For a Blunt Biden, an Uneasy Supporting Role

“Four years ago, I chose Joe Biden as my running mate,” Mr. Obama was to say, according to people familiar with early drafts of the planned remarks. “Four years later, I’m almost positive I’m going with Joe again.” He would then affect an exaggerated wink for the audience. But the president instructed his speechwriters to cut the line, figuring it would only inflame speculation from Beltway busybodies about his vice president’s standing.

Mr. Biden is also a bit raw on this topic. It goes to an essential insecurity that haunts almost every No. 2 — a job that the backslapping, shoulder-squeezing, muscle-car-loving Mr. Biden was wary of in the first place.

Mr. Biden, 69, delights in speaking bluntly — even as that can complicate things for the White House, as it did Sunday when Mr. Biden said he was “absolutely comfortable” with same-sex marriage (an endorsement that went beyond Mr. Obama’s statements on the issue). He loves to remind people that he did not have a boss for 36 years in the Senate, where he prided himself on being “my own man.” He would tell aides and Senate colleagues that “my manhood is not for sale” if he felt pushed around. He told friends he feared that the vice presidency could be “emasculating.”

As he embarks on what could be his last campaign, Mr. Biden is also concluding a sometimes uneasy term, one marked by triumphs and occasional tensions with a boss markedly different in style and temperament. Almost by definition, his job is amorphous.

“Being a vice president is kind of like being a first lady,” Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said. “You are there to support and serve the president. There is no job description.”

What job description there is often involves making the president look good. In recent weeks, Mr. Biden has given a series of heavily promoted policy speeches and assumed an attack-dog position in going after Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee. Aides to Mr. Biden love to point out all the quality time he and the president spend together — including a golf outing last month — to accentuate their working bond. (In his retelling of events, Mr. Biden always seems to be walking out of meetings with the president.)

Still, Mr. Biden’s effort to subordinate his own voice (or manhood) to the broader enterprise has been a struggle. “In the good old days when I was a senator, I was my own man,” Mr. Biden told reporters last December on Air Force Two. “But now whatever I say is attributed to the administration. I finally learned that.”

He received a refresher course on Sunday after his comments about same-sex marriage on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” Administration officials spent the next few hours attempting to “clarify” Mr. Biden’s remarks, setting off a new round of grumbling in the White House about Mr. Biden’s message indiscipline. “Not helpful” is how one top Obama aide put the episode.

As with any union of opposites, the one between the rambling vice president and his cautious boss has required time, patience and adjustments.

Early on, for instance, it would drive Mr. Obama nuts to stand onstage waiting for Mr. Biden to introduce every dignitary in the room. So the president dispatched a top adviser, Valerie Jarrett, to relay his displeasure to Mr. Biden’s office, according to top aides to both men. They initiated a fix: in future joint appearances, the president would remain offstage until the verbose vice president finished talking.

For his part, Mr. Biden was annoyed by what he regarded as a slight by Mr. Obama. When Mr. Biden curiously told House Democrats that even if the administration did everything right, “there’s still a 30 percent chance we’re going to get it wrong,” Mr. Obama responded to a reporter’s question by saying he did not know what Mr. Biden was referring to. He tacked on a “not surprisingly” for good measure.

View the original article here

Column: Obama, Biden duck; Perry steals show

For 127 years, the sitting president or vice president usually has had the last laugh at closing remarks at the annual fancy white-tie Gridiron dinner, where press and politicians spoof each other.

By Ralph Barrera, AP

About 600 of the USA's top journalists, politicians and business leaders attend. But last Saturday night at the downtown Renaissance Hotel, neither President Obama nor Vice President Biden showed up. Why?

Columns

In addition to its own editorials, USA TODAY publishes a variety of opinions from outside writers. On political and policy matters, we publish opinions from across the political spectrum.

Roughly half of our columns come from our Board of Contributors, a group whose interests range from education to religion to sports to the economy. Their charge is to chronicle American culture by telling the stories, large and small, that collectively make us what we are.

We also publish weekly columns by Al Neuharth, USA TODAY's founder, and DeWayne Wickham, who writes primarily on matters of race but on other subjects as well. That leaves plenty of room for other views from across the nation by well-known and lesser-known names alike.

The president was in South Korea meeting with world leaders. But the vice president was at his home base in nearby Wilmington, Del.

Clearly, the administration didn't want either of its two top guys to take part in the fun and games in an election year.

Ironically, the Gridiron is where then-U.S. Sen. Obama of Illinois really captured the attention of the press when he gave the Democratic Party speech at the 2006 affair.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, the designated closer subbing for President Obama, was pretty gentle on everybody. His closest thing to a jab was when he said: "DoD (Department of Defense) recently completed a 65-year project to develop a cutting-edge robot. Initial testing wasn't good, but Mitt Romney's performance is improving."

With neither of the two top Democrats present this time, Republican presidential also-ran Gov. Rick Perry of Texas stole the show as his party's speaker. He mostly made fun of himself by quoting from some of his campaign goofs.

"My problem was saying stuff that wasn't right. Mitt's problem is saying stuff that is," Perry joked. Examples: "I would say stuff like 'Solyndra is a country' or 'the voting age is 21.' Mitt says things like his wife drives a couple of Cadillacs or his pals own NASCAR teams."

If Perry had learned to loosen up like that while he was a candidate, he might still be in the race.

Feedback: Other views on the Gridiron

"When an organization's been around 127 years, we don't get overly concerned about a scheduling problem one year. We look forward to welcoming President Obama and Vice President Biden — or their successors — back next year."

—George Condon, president, the Gridiron Club

"Obama had a genuine scheduling conflict, but Biden's no-show was a sign of the Gridiron's declining prestige. The club needs to evolve, especially by televising the dinner on C-SPAN."

—Robert McCartney, columnist, The Washington Post

For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.

View the original article here

Obama, Biden plan debt talks with Senate Democrats (AP)

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden plan to meet with Senate Democratic leaders Wednesday, the latest step in debt negotiations with Congress.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will make his second trip to the Oval Office this week. He will be joined by Democratic Sens. Dick Durbin of Illinois, Chuck Schumer of New York and Patty Murray of Washington.

Obama's involvement represents a new stage in the discussions. Biden had been leading bipartisan negotiations that had identified up to $1.3 trillion in spending cuts over 10 years. But the talks stalled because Republican negotiators objected to Democratic demands that any deficit reduction deal also include increases in tax revenue.

Obama also met with Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell on Monday. No new meetings with Republicans are scheduled.

View the original article here

Obama, Biden to meet House Democratic leaders (AP)

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama plans to meet with House Democratic leaders Thursday to discuss the status of ongoing bipartisan deficit reduction talks. The meeting comes as Democrats want the president to rule out Medicare benefit cuts as part of any budget deal.

The White House said the meeting will address deficit reduction through a "balanced framework," a term the White House uses to describe cuts in spending coupled with increased tax revenue. Republicans have rejected talk of tax increases, though Senate Republicans did vote to end ethanol tax subsidies.

Scheduled to attend the meeting are Vice President Joe Biden, and House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, Rep. Steny Hoyer, the party's second in command, assistant Democratic leader James Clyburn, and Rep. Chris Van Hollen, a participant in the Biden-led budget negotiations.

View the original article here