Biden Focusing on Stimulus, Iraq, Healthcare

Vice President Joe Biden may not be getting much publicity, but he has quietly carved out a series of key roles for himself in the Obama administration. White House insiders say that Biden spends one third of his time supervising the economic stimulus program enacted earlier this year, a task that he was given by President Obama. He spends another third of his time on foreign policy, mostly Iraq, and the final third doing what's needed to help Obama win congressional approval of his agenda, especially healthcare overhaul, which is the White House's top domestic priority.

Biden talks nearly every day with members of Congress, especially in the Senate, where he served for more than three decades. He also has continued private weekly lunches with Obama, where they plan strategy and talk policy and politics, White House aides say. Basing his analysis largely on his frequent travels around the country, Biden has concluded that, while Americans are worried about the economic downturn and especially the high unemployment rate, they are more concerned about the future. Everyday Americans want the government to build a strong economic foundation for their children rather than focus only on quick fixes for today, Biden says, and he has passed along that analysis to the president.

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