Is Joe Biden running for president? Effectively yes, even though he is not yet a declared candidate.
Buzz has grown about a potential Biden candidacy this week after The Times columnist Maureen Dowd wrote that he was considering entering the race, in part because of urging from his son Beau, who died in May.
Media accounts have suggested that the decision will be made during a family vacation in September, but Mr. Biden is functionally already a candidate in the so-called invisible primary, which plays an enormous role in nomination contests. The question now is whether he will receive enough support to decide to make it official.