"Here's the bottom line for me," he explained. "Two years from now, I've got to make a hard - I don't want to do this for the exercise. I'm pretty certain about what I think needs to be done. ..."

On his prospects for success, Biden said: "I'm not sure my party would be ready for me, let alone whether the country would be ready for me. But we're going to find out."

Biden said one of the things that has him considering a White House run is the way the war is going in Iraq.

"About six to eight months down the road, this is going to be one of those things that if we don't drop our ideology and decide what the hell we're really about in Iraq, there's going to be a mini-rebellion in this country."

He blasted the Bush administration for what he said was a decision to put tax cuts ahead of the needs of U.S. troops.

"Let's assume the tax cut is the best thing in the world," Biden said. "Let's assume it's the greatest thing for the economy that could ever happen. Screw it. We are in a situation here where we have certain basic fundamental priorities, starting with these kids."

Biden first ran for president in 1988, but was forced to withdraw after acknowledging he had padded his resume and plagiarized a speech from British Labour Party leader Neil Kinnock.

Editor's note: