Subject: Joe Biden Wades Further Into ’16 Bid - NYTimes.com
From: "Eric Schwerin" <[email-masked]>
To: "Hunter Biden" <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 13 Aug 2015 22:52:12 -0400

Joe Biden Wades Further Into ’16 Bid - NYTimes.com

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/08/14/us/politics/joe-biden-on-beach-vacation-wades-further-into-16-bid.html?referrer=&_r=0

Joe Biden Wades Further Into ’16 Bid

WASHINGTON — Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/b/joseph_r_jr_biden/index.html?inline=nyt-per>
is vacationing on Kiawah Island off South Carolina’s coast, riding bikes
and walking the beaches with his family. But on Wednesday night, he called
one of his most outspoken political supporters and wrestled with the
question looming over his future: Should he run for president?

In the hourlong conversation with Richard A. Harpootlian, the former
chairman of the South Carolina Democratic Party
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/d/democratic_party/index.html?inline=nyt-org>,
the vice president did not reveal which way he was leaning, according to a
Democrat familiar with the conversation who spoke on the condition of
anonymity to discuss a private call. Mr. Biden described the recent death
of his son Beau as an “open wound” that had not begun to heal, and was
grappling with whether he could devote his full energy to a campaign.

But at the same time, Mr. Biden and those who support him are moving to put
the pieces into place for a possible candidacy. The vice president directed
Mr. Harpootlian to get in touch with one of his closest political advisers,
Mike Donilon, and has been calling other supporters. And he has permitted
his advisers to discreetly contact operatives in early nominating states to
determine how fast they could organize a campaign.

A once bare-bones “Draft Biden” movement has entered a new, more aggressive
phrase that resembles an exploratory committee. With a Biden family
loyalist now involved, the group is contacting Democratic insiders about
everything from how to establish a presence at the Iowa State Fair this
week to which Democratic donors and officials in South Carolina need to be
contacted.

Eric D. Schwerin
[email-masked]

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