(CNN)Vice President Joe Bidenended months of intense speculation about his political future on Wednesday with a sudden announcement that he wouldn't seek the presidency, abandoning a dream he's harbored for decades and putting Hillary Clinton in a stronger position to capture the Democratic nomination.
With his wife, Jill, and President Barack Obama at his side in the White House Rose Garden, Biden said the window for a successful campaign "has closed," noting his family's grief following the death of his son, Beau.
