Will he or won't he? It is the month of decision for Vice President Joe Biden.
With just over 14 months until the next president of the United States is elected and Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton looking vulnerable, he is pondering whether to make the race.
There's a lot to consider.
On the top of the list is whether to take on Clinton, a decision that would be seen as a dagger to the heart of the former senator and secretary of state who was denied by one Barack Obama on the way to the coronation she thought would be hers in 2008.
Eight years later, with one fairly forgettable tenure as the Department of State's top diplomat under her belt, she was ready for her moment. She would brush aside second-tier candidates such as Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Lincoln Chafee, former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley and former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb and face a lesser-known Republican in the general election. White House ushers were all but clearing closets for her.
Now, with lingering questions about the murders of U.S. diplomats in Benghazi, Libya, and dogged queries about the use of a private email server for classified documents while she was secretary of state, Clinton's inevitability doesn't seem so inevitable.
That's where Biden comes in.
His stint as vice president was seen in 2008 as the pinnacle of a career in government. Two previous attempts at capturing the Democratic presidential nomination flamed out, one when it was discovered he plagiarized a campaign speech of British Labour party candidate Neil Kinnock.
Biden's presence on the ticket was to give Obama, who had little domestic or foreign policy experience, heft and - a term only trotted out in presidential years - gravitas.
And for six and a half years, the amiable former Delaware senator has stood by his commander in chief's side. If he does decide to make the race, aides will hurry out news releases of how valuable he was to the president, but insiders know the president keeps his own counsel and that the vice president has been only a loyal foot soldier.
Nevertheless, were Biden to make the race and win the Democratic nomination, he would be a formidable candidate in the general election.
He'll have to wear the albatross of Obama's decisions around his neck, and he will have to duck and dodge questions about whether he would reform some of the president's programs.
Biden's not plagued by the president's cold arrogance, either, and can portray himself - as he often has - as genial Uncle Joe. Even his gaffes - which in comparison make former Vice President Dan Quayle look like a Rhodes Scholar - could become endearing.
His age - he'll turn 74 the month of the 2016 general election - could be an asset or a liability. If elected, he would be the oldest man ever to take office as president.
Voters might think that age - Biden looks younger than his years - amounts to a measure of experience over a Republican opponent expected to be from one to three decades younger, or makes him out of touch.
He also would have to wear the label of the second man to deny Clinton what she has believed is rightfully hers. Whether American women would hold that against him or not is unclear, but the we-get-what-we-want Clintons are likely to hold it against him.
President Obama, the man in the middle of a potential bruising primary battle between Clinton and Biden, will be seen as ungrateful by one of the two if he endorses the other and weak if he decides to endorse neither. All in all, a Biden candidacy has the potential to create the excitement in the Democratic primary that the Republican primary currently has.
A Biden entrance into the race, which sources close to him said could come as late as Oct. 1, would complicate things for Republicans. Running against Clinton has seemed more inviting for the GOP as time goes on, and head-to-head polling in swing states has favored Republicans against her in several cases.
The vice president, who drew rave reviews for his address at the memorial service for the slain servicemen here earlier this month and who will draw a measure a sympathy for the recent death of his son, has a solid Senate resume, a fairly non-controversial eight years as vice president (other than the gaffes) and would appeal to those who'd like a third Obama term with a warmer leader at the helm.
At this point, he looks like a more difficult candidate to beat in the general election than Clinton. But wouldn't a primary race between two candidates attempting to one up each other to endorse the policies of an unpopular president be fun to watch?