I’d like to offer my condolences for the loss of your son, Beau”.

Biden, who has been considering for weeks whether to enter the presidential race, didn’t respond to the impromptu outpouring of support.

There are hard-and-fast filing deadlines that Biden must abide by in order to appear on the ballot in key early voting states, though in some cases they have yet to be firmly established.

Biden showed emotion as he recounted a conversation he had with his son after it was clear that Beau Biden’s brain cancer was terminal. He said, ‘Dad, I know how much you love me, ” Biden recalled.

That means that no matter what happens in life, “you’ve got to get up”, he said.

The vice president said he gets “an enormous sense of solace” from his belief in God. Like the time his helicopter was forced down on Al Qaeda’s “superhighway of terror”.