Vice President Joe Biden said the window has closed. Biden not running for president 'Unfortunately, I believe we're out of time,' the vice president says in a Rose Garden address.

Vice President Joe Biden on Wednesday ended months of breathless will-he-or-won't-he speculation about a potential presidential run, saying he's concluded that he's simply "out of time" to mount a real and winnable campaign.

The announcement, in the Rose Garden, with Biden flanked by President Barack Obama and his wife, Jill, means the vice president is foregoing what would have been a third run and likely the last chance to fulfill a lifelong quest to the highest office in the nation. In characteristic Biden fashion, he spoke plainly and emotionally of the enduring pain of the May death his son, Beau, of brain cancer, and the unpredictable timetable of the grieving process that doesn't respect filing deadlines or debates or primaries.


"I've said all along what I've said time and again to others: that it may very well be that that process, by the time we get through it, closes the window on mounting a realistic campaign for president: that it might close," Biden said. "I’ve concluded that it has closed."

"Beau is our inspiration," he added. "Unfortunately, I believe we're out of time. The time necessary to mount a winning campaign for the nomination. But while I will not be a candidate, I will not be silent. I intend to speak out clearly and forcefully."

While Biden declined another run, he showed no interest in going quietly: his address at times sounded like a draft stump speech, hitting on a number of themes he would likely have used in a campaign. The vice president pledged that he would play a role in the 2016 race, suggesting that he would use his remaining time in office to sway the national discussion as front-runner Hillary Clinton battles Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders for his party's nomination.

Democrats should embrace Obama's legacy, he insisted.

Still, trailing Clinton and Sanders, Biden opted not to fight what would have been an uphill battle, making Clinton's path to the nomination clearer. His presence in the race likely would have drained some of Clinton's support given his own close ties to the Democratic establishment.

Speculation about Biden's intentions had ratcheted up in recent days, as he repeatedly expressed some implied displeasure with Clinton over her statement at last week's Democratic debate that Republicans were her enemies.

"I believe we have to end the divisive partisan politics that is ripping this country apart … It’s mean-spirited, it’s petty and it’s gone on for far too long," he said on Wednesday, feet away from the president. “I don’t think we should look at Republicans as our opposition. They’re not our enemies."

"We intend to spend the next 15 months fighting for what we’ve always cared about, what my family’s always cared about, with every ounce of our being," Biden said, signaling no intention to back Clinton, Sanders, or any of their rivals.

"I am absolutely certain we are capable of accomplishing extraordinary things. And when we do, America won’t just win the future. We will own the finish line."

Clinton on Wednesday afternoon issued a statement expressing great admiration for Biden and predicting he'll remain a major force in politics. "I am confident that history isn’t finished with Joe Biden," she said. "As he said today, there is more work to do. And if I know Joe, he will always be on the front-lines, always fighting for all of us."

Sanders also commended the vice president, saying in a statement, "Joe Biden, a good friend, has made the decision that he feels is best for himself, his family and the country."

The decision ends a long period of uncertainty for the party: Biden had never truly ruled out running for president, but he was largely sidelined when the conversation started centering on Clinton by late 2014. Some chatter about his political intentions started again in early 2015 after he took official trips to New Hampshire, Iowa, and South Carolina, but he then said he would not decide until the end of the summer.

After the death of his son, Biden’s timeline appeared to shift once again. Rumors and speculation about his plans cropped up frequently into the fall of 2015 — particularly after Biden confidant former Sen. Ted Kaufman sent a letter to ex-staffers in October — yet no real clarity came until Wednesday.

Biden was joined by a handful of top aides — including his sister Valerie Biden Owens and former Sen. Ted Kaufman — in making his mid-day announcement, where he also stressed the need to find a cure for cancer, a goal he called a "moon shot."

"If I could be anything, I would have wanted to have been the president who ended cancer, because it is possible," he said.

Biden’s ultimate decision not to run mirrors his situation twelve years ago, when he chose not to pursue the 2004 nomination after considering it. But he knew what he would have been up against had he chosen to jump in: he ran unsuccessfully in both 1988 and 2008.

This time around, Biden had no political or campaign infrastructure in place, while both Clinton and Sanders have been running for months, and each have full-scale staffs at their headquarters and in early-voting states.

Democrats also believed time had largely run out for the 36-year veteran of the Senate, since he only had around three months before voting began in earnest, presenting him with the challenge of building formidable fundraising and organizing operations within a tight timeframe, with many professional Democrats already working for his rivals.

Plus, his window to the nomination was never entirely open: his advisors had signaled that he would take a nontraditional path, focusing most of his attention on South Carolina and Nevada — two early-voting states where Clinton leads Sanders by wide margins — rather than Iowa and New Hampshire, where the two front-runners have been organizing for months.

When South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn — one of the most influential Democrats in the state — told the Huffington Post that Biden shouldn't run earlier this week, it was widely read as a strong signal to the vice president.

Meanwhile, his allies would likely have had to build an associated super PAC and convince top donor targets to contribute quickly — likely a difficult task when facing Clinton’s well-funded operation that has already wrapped up many top donors.