Biden Says Obama Has Already Asked Him to 'Run Again' as Veep

Oops, another hole in the Hillary Clinton-may-replace-Joe Biden-as-President Obama's-running mate-in-2012 story. Biden says Obama has already asked him to "run again" as vice president.

"I tell you what, there's a real trust, that's why he's asked me to run again," Biden told the New York Times between campaign stops in Pittsburgh Monday. "Look, he said, 'We're going to run together, are you going to run?' I said, 'Of course, you want me to run with you, I'd be happy to run with you.'"

Biden, 67, is spending a lot of time on the campaign trail these days, but he's not necessarily prepping for 2012. Rather, he has emerged as the Democratic Party's chief optimist, pumping up the troops in city after city, and predicting the Democrats will hold their majorities in the U.S. House and Senate in midterm elections next month.

The latest Hillary-for-Biden buzz began earlier this month when Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward said he understood that a switcheroo that would put Clinton on the national ticket is "on the table" at the White House. The Obama administration and Clinton denied it. Now, Biden has weighed in.