Biden Shares A Heartbreaking Story About His Granddaughter

Last week, Vice President Joe Biden announced he would not be running for president in 2016, a decision that surprised many who had been hearing political pundits say Biden's candidacy was a done deal. Last night, Biden sat down with 60 Minutes and talked through his decision to stay out of the race, especially in the wake of the death of his son, Beau. All summer, as the rumors about a Biden candidacy flew, there was a story that this son, who died in May at age 46, had urged his dad to run. Interviewer Norah O'Donnell asked Biden last night, "I know you talked to your son, Beau, about running for president. What did he want you to do?" Biden explained, "Beau all along thought that I should run and I could win. But there was not what was sort of made out as kind of this Hollywood-esque thing that at the last minute Beau grabbed my hand and said, 'Dad, you've got to run, like, win one for the Gipper.'" Biden, who's always spoken candidly about loss, explained that a big factor in his decision not to run was the grief he and his family feel over the death of Beau, who passed away after a battle with brain cancer. The VP talked about his granddaughter, Beau's daughter, missing her dad. "She's lying between my legs with her head on my chest and turns around and puts her arms around me and starts sobbing and says, 'Pop, I see Daddy all the time. I see Daddy all the time. Pop, you smell like Daddy. You're not gonna leave me, are you Pop?'" Biden and his wife, who joined him on the show, expressed some disappointment over their decision, but in the end Biden seemed hopeful, saying, "I think I'm still moving up. I think we got a lot to do."