Bidens Headed to VP Mansion to Meet Cheneys

But he'll be 'the guy in the room'

(NEWSER) - Most vice presidents enter office wanting to grab power and make a name for themselves. Not Joe Biden. The VP-elect is determined to roll back Dick Cheney’s massive power grab, he tells the New York Times. Will that make him less effective? “The only value of power is in the effect,” he says. “The proof of the pudding is in the eating. The Bush-Cheney relationship hasn’t tasted very good.” More»

He's scaling back from Cheney, but a major player in his own right

(NEWSER) - Joe Biden is surely not as powerful as Dick Cheney was, writes James Traub. But because Cheney so radically expanded the office of vice president, Biden has been able to scale it back and still become arguably the second most powerful VP in history. Biden has no portfolio—he acts more like a troubleshooter, jetting here and there to solve problems for the president. At one policy meeting, Obama simply said, “Joe, you do Iraq.” More»

In Europe, VP calls predecessor's review of conflict 'irrelevant'

(NEWSER) - Joe Biden’s in Europe, but his latest opinion of Dick Cheney’s continued attacks on President Obama isn’t getting lost in translation. Asked about Cheney’s criticism that Obama is “dithering” on Afghanistan, Biden replied: “Who cares?” Biden added that a review of the conflict late in the Bush administration was “irrelevant.” More»

(NEWSER) - Joe Biden begs to differ with Dick Cheney's view that the US is less safe under President Obama. Cheney is not “out of line, but he is dead wrong,” Biden told CNN. In fact, the Bush administration left the nation in its weakest state since WWII, stretched thin and with "virtually no respect" anywhere, said Biden. “We are safer today; our interests are more secure today than they were any time during the eight years” under Bush. More»

Longtime Del. senator sworn in at inauguration

(NEWSER) - Joe Biden has assumed the office of vice president of the United States, the Washington Post reports. On the steps of the Capitol, Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens swore in the longtime Delaware senator, who vowed to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” Biden becomes the 47th vice president, the first Catholic to hold the post. More»