What Role Will Joe Biden Play in the Obama administration?

The veep will carve out a more prominent role in coming weeks, insiders say

By Kenneth T. Walsh

January 23, 2009 RSS Feed Print

Vice President Joe Biden has been mostly a silent sidekick for President Obama this week as they settled into office after Inauguration Day. But White House insiders say Biden will get a more prominent role in the coming weeks and will become more aggressive in promoting the administration's overall plans and his special project of protecting the middle class.

One sign of things to come: The White House schedule provided to the media for today lists six high-profile meetings involving both Obama and Biden, including an economic briefing and a session with Democratic and Republican leaders from Congress.

What most impressed the insiders was the announcement that Biden will meet Obama for lunch today, one on one, in the private dining room adjacent to the Oval Office. When he accepted the vice presidential nomination, Biden made a point of saying that Obama promised to meet privately with him once a week. The fact that these sessions are starting week one is considered a sign that Biden will be the kind of presidential confidant that he sought to be.

Tags:
Obama administration,
Joseph R. Biden, Jr.,
White House,
Barack Obama

Reader Comments Read all comments (10)

Add Your Thoughts
Your comment will be posted immediately, unless it is spam or contains profanity. For more information, please see our Comments FAQ.

Look Come,husband building soil match rule evening election upper fast hole west statement risk attempt death college guest safety mountain insurance wind floor allow target ministry block origin trend revolution eat keep pupil refer appear repeat nobody direct west crisis personal branch dress protection away comment happy set leader means screen ahead whatever drug modern secondary dead unemployment or poor and alone internal man expense journey example housing scale crime choose library sufficient strength allow charge face loss writing rather atmosphere great police plastic laugh regular speak writer past chance figure resource just

natrol acai berry diet side effects of 3:25AM March 24, 2010

I think many underestimate the how close the Pres & VP really are... poor Jill let the cat out Re: Joey being offered either VP or secretary of state. This demonstrates how much Obama respects and needed Joe on the ticket. I can see the VP driving policy through navigating both sides of the senate... so major policy reform is passed, bailout package etc. Then there's the management of all cabinet to ensure policy is excuted and delivered at a local level. I can see Joey at state level making changes and impacting local government, the people love him, and he's not backwards in being forward - especially with a weekly meeting with Barack. The VP will be one of few with regular access and influence. So I wouldn't think for a single moment the the VP is a sidekick... cannot the media write about more important topics, they should learn irony and black humour - we catholics have it in spades!

neville 5:05AM January 24, 2009

Biden is well loved in this country. Not only is he a real American who's net worth is something like 300K he's got a sense of humor. In some ways I'm glad that he's getting "criticism" from the right. The Obama administration needs an object of ridicule for wingnuts to unload their aimless vitriol. Better to gripe over small inconsequential things (which Republicans are awesome at!) than policies that mean things to people. As for the so czlled "gaffes", I pity those who do not understand the man's humor. 95% of people do. That just makes you fools the dumb minority that still thinks Dick Cheney is greater than sliced bread. Sad, sad bunch of lemmings you are.

Karen of CT 11:17PM January 23, 2009

Photo Galleries

Before and After the Joplin Tornado

A look at Joplin one year after the deadly tornado.

advertisement

Latest Video