My must read of the day is "Come On, Joe, Being Veep Ain’t So Bad," by Jules Witcover, in Politico:
The general public regard for the American vice presidency was once summed up by Thomas R. Marshall, Woodrow Wilson’s standby, in the sad story of a man who had two sons. One was lost at sea, the other became vice president of the United States, and neither was ever heard from again. Wilson offered his own judgment of Marshall by once unguardedly referring to him as "a small-caliber man." […]
In a sense, the defeated 1972 Democratic presidential nominee George McGovern inadvertently played a role in the development of the Mondale model. After selecting Sen. Thomas Eagleton of Missouri as his original running mate under the pressures of a contested national convention, McGovern dropped him upon disclosure that Eagleton had received electric-shock therapy for mental depression. The furor persuaded Carter four years later to conduct a thorough personal vetting of several running-mate prospects, including Mondale.
In advance of Mondale’s interview by Carter in Plains, Georgia, the senator’s chief of staff Richard Moe drew up a detailed memorandum on what Carter seemed to need and want in a vice president. Mondale and Moe then crafted a paper describing what Mondale could offer and sent it to Carter, who bought into it at once. When he met Mondale, Carter told him: "I want you to be in the chain of command—a vice president with the power to act in the president’s place."
Once installed in the White House, Carter and Mondale together created the modern model for putting the vice presidency to work fulltime. Carter gave Mondale complete access to him in the Oval Office and to his inner circle, and made him his chief adviser in dealing with Congress, about which Carter had no experience, as was often revealed.
I’ve always thought being the vice president would be the best job. As long as the president doesn’t die you get to have a powerful position without much responsibility. You get all the fun, and if there’s trouble or anything bad happens the person who has to deal with it isn’t you. It’s like being the younger sibling—you can get in trouble, but for some reason your parents always think your older and more responsible sibling should’ve stopped you.
Still, the position is important and has become thought of as an important one. I’m not particularly aghast that he said something that was factually accurate at a recent Harvard speech, even if it was a politically negligent comment to make, but I was taken aback by the White House’s defense of it.
When asked about Biden’s recent "gaffes" and subsequent apologies, Press Secretary Josh Earnest told ABC’s John Karl, "You know, I think the vice president is somebody who has enough to character to admit when he’s made a mistake."
In some cases, I would agree with a comment like that, but not when I think of all the "gaffes" and apologies Biden’s made.
It is admirable to admit when you’ve made a mistake, but many of the mistakes Biden apologizes for are ones that undercut any semblance of admirable attributes.
Whether it’s using terms like "shylock" and "the orient" or stereotyping Indian-Americans, Biden has made numerous racist or insensitive remarks and they don’t deserve to be passed off as "Biden being Biden" anymore, particularly because of the position he holds. The "vice president" before his name gives his words importance and the White House needs to remember that.