Speaking Freely, Biden Finds Influential Role.

[elleng]

'When President Obama and Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. meet for their standing Friday lunch engagement, Mr. Obama always picks the cuisine — a subtle break from previous administrations in which the president and the vice president typically ordered off a menu, and a reminder, if any was needed, about who is in charge.

The dietary bar is set by the president,” said Ron Klain, Mr. Biden’s chief of staff, who recently fielded a prelunch query from the White House kitchen about whether Mr. Biden wanted sour cream with his tacos (he did). “Biden eats anything. He’s a pretty easy guy that way.”

The description (“Biden eats anything”) extends to the heaping plate of policy assignments the vice president has been served in recent weeks. He has been charged with overseeing the distribution of the $787 billion authorized by the economic stimulus bill, heading the White House’s “middle-class task force” and jumping into any number of treacherous diplomatic arenas, from Pakistan to Capitol Hill.

Officials involved in the deliberations said Mr. Biden had been influential in Mr. Obama’s development of a new approach to Afghanistan, announced Friday, arguing for a relatively limited increase of military, diplomatic and economic involvement.'

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/29/us/politics/29biden.html?_r=1&hp=&pagewanted=all

[Muttocracy]

1. K&R

[burning rain]

2. Amusing.

Biden is a bit lumpy.

Like the guy.

[bemildred]

3. Does he have his own bunker to hide in yet? nt