Having passed on the 2016 presidential race, Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. watches the fight for the Democratic nomination with a mixture of longing and restlessness.

He remains neutral in the battle between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton, but not between their campaign styles. He’ll take Mr. Sanders’s aspirational approach over Mrs. Clinton’s caution any day.

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...he likes the idea that Mr. Sanders is aiming high, regardless of whether the large steps he envisions to narrow income inequality and broaden economic opportunity become realized in the next presidential term. The philosophy Mr. Biden has advocated within the Obama White House: Push for a lot, and persevere over the long run.

“Presidents have always been told by really smart people: ‘Don’t push something that you can’t succeed in — it diminishes your power,’ ” he said. “I completely disagree with that proposition.

“Everything I’ve ever cared about — with the exception of the president’s brilliant passage of the Affordable Care Act — takes time,” he added. “The only way to get these big things done is talk about them.”