Vice President Joe Biden announced Wednesday afternoon that he will not join the Democratic nominees on the hunt for the 2016 presidency.
POLITICO quotes the vice president saying, “As my family and I have worked through the grieving process, I’ve said all along what I’ve said time and again to others, that it may very well be that the process by the time we get through it closes the window … I’ve concluded it has closed.”
Speaking live from the White House Rose Garden, Biden spoke of supporting President Barack Obama’s efforts for the middle-class, education reform, tax reform, defense and cancer research, among other subjects.
He also spoke on the importance of working across the aisle, stating that the jabs thrown between parties is “mean-spirited, it’s petty, and it’s gone on for far too long.”
“I don’t think we should look at Republicans as our enemies,” Biden said. “For the sake of our country, we have to work together.”
The top Democratic nominees aiming for the White House are Hillary Rodham Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Lincoln Chafee and Martin O’Malley. Jim Webb withdrew from the Democratic race on October 20 and is considering an independent party run. Harvard professor Lawrence Lessig is also on the ticket.
