Politico: Biden will be no Dick Cheney
Politico reports the end of the Darth Vader era.
Joe Biden is laying plans to significantly shrink the role of the vice presidency in Barack Obama’s White House, according to an official familiar with his thinking.
It’s not just that Biden won’t sit in on Senate Democrats’ weekly caucus meetings – a privilege Republicans afforded outgoing Vice President Dick Cheney. He won’t have an office outside the House floor, as House Speaker Dennis Hastert gave Cheney early on.
Biden will not begin every day with his own intelligence briefing before sitting in on the president’s. He will not always be the last person Obama speaks to before making a decision.
He also will not, as a transition official calls it, operate a “shadow government” within an Obama administration.
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In short, Biden will be no Dick Cheney – who redefined the office of the vice presidency to gather unto himself unprecedented influence and reach. Instead, Biden will serve the role of trusted backup, but someone who won’t be mistaken for a co-president single-handedly crafting and promoting policy.
