7 highlights from Joe Biden's Rolling Stone interview

Rolling Stone's Douglas Brinkley recently sat down for an hourlong interview with Vice President Joe Biden, who Brinkley says "rambles like Thomas Wolfe" in contrast to President Obama's "Hemingway-esque sparseness."

Brinkley says he left the interview convinced that Biden "must be considering a presidential run" — which, judging by recent polls that show the vice president trailing only Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination, could actually happen come 2016. Biden didn't directly talk about his presidential ambitions, but he did discuss everything from the Senate's failure to pass gun-control legislation to his personal relationship with President Obama. A sampling:

1. On publicly supporting gay marriage

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In May 2012, Biden made what was widely considered a gaffe by saying he was "comfortable" with same-sex marriage, which was more than President Obama had been willing to say before that point. Biden explains his thinking during that time:

2. On Obama's response after Biden backed gay marriage

Biden's avowal put pressure on Obama — who had described his stance on same-sex marriage as "evolving" — but the president took Biden's announcement in stride — and ultimately followed suit:

3. On why the push for expanded gun background checks failed

In April, the Manchin-Toomey bill, which sought to extend background checks to gun shows and online sales, failed in the Senate after a number of moderate Republicans and red-state Democrats voted against it. The vice president sheds some light on the behind-the-scenes discussions:

4. On opposition to Obama's energy policy

The vice president touted the 2009 Recovery Act, which provided funding and tax credits to clean energy projects, as a success for the White House's global warming strategy. But Biden admits that passing energy legislation was hard in the face of high unemployment after the 2008 crash:

5. On McCain criticizing Obama for not taking military action against Syria

Recently on Fox News Sunday, John McCain said that Israel's airstrikes in Syria were a clear sign the White House has to take "game-changing action" by creating a "safe zone" and supplying the Syrian rebels with weapons. Biden, along with the rest of the administration, doesn't agree:

6. On when Obama asked him to be vice president

Biden says he originally refused to be Obama's running mate, but changed his mind after talking it over with his family:

7. On how he and Obama get along

Biden says he spends four or five hours every day with Obama:

Read the entire article at Rolling Stone.