Vice President Biden says he could “live with” Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonHillicon Valley: FBI chief says Russia is trying to interfere in election to undermine Biden | Treasury Dept. sanctions Iranian government-backed hackers The Hill's Campaign Report: Arizona shifts towards Biden | Biden prepares for drive-in town hall | New Biden ad targets Latino voters FBI chief says Russia is trying to interfere in election to undermine Biden MORE or Bernie Sanders Bernie SandersMcConnell accuses Democrats of sowing division by 'downplaying progress' on election security The Hill's Campaign Report: Arizona shifts towards Biden | Biden prepares for drive-in town hall | New Biden ad targets Latino voters Why Democrats must confront extreme left wing incitement to violence MORE but offered critiques of both candidates running for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination.

“I can live with either one of them,” Biden said in a joint interview with The Washington Post and Politico published Friday. “I can support either one of them, I just have a different sense of how we should be talking about the issues that face us, to enhance the possibility that we keep the White House.”

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Despite Biden’s lukewarm comments about the Democratic field, he insisted he has no regrets about choosing not to run for president.

But he criticized both Clinton and Sanders, saying they have downplayed the economic recovery under President Obama.

“It’s a big mistake,” the vice president said. “Everybody’s making it.”

Biden said that Democrats should have an upbeat message to better contrast with Republican candidates, such as Donald Trump Donald John TrumpHR McMaster says president's policy to withdraw troops from Afghanistan is 'unwise' Cast of 'Parks and Rec' reunite for virtual town hall to address Wisconsin voters Biden says Trump should step down over coronavirus response MORE and Ted Cruz Rafael (Ted) Edward CruzLoeffler calls for hearing in wake of Netflix's 'Cuties' Health care in the crosshairs with new Trump Supreme Court list 'Parks and Rec' cast members hosting special reunion to raise money for Wisconsin Democrats MORE, who are saying the country has declined under Obama.

“Take a look at all the campaigns in the last cycle,” he said. “The only Democrats who won close races were the ones that stuck with the administration, talked about the record.”

The vice president suggested both campaign teams must have decided "there’s no way to sell a positive message. I don’t know."

At the same time, Biden praised Sanders, the self-proclaimed democratic socialist, for his focus on income inequality and the influence of money in politics.

“Look, what Bernie is talking about now is mainstream,” he said. “The mainstream is saying wait a minute, the concentration of wealth is a disaster, and it’s unfair.”

But he said the differences between Sanders and Clinton, who has run more as a steward of Obama’s legacy, are smaller than what meets the eye.

“I think both Hillary and Bernie are basically on the same page, with different emphasis, on college, Wall Street, the 1 percent, civil rights, etcetera,” Biden said. “What I don’t think they’re spending enough time doing is pushing back on the story line that what we did to get us to this point was a failure and a mistake.”