What Obama promised Biden

[DeepModem Mom]

Source: CNN

Before he accepted Barack Obama's offer to join his presidential ticket, Joe Biden got a promise from Obama: that he would be there for "every critical decision," Biden said in an interview broadcast Sunday. Speaking to ABC's "This Week," Biden said he believes the vice president's role is to provide "the best, sagest, most accurate, most insightful advice and recommendations he or she can make to a president to help them make some of the very, very important decisions that have to be made."

When Obama talked to him about being his number two, "I said, 'I don't want to be picked unless you're picking me for my judgment. I don't want to be the guy that goes out and has a specific assignment… I want a commitment from you that in every important decision you'll make, every critical decision, economic and political, as well as foreign policy, I'll get to be in the room.'" Biden said President-elect Obama has kept the promise, having Biden in the room for all of his decisions about who will fill key posts in the administration.

In what ABC billed as Biden's first interview as vice president-elect, Biden also discussed the role he played in helping Sen. Hillary Clinton decide to accept Obama's offer of serving as his secretary of state. "She's one of my close friends. And when this came forward, I did talk to her. She sought me out. I sought her out as well, to assure her that this was real," he said, adding that "there was a lot swirling around" at the time....

Biden will have a specific assignment at first. On Sunday, Obama's transition team announced the new "White House Task Force on Working Families" -- a major initiative targeted at "raising the living standards of middle-class, working families in America." Biden will chair the task force....

Read more: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/12/21/what-ob...

[PassingFair]

1. From the man who brought us the bankruptcy bill ....

NOW he wants to "raise the standards of the middle-class"???

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0312-03.htm

[CoffeeCat]

2. Sigh.................

It's disheartening isn't it?

Every silver lining seems to have a giant cloud attached to it. When it comes to the realities
of what has happened to our country, our economy and our democracy--WHAT has happened is important
but WHO made it happen is even more important.

And sometimes, it's just not fun to face those truths.

You want to believe that things will be better...or different.

[Eurobabe]

4. I guess you'd rather have some dickwad

like Cheney, huh?

Now I know why I stay off DU these days.

[LynneSin]

7. He voted for it - he didn't write it nor did he add in the last minute clauses

and remember - #1 employer in Delaware - the banks

[stlsaxman]

15. I believe he DID have a hand in the bill- the part protecting mothers against child support being...

included under bankruptcy protection. mortgage protection under bankruptcy as well.

Joe Biden fought for those inclusions. He fought HARD.

Granted that's one fucked up bill but, thanks to Joe, not fucked in total.

[acmavm]

10. Hey, there are new rules on credit card predators that say they can't

continue to pull their usual tricks and rip-offs. But they go into effect in 2010. So Joe's constituents are being taken care of. Isn't that what matters?

[ozone_man]

12. Unless there is a late payment.

Then all bets are off. And what about credit card limits? Is 30% all right? Not with me it isn't. I'd put a cap of 10% on credit cards. period. Fvck the credit card companies.

[Bigmack]

11. Maybe it's just because I'm feeling old...

these days, what with all the bad economic news, but I just try to tell myself there are no superheroes in politics.

Lots of the things Obama is doing, and will do, are not gonna make me happy. Turns out that I'm waaaaay left of most of what's going on.

I'm trying to comfort myself in saying that it could be a lot worse... witness the last 8 years. Otherwise, I would just get more and more cynical. I'm already at the 9.3 level on the 10 point Cynical Bastard Scale.

[BlooInBloo]

3. I'm failing to see the cause for outrage.

[DeepModem Mom]

6. I saw none. Just thought it was interesting/important that Biden expressed...

what he would like his role to be, and Obama agreed -- and has apparently kept his word.

[LynneSin]

8. This is DU - we find outrage in everything

hell Joe has to go out and adopt a pound puppy just to make up for the fact that the guy bought a German Shepard puppy, something he has done 3-4 times before in his lifetime.

[jody]

5. I'm certain 84+ million gun-owners are happy that Biden with his S. 2237 bill to renew the useless

assault weapons ban is advising Obama.

That in addition to Obama's promise to renew AWB that would prohibit sale of some of the most popular semiautomatic firearms has already caused a boom in firearm sales.

[theoldman]

9. Here we go again expecting a person to be perfect and to

agree with us on everything. I thought that Biden did a great job on his interview. His job as VP is to advise the president. This is what he has done and will continue to do. He has many years of experience and Obama is smart enough to recognize that.

Four years from now Biden will retire and will be replaced by a younger man or woman with less experience. This person will replace Obama in 2016. I am sure that Biden and Obama made this agreement a long time ago. Both men are smart and practical.

[Frustratedlady]

13. Thank you!

[aquart]

14. Biden won't be on the 2012 ticket? Does he know that?

Because my bet is he doesn't.