Biden Will Reach Out to Ex-Senate Mates

With Rahm Emanuel wielding the White House’s no-nonsense stick, Joe Biden will be called on to make nice with the Senate after 36 years there, Politico reports. “He’s probably got more friends among Senate Republicans than John McCain,” says a spokesman. But Republicans aren’t likely to switch votes because Biden’s a nice guy, and Democrats may seek a direct relationship with President Obama.

“I can see Joe in his room [just off the Senate chamber], smiling, slapping people on the back, making his points, working the members,” says former senator Bob Kerrey. But the president-elect has served on Capitol Hill, too, one analyst points out: “Obama already has his own relationships in the Senate so, in a sense, he doesn’t need an emissary. He’s his own go-to guy.” (More Joe Biden stories.)