Obama: Biden "Can Help Stir The Pot"

NY Times:

Mr. Biden has settled into a role of what Mr. Obama compares to a basketball player "who does a bunch of things that don't show up in the stat sheet," the president said in an interview Friday. "He gets that extra rebound, takes the charge, makes that extra pass." [...]

"There's, I think, an institutional barrier sometimes to truth-telling in front of the president," Mr. Obama said. "Joe is very good about sometimes articulating what's on other people's minds, or things that they've said in private conversations that people have been less willing to say in public. Joe, in that sense, can help stir the pot."

Read the whole story: NY Times

Comments

[angiemomma]

Joe Biden is the salt of the earth. He's seasoned, experienced, and willing to call 'em as he sees 'em. He's top-notch.

[SparkyDash]

nice words.

[jaschrod]

Joe should have learned by now that the American people cannot handle the truth, and do not want to hear it.

[PrincipiaChamp]

Hope that would never stop him...btw, not all Americans run scared.

[crayola 08]

he looks like he's whisperin sweet nuthins in bidens ear

[KMAz]

Or reminding him he might get sent to that famous "undisclosed location" if he keeps up the gaffs.

[SparkyDash]

Probably just nation/work-related stuff that only a president and veep would find interesting.

[Pulemerci]

I admire his loyalty to the President too. Especially when asked point blank if he thought Obama was ready to be Commander in Chief and Biden said "No."

[bedfordny]

Sometimes things are said in the heat of presidential battles that can be perceived in different ways. For instance, when McCain said during his ill-fated campaign for presidency that Palin was 'ready, willing and able to assume the responsibilities of the POTUS' if he died in office. You know, crazy stuff like that.

[JimR]

Generally, what happens in the primaries stays in the primaries.

[SparkyDash]

I admire Biden's loyalty to President Obama very much. They make an outstanding team.

Obama is a smart man; he also respects Joe's multiple talents, smarts, and humanity enough to understand that the primaries are over, and pick Joe Biden as his running mate and Vice President. That major decision won me over and I haven't looked back.

[PrincipiaChamp]

Joe Biden IMHO has become the best asset this administration has. From his outstanding and poigiant speech in Munich, to his travels to Afghanistan/Pakistan to access current knowledge of the region, to the recent Chile/Costa Rica trip, meetings with foreign leadership, his extensive foreign policy experience, and readily handling anything Obama throws at him and entrusts to him, such as the focus on middle/working class and stim spending. Biden is anything but a gaffe machine. I've learned to be doubly impressed with his performance; he never makes excuses and has never wimped out on a thing. I've listened to some of his speeches/talks to firefighter groups, etc. and he really relates to Americans and vice versa.

I couldn't be more pleased with Joe's performance as our VP, and I foresee him accomplishing much much more. It is wonderful to have such an active and honest vice president. His loyalty to President Obama is a big plus to me.

[Ganja-Rebel]

WELL, IF BIDEN CAN STIR THE POT, THEN YOU CAN LEGALIZE IT! WHAT MAKES HIM SPECIAL?!

[Grunty1]

One tracked mind?

[Ganja-Rebel]

no. my 'mission'. i'm the 'Ganja-Rebel.

[JinMN]

Lol he like sour cream on his tacos lol.

[petphotos]

Joe is human, and that is one of his best traits.

[winstonian22]

Like that time he encouraged the guy in the wheel chair to stand up and receive an ovation.

[Ganja-Rebel]

he was trying to inspire a miracle. there is nothing wrong with trying.

[PrincipiaChamp]

Yes, and genuinely self-effacing. That's a great part of his charm. Give me a humanist any day, I know they have others' welfare in mind. Quite unique.

[chayefsky]

Yes, Joe Biden is the King of Truthiness.

[cjt1957]

I guess it is good there is one truth teller in the Dem party.....

[darthmaul]

Yes, this help makes up for all the liars in the republican party. WMD, yellow cake, Saddam and Al Qaeda.......

[cjt1957]

Yes, there was only the 550 metric tons of yellow cake....

[heal57]

I like pot stirers.

[0bamaInWonderland]

me2

[PrincipiaChamp]

Yes, I will take them on my team any day over "yes" men.

[roquelaure]

Deep love for Joe. He's not without flaws (I think Axelrod put it perfectly by saying his strength is his weakness), but he's a good man.

Remember that Post article right after he was selected that was supposed to lay out all the details on Joe, and the worst thing they could come up with is that he got a good mortgage rate for having excellent credit? You've gotta be a saint to have so little bad stuff in your past after 30 years in politics.

[birchtree3]

It is true that our greatest strengths can be our greatest weaknesses. The strongest parts of our personalities can be good or not depending on when and how they are used.

[roquelaure]

I think our strengths/weaknesses are also just the most prominent aspects of our personalities, so... greater chance they'll be used for good or ill than say, our predilections for coin collecting or some such. That's usually a side thing. ;)

[maxfax]

The right guy got the job, and he will become a real statesman at the end of the second term, unlike the shmuck who just left that same position.

[Bulbul]

In another eight years Biden will be a lot older than McCain`s current age, and that is too old to be the President .
So, no I will not vote for Biden.

[LizM]

Don't worry...he won't be running.

[BlueBoomer]

Hi LizM...do these folks who don't pay attention or just parrot media bs frustrate you as much as they do me?

The NYT reporter said that VP Joe is extremely ambitious (in a negative way), when in fact he is one of the most self-less public servants we have had the good fortune to have serving us...he also stated that the selection of Sen.Biden for VP seemed odd for Obama&Co, when in fact it made perfect sense: A VERY SMART, KNOWLEDGEABLE Senator who, as President of the Senate, would be able to effectively work with them when necessary, since he knows them all so well and is respected by them...
AND as a constitutional lawyer and former chair of the Judiciary Committee, would be an asset on that front AND as former chair of the Foreign Relations Committee, would be invaluable in his contributions to foreign policy discussions.

And as to the "dividing" of Iraq, what Biden proposed was a federation, similar to what we have here in the US and in Canada, with each of the regions functioning like one of our States, with their own laws, but within the framework of a national government...

The biggest problem with this subject has been the inability of anyonel to articulate it in terms that the average person understands and can relate to...

[DFL]

Hillary will be in a good position to make a run for president in 8 years.

[Freesia2]

That may be true. My guess is it isn't something that he's seriously thinking on. Even in the article when you read the actual words his friends simply point out that knowing Joe - they wouldn't rule out Joe putting himself out there again. I think it was intended as a compliment. I also think he's as keen on Obama as President as I am. I love them both in that White House in the jobs they're in. I'm grateful to have them as a team.

The thing about Joe Biden is that he will never be old. McCain is a burned out, bitter old man with narrow vision who just shakes his fist at fate and yells at clouds. But Joe? His mind is young and his enthusiasm is palpable. At 74 he will be more like 64 in his outlook and energy.

So as long as I get 8 years of Obama, come 2016 if Joe is out there and he's the Joe we know today, I could see myself supporting him.

[JinMN]

Yeah-I agree with others they were complimenting him. He won't run.

[0bamaInWonderland]

yes but he might run in 4 years.

[PrincipiaChamp]

I would vote for him without hesitation...but he will not run.

[sf101]

I wouldn't vote for him. He was wrong about splitting up Iraq into seperate regions. He's doing Obama's bidding on Afghnaistan. But again he's wrong. And to this day he STILL rambles on about what he did in Kosovo. FYI: Many people there said that he was wrong on many points. But naturally the Stateside MSM NEVER talks about that.

[trumpetman]

Well the reason why there was no need to divide Iraq into two regions is because the Shia have purged and ethnically cleansed most of the towns and cities where the Sunni's were. They control the country including it's government so that's why the violence has gone down dramatically. At the time is plan sounded good because the country was totally unstable. And your point about the MSM is ridiculous because there is no liberal media bias if you're implying that.

[berryessence]

i was in Bosnia...and HE DID GET IT RIGHT!

IT'S TOO BAD THE RUSSIANS DIDN'T WANT IT TO HAPPEN THAT WAY AS WELL AS OTHER COUNTRIES IN THE REGION!

DON'T TALK ABOUT SOMETHING IF YOU DON'T KNOW THE WHOLE STORY

STOPPING ETHNIC CLEANSING TO ME IS GETTING IT RIGHT

[LizM]

Sigh. Double sigh.

The Biden strategy for promoting a sustainable political solution in Iraq - which has now been adopted by the Obama/BIDEN administration - has NOTHING, WHATSOEVER, TO DO WITH "splitting up Iraq into separate regions!!! On the contrary, Biden's Iraq strategy still offers the only hope there is for a unified and stable Iraq...mark my words! :)

Actually, Biden is right on Afghanistan and he was right to convince President Clinton to act in Bosnia.

It sounds to me like, while you criticize the MSM for not talking about Kosovo (they're actually not smart enough to talk about that!), you seem to rely on the same MSM for your information on the Biden strategy for Iraq and Afghanistan. The MSM have never understood a word Biden says or anything Biden does on account of high levels of ineptitude and incompetence that run rampant through their ranks.

[0bamaInWonderland]

but wasnt he right to vote against the surge in iraq??????

[PrincipiaChamp]

Bigger sigh...I almost responded, but LizM below did much better.than I ever could..