After Joe Biden broke the hearts of millions of hopeful Democrats by deciding not to run in the 2016 Presidential Election, he has launched his American Promise tour across the United States.

Joe Biden’s American Promise tour coincides with his newly released book, Promise Me, Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose. Biden states that he wrote the book to share hope and encourage people to find purpose in their lives. The book goes into detail to discuss the life of Joe Biden and his family after his eldest son and Attorney General for the State of Delaware, Beau Biden, dies of brain cancer. Cancer inspired Beau to live out every moment and he decided to run for Governor of Delaware.

Sunday night, Vice President Biden came to the Orpheum in Madison Wisconsin as part of his nineteen city tour discussing promise for our country. It was a warm and appreciating round of applause as Vice President Biden entered the stage. He cracked a few jokes, as expected, about him and President Obama’s bromance that has overtaken the meme world.

But more so, President Obama and Joe Biden truly are best friends. Biden confided in Obama about the 2016 presidential election and about Beau, knowing that Obama would never tell a soul.

As Beau got worse and worse, the Biden family tried to stay hopeful. Before the diagnosis, Biden planned on running in the presidential race and felt he truly would run, although never officially announcing his intentions.

Biden knew when the diagnosis came he couldn’t do it, despite Beau’s wish for his father to do so and not to let this sickness slow him down. Biden got truly emotional on stage as he talked about how he couldn’t tell Beau that he wasn’t going to run because Beau would have felt guilty.

Vice President Biden went on to say he feels a little guilty about not running, given the current circumstances of our president, but does not regret the decision. He had to do what is right for himself and his family. He went back to work four days after Beau’s death, trying to work off any pain and keep himself busy. If he worked, he didn’t have to think and he didn’t have to focus on the loss.

As was quite evident through Biden’s appearance, his purpose for life is his family and public service. Biden talked an extensive amount about the influence his mother has had in his lifetime. Interestingly enough, Biden did not want to be Vice President when Obama asked him, and the first time, he declined the offer.

His mother helped him to see the good in being in a position like Vice President. Biden went on to say his mother was his best friend. He often remembers the best piece of advice he got from her, “You’re defined by your courage and redeemed by your loyalty.” Biden often became emotional when talking about his family, because they are such a significant part of his life.

Another passion that the American public sees more of, is his connection to foreign relations and public service. Biden is a big supporter of women’s rights. He battled sexual assault and harassment early on in his political career and was under much scrutiny for it. He campaigned for two women senators under the approval that they would be put on the Judiciary Committee when elected, so it would never again be an all-male committee.

During the tour, Biden goes on to discuss the sexual harassment and assault issues highly talked about today. He says how it is hard for women and men to speak up about what has happened to them and states, “the greatest sin of all is the abuse of power.”

Biden is also great at establishing personal relations, after all, he’s a down to earth guy. He has always done a lot with foreign policy throughout his career in public service. He stated, “When I sit down with a world leader, I think about what that person is like.” He goes on to say how you should always be civil with world leaders, even if your ideologies don’t match up or they have done harm to America in the past. He points out an example of John McCain heading back to discuss foreign policy in Vietnam, even though McCain was a prisoner of war there for five and half years.

A big question remains: will he run for president in 2020? With a high approval rating of 74% of Democrats and 55% of all people, he stands an honest chance. When asked the question Sunday night, though, he states he doesn’t know if he’s going to run in 2020. He needs time to stitch his family back together. They need time to heal from the loss. He says that if he got the nomination now, he’d have to say no, but is hopeful for the future in the coming year.

As Madison, Wisconsin is home to one of the largest colleges in the U.S., he ended with some advice for the younger generation. “The younger generation is the most tolerant and progressive generation, but are the least politically active generation. There is no place to hide. You can’t separate yourself.” Biden elaborates on the idea that there is no excuse not be involved in politics, ideas, or government. We are the hope for the future and now we need to find our purpose.