While Paul Ryan is at least tentatively running for a job he never wanted, Joe Biden is not running for the job he has likely wanted since at least the Nixon administration.

It’s hard to fault the vice president for his decision. He and his family are still clearly hurting from the death of his son Beau in May. It reportedly took a while to get his wife to give the thumbs-up for a 2016 campaign. And if he still had to ask whether his heart was in the right place for a presidential bid as late as this summer, no was probably the right answer.