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Vice President Biden Unsure About 2016 Run


FILE - Vice President Joe Biden.
FILE - Vice President Joe Biden.

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said in an emotional interview he is not sure whether he is ready to launch a presidential campaign after the recent death of his son.

Biden appeared on CBS's The Late Show with Stephen Colbert Thursday night.

Biden told the new host of the show that anyone who runs for president must commit with his or her whole heart, soul, energy and compassion to the job.

"I'd be lying if I said that I knew I was there," Biden told Colbert.

Biden's son, Beau, who urged his father to run for president, died in May from brain cancer.

The vice president said he "lost it" recently when greeting military service members and their families in Denver, Colorado when one of the service members said he had served with Beau in Iraq. "I shouldn't be saying this: you can't do that," Biden said, in a reference to crying and the possibility of running for president.

In December of 1972, Biden lost his wife and his daughter in a car crash that injured Beau and his other son, Hunter.

Asked by Colbert how he perseveres, Biden said his Catholic faith has given him an "enormous sense of solace."

This is Stephen Colbert's debut week of hosting The Late Show, taking over duties from David Letterman. Colbert interviewed Jeb Bush earlier this week about running for president. He has also booked an interview with Republican presidential contender Donald Trump.

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