Former rivals Vice President Joe Biden and Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan are facing looming decisions that will help shape the future of American politics.
Neither Ryan, who is being pressured to run for speaker of the House, nor Biden, who is weighing another presidential run, has made up his mind, according to those close to the two men. The dual clocks, meanwhile, are ticking down fast.
Biden and Ryan, who faced off to a draw in the 2012 vice presidential debate, in some ways are confronting similar decisions from parallel perspectives: family is the key. Both have savvy spouses who serve as their main political advisers and biggest boosters. But multiple people familiar with their thinking say Janna Ryan and Jill Biden worry about the pending political prospects, because of the implications for their families, particularly the younger children. Ryan has three school-aged kids who count on his frequent presence at home; Biden is the hands-on patriarch of a tight family unit that includes the late Beau Biden's two children. Beau's passing several months ago remains the signal defining emotional experience for the whole close-knit Biden clan.