The Obama Presidency: A Preliminary Assessment

Chapter 22: Vice President Joe Biden

363 Chapter 22 Vice President Joe Biden Richard M. Yon Perpetuating Influence or Restoring Historical Insignificance? The vice presidency, which has historically been a rather peculiar office, has witnessed an increase in stature and prominence as well as influence in the past thirty years. The uniqueness of the vice presidency stems from the traversing authority and responsibility it has to two branches of government, as established by the Constitution. No other national office suffers from similar ambiguity . Nonetheless, this ambiguity partly explains the rather precipitous gains in influence and responsibility the vice presidency has witnessed over thirty years. Perhaps even more significant than the office’s vagueness is the effect that individual vice presidents have had on the office and its ascendant influence. Although the ambiguity of the office creates an opportunity for exercising greater influence, vice presidential–presidential relationships dictate whether or not the vice president is indeed influential and, thus is rather case-specific. This chapter explores Vice President Joe Biden’s contributions to the vice presidency and the role he has played in the Obama administration. More specifically, Biden’s vice presidency will be compared with other more recent vice presidents in order to determine whether Biden distinguishes himself from his predecessors by taking a more or less active role in the administration and whether he continued the precedents established by his predecessors. 364 / The Obama Presidency Soon after Biden was elected vice president, a spokesperson for the vice president-elect commented, “He firmly believes in restoring the Office of the Vice President to its historical role” (Allen 2008). Although Biden routinely sought to distance himself in word from the Cheney model of the vice presidency, his desire to restore the historical role of the vice presidency does not suggest a return to the historical insignificance for the office or a desire to recede from influence in the administration. In fact, Biden perpetuated the growing influence by which the vice presidency has become characterized in recent decades. To understand this phenomenon, it is necessary to briefly examine Biden’s Senate career and the circumstances surrounding his selection as Barack Obama’s running mate. Joe Biden: The Senator Joe Biden’s political career spans more than three decades. At the age of thirty, he was elected to the U.S. Senate from Delaware. During his senatorial career, he rose through the Democratic ranks to become chairman of the powerful Judiciary Committee and the Foreign Relations Committee. In this capacity he worked closely with presidential administrations and vice presidents from both parties and engaged in some of the most pressing domestic and international events (Biden 2007). According to then-Sen. Biden: As a United States senator I’ve watched (and played some small part in) history: the Vietnam War, Watergate , the Iran hostage crisis, the Bork nomination, the fall of the Berlin wall, the reunification of Germany, the disintegration of the Soviet Union, 9/11, two wars in Iraq, a presidential impeachment, a presidential resignation, and a presidential election decided by the Supreme Court. . . . I’ve seen Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan , Clinton and two Bushes wrestle with the presidency. (Biden 2007: xix) Regardless of all of these momentous events, Biden’s particular focus as senator pertained to crime and crime prevention, which harkened back to his early days in the Senate. Beginning in the 1970s, as a member of the Judiciary Committee, Biden worked on crime issues and developed both significant expertise and a national reputation on the subject. After decades of work Vice President Joe Biden / 365 on these important issues, Biden ushered through passage the Violence Against Women Act in 1994. Foreign affairs also made up a significant portion of his portfolio in the Senate. The breakup of Yugoslavia and the resulting genocide that occurred in the Balkans became an area of concern for Biden during his tenure as chair of the Subcommittee on European Affairs (of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee). Reflecting on his career in the Senate , Biden cites the termination of genocide in the Balkans and the passage of the Violence Against Women Act as his “proudest moments in public life” (Biden 2007: xix). Due to his extensive political experience, Biden believed the presidency was within his grasp. He ran for the highest office in 1988 and again in 2008. It also should be noted that, during this time, he observed vice presidents begin to exercise greater authority and wield significantly more...