Biden says he's in no rush to decide on presidential bid

WASHINGTON – The day after Hillary Rodham Clinton officially entered the 2016 race for the White House, Vice President Joe Biden said he still has "plenty of time" to make up his own mind about running.

Biden, making a surprise appearance at a White House briefing for regional reporters, said it's possible he's "dead wrong" about delaying a decision.

"But there's a lot the president and I care about that has to get done in the next two to three months," he said. "When you run for president you've got to run for president, and I'm not ready to do that, if I'm ever going to be ready to do that."

Sunday's announcement by Clinton, the former secretary of state and former first lady, may be soaking up Democrats' attention. But a smaller "Bidenista" movement still exists to draft the vice president into the 2016 race.

The Draft Biden 2016 super PAC, launched last month by former staffers and campaign veterans, is offering "I'm ridin' with Biden" t-shirts and bumper stickers and is raising funds -- about $15,000 so far -- for independent expenditures on his behalf. They expect to open offices in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina by early summer.

"The main reason why we formed Draft Biden and why we're organizing this is because we believe it shouldn't be a coronation," William Pierce, the super PAC's executive director, said of Clinton's candidacy.

Democratic strategist Donna Brazile said it's too early to count out Biden, who is now well-positioned to raise campaign funds.

"He's one of our key fundraisers and we rely on him a lot to raise money for the Democratic Party and Democratic candidates," said Brazile, vice chairwoman of voter registration and participation at the Democratic National Committee.

Biden has said previously that Clinton's decision wouldn't affect his and that he would make his decision by the end of the summer.

"The only reason to run for the president of the United States is if you truly believe you're in a better position to do what you think is most needed in the country," Biden said in February on The View.

That month, he made several appearances in early voting states, traveling to South Carolina to discuss the need for investments in infrastructure, and to Iowa and New Hampshire to speak about the need to help more students go to college.

His University of New Hampshire speech, touching on middle-class Americans who have missed out on the economic recovery, seemed to suggest he was thinking about a run, and some encouraged him to do so, said New Hampshire Democratic state Sen. Lou D'Allesandro, who has known Biden for decades.

He said Biden's ultimate decision will almost certainly be influenced by Clinton's fundraising ability and the fact that that he and Clinton have similar messages and appeal to blue-collar, middle-class voters.

"He's very well-liked," D'Allesandro said. "He's good on the stump. He has a good message, but maybe his time has gone by."

Rachel Paine Caufield, a politics professor at Iowa's Drake University said there may be room for another Democrat in the 2016 race. But Biden and Clinton both appeal to voters seeking a continuation of President Barack Obama's policies, and presidential races typically feature only one administration standard-bearer, she said.

"With Hillary in the race, it's harder for him," she said of Biden.

Biden is polling at about 12 percent compared to Clinton's 60 percent, according to a HuffPost Pollster analysis of numerous polls.

Biden, 72, and Clinton, 67, have long been friends. They served together in the Senate, where he represented Delaware for 36 years and she represented New York for eight years.

As secretary of state, Clinton regularly visited Biden, the former chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, for policy discussions at his Naval Observatory residence.

They both sought their party's nomination in 2008. Clinton came in third in Iowa and Biden bowed out after finishing fifth, after capturing less than 1 percent support among caucus-goers.

In 2008, Biden didn't raise enough money to be competitive in advertising, said Kevin McCarthy, former minority leader of the Iowa state House and a key supporter of Biden's 2008 primary bid. But McCarthy said that wouldn't be a problem for Biden as a sitting vice president.

"She'll soak up her share of the money, there's no doubt about it," McCarthy said of Clinton. "But I've never known Democrats to be fond of coronations. This idea that a former longstanding U.S. senator, siting vice president, should not be seriously considering it is ludicrous, in my opinion."

USA Today reporter Maureen Groppe contributed to this article.

Contact Nicole Gaudiano at ngaudiano@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @ngaudiano