WASHINGTON — Vice President-elect Joe Biden was all smiles Thursday when he paid a courtesy call on the man he will succeed, Dick Cheney. But he has insisted he wants to be nothing like him.
Biden has called Cheney “the most dangerous vice president we’ve had probably in American history” and said he couldn’t name a single good thing Cheney had done. But even if he won’t acknowledge any similarities, there’s one way that Biden wants to be like Cheney — a strong partner in governing the country.
Biden is proving to be a hands-on No. 2 to President-elect Barack Obama. He is carving out his own niche, specializing in foreign affairs, his area of expertise for decades in the Senate, and sticking close to Obama.
Past vice presidents have often been relegated to ceremonial roles, without major input on daily decisions. But the last two vice presidents, Cheney and Al Gore, have been extraordinarily involved and insisted on private weekly lunches with their bosses.
So far, Biden has been working closely with Obama. He has been in almost all the president-elect’s meetings at his new government office space in Chicago.
Biden has said he’d like to use his 36 years of experience in the Senate, including leadership of the Judiciary and Foreign Relations committees, to help push Obama’s agenda in Congress. It’s longtime insider’s experience that Obama lacks and a role that has not been Cheney’s focus.
Despite the harsh words during the campaign, the Cheneys invited Biden and his wife, Jill, to the Naval Observatory, which is the official vice president’s residence, for an hour-long tour Thursday.
Biden said he had been in some of the first-floor rooms before. But it was his first look at much of the mansion that will be his first Washington residence after decades of commuting by train from Delaware.
