MANCHESTER, N.H. — The vice presidential nominee you aren’t hearing so much about, Democrat Joe Biden, is planning a more prominent role to help validate Barack Obama among white working-class voters and criticize the Republican rival he has long called a friend.
Republican running mate Sarah Palin is soaking up the campaign spotlight with magazine covers and joint rallies with John McCain that draw thousands, while Biden has had a more traditional role of second fiddle to the man at the top of the ticket. But the campaign envisions a new role for its No. 2 in helping make the closing argument against McCain.
Biden privately told reporters last week that Palin was a smart political choice who has changed the race but is not prepared to be a heartbeat away from the presidency. The off-the-record comment Tuesday was described by two people who were there and confirmed by a senior campaign official.
Biden’s focus will be on McCain, not Palin, campaign officials say. They are calculating that the election will be determined on voters’ feelings about Obama and McCain. Biden is in a unique position to help convince voters that McCain is the wrong choice, they say, because of a relationship that goes back beyond their 22 years of working together in the Senate.
In the late 1970s, when Biden was a young senator and McCain was the Senate naval liaison, the two traveled the world on Foreign Relations Committee fact-finding trips. They became friends, as did their families. Biden’s argument will be that he knows McCain well enough to say that even though he is right on character, he is wrong on the issues, advisers said.
He is scheduled to give two major speeches framing the race before the presidential debates get underway — one on domestic policy Monday in Flat Rock, Mich., and another on national security Sept. 22 in Baltimore.
Biden’s other responsibilities will include top campaign fundraiser and helping validate Obama with communities that have been skeptical of his candidacy to varying degrees — Jewish voters, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s backers, union members and other middle-class voters.
Part of Biden’s appeal as a running mate is his comfort in debating rivals and tearing them down — something that isn’t always Obama’s strong suit, although he is taking a more aggressive tone in the campaign’s final weeks.
Some Democrats have privately complained that Biden hasn’t been a more prominent attack dog. In a memo Friday, Obama campaign manager David Plouffe outlined a more aggressive campaign against McCain.
“Biden will be integral to that effort, both in pushing back on the lies that we’ll continue to see from our opponents and in keeping the debate focused on delivering for everyday Americans,” he said.
