US VP assessing 'emotional fuel' before deciding to run for president

US Vice President Joe Biden says he is trying to assess whether he has the “emotional fuel” to run for president in 2016.

Biden, whose son Beau died from brain cancer in May, told a group of Democrats on Wednesday that his “heart” and “soul” are pretty “banged up” following the tragedy.

"If I were to announce to run I have to be able to commit to all of you that I would be able to give it my whole heart and my whole soul and right now, both are pretty well banged up," Biden told Democratic National Committee members on a conference call.

"We're dealing at home with ... whether or not there is the emotional fuel at this time to run," he added.

Biden has been in contact with longtime aides and donors who could help finance a viable presidential campaign against well-funded candidates in the 2016 race.

Although Biden has not made up his mind yet, his advisers said the vice president and his aides have begun working out issues like fundraising and an early primary state strategy, according to an AP report.

On Saturday, Biden held a surprise meeting with senior Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren in Washington, DC.

The confidential meeting with Warren, an influential Democrat who has been under pressure to run for the White House, took place at the Naval Observatory, the vice president's official residence, an individual familiar with the event told the Associated Press.

Warren, a vocal advocate for Wall Street reform, has not endorsed Hillary Clinton, Senator Bernie Sanders or the other Democratic candidates.

Advisers say that if Biden does not enter the race by October 1, it might be too late for him to get the petition signatures and delegates lined up for the ballot in early primary states.

According to a New York Times article by veteran journalist Maureen Dowd published earlier this month, when Biden’s son, Beau, realized that he would not survive brain cancer, he talked to his father and urged him to challenge Clinton.

According to Dowd, the ailing son argued that Biden would be a better president than Clinton.

The Obama administration has sought to maintain a neutral pose as Biden considers a presidential bid.

“The vice president has more than earned the right to have the space and time to make a decision about whether or not he would like to be a candidate for president,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said on Tuesday.

Seventeen Republicans are seeking their party’s nomination for president but only a few are considered serious contenders.

Democrat front-runner Clinton is competing against only three Democrats and one independent senator, Bernie Sanders, for the Democratic Party's nomination. Only Sanders is considered at all competitive in the early primaries, even as he operates with far less money than the former secretary of state.

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