When President Barack Obama tapped Vice President Joe Biden to oversee a massive federal spending program, it was unclear whether he was aiming to give Biden a serious portfolio, or something to keep him out of trouble.
“We know some of this money is going to be wasted,” Biden told business leaders in New York on a trip promoting the stimulus plan. “People are being scammed already.”
It turns out there is not much that keeps Biden out of trouble, even as he takes on a roster of serious issues in carving out his own interpretation of the vice presidency.
“I’m not going to change,” Biden told NBC News earlier this week. “Look, I am who I am. … When the president asked me to do this, I said, look, two things are not going to change. I’m not wearing any funny hats and I’m not changing my brand.”
Brand Biden so far is more visible than his predecessor, Dick Cheney, and less ambitious than former Vice President Al Gore. A bit of a gadfly, Biden turns up all over — by the president’s side at key events in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo, in his former milieu on Capitol Hill, and elsewhere.
With Obama out of the country, Biden is keeping a busy public schedule.
On Thursday, Biden was at the White House meeting with United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. He had a conference call with governors and mayors, and hosted a reception for congressional leaders.
“He’s a floating, free agent kind of vice president,” said John Fortier, a political expert at the American Enterprise Institute. “Right now you see Biden playing a lot of roles and doing a lot of things, but not with an obvious portfolio.”
Presidential candidates have historically picked running mates for political reasons, to fill a perceived geographical or ideological gap on the ticket. Modern presidencies, notably former President Bill Clinton with Gore, have featured more of a partnership dynamic.
Cheney, tapped by President George W. Bush for his long experience in government, turned the second banana job into an influential role as adviser and policymaker.
When Obama picked Biden after the latter dropped out of the Democratic primary race, the choice was aimed at addressing Obama’s gaps in foreign policy experience.
Chris Reardon, a political scientist at the University of New Hampshire, said he has been mildly surprised to watch an effective foreign policy troika emerging among former political rivals Obama, Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
“At this point Biden is an asset, because he has not become a liability,” Reardon said.
At times, Obama has appeared mildly piqued by Biden’s avuncular informality at public events. Most recently, Biden provoked presidential pursed lips when he leaned over to whisper audibly to Supreme Court nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor at her introduction event in the East Room.
“I told you,” Biden said, “piece of cake, piece of cake.”
