Joe Biden has reportedly long considered a 2016 White House run, but the vice president told fellow Democrats this week that he is unsure whether his family has the "emotional fuel" for another presidential campaign, The New York Times reported.

In a conference call with members of the Democratic National Committee, Biden -- whose son Beau died on May 30 -- "sounded somber" and "spoke of a family in deep grief," the newspaper noted.

If he were to challenge front-runner Hillary Clinton for their party's nomination, he would "have to be able to commit to all of you that I would be able to give it my whole heart and my whole soul," he said. "And right now, both are pretty well banged up. That's the truth of the matter, but believe me, I've given this a lot of thought and dealing internally with the family on how we do this."

Among Democratic insiders, meanwhile, a "vast majority" believes that the vice president will not jump into the race, Politico reported. The Washington publication quoted an unnamed party heavyweight from the state of New Hampshire, who insisted that Biden was "universally loved" in the crucial early-primary state.

"But I can't imagine him undertaking such a monumental underdog effort at such a difficult time for his family and with the massive monetary, people and campaign advantages of the Clinton campaign," the source commented. An unnamed Iowa party leader added that an "objective reading of VP Biden's chances of winning the nomination" would force him to stay out of the race, Politico noted.

Clinton, for her part, has been trying to dissuade Biden from challenging her "in ways both subtle and blunt," the Associated Press judged. Her campaign speaks warmly of the vice presient in public, but internally has been adamant to show its dominance over the Democratic establishment and President Barack Obama's political infrastructure, the newswire explained.

"I think he has to make what is a very difficult decision for himself and his family," the former secretary of state said of Biden on Wednesday. "He should have the space and the opportunity to decide what he wants to do."