The Further Reduction Of Joe Biden’s VP Power

You know Joe is in trouble when there’s more talk about the future Obama dog than the future VP. Here’s another sign Joe is losing power fast.

Vice President-elect Joe Biden will be forbidden by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid from attending Senate Democratic Caucus meetings, Reid said in an interview with the Las Vegas Sun set to run Sunday at 2 a.m., as excerpted by Politico’s Mike Allen.

“Absolutely not,” responded Reid when asked if Biden would be allowed to attend these meetings.

But Biden spokesperson Elizabeth Alexander notes that Biden had “no intention” of going to the meetings anyway and there is no conflict at all between him and Reid.

“Vice President-elect Biden had no intention of continuing this practice started by Vice President Cheney of regularly attending internal legislative branch meetings,” she told ABC News. “He firmly believes in restoring the Office of the vice president to its historical role. He and Sen. Reid see eye to eye on this.”

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I find this amusing and a tad sad. Biden’s increasingly shrinking VP role does suggest that Obama insiders like the idea of banishing him to the off stage shadows. They appear to regard Joe as the buffoon he sometimes is. Losing a power Cheney had once staked out for the VP, is not the direction I imagine Biden would like to go.

I think it’s a waste of a man, who even though he gaffes a lot, could indeed bring something valuable to the table. If he were to sit in on these meetings, he could at least keep a better eye on what Pelosi and Reid are doing and inform Obama of any potential treachery.

You just know Pelosi is bound to pull a power trip or two if she doesn’t like something Obama is doing or she doesn’t get something she wants for the MoveOn.org crowd. Obama might have the nicer office, but let’s not forget, he needs the Pelosi seal of approval to get Congress to vote on the items he presents to them.

So Joe won’t be running the international relations efforts- Hillary will. He won’t be menacing bad dems who are not playing ball- that’s Rahm Emmanuel’s job, and now Joe won’t be attending dem caucus meetings either. What exactly will Joe work on that would be in line with ‘restoring the Office of the vice president to its historic role’?

The only historical role has been to attend state funerals and weddings of foreign leaders and inquire as to the general health of the President. 

That doesn’t seem like much for a man of Joe Biden’s experience to be satisfied with during the next four years. He’s not a thumb twirler, sit back kind of guy. If they don’t find something legitimate to keep Joe busy, he’s likely to become even more gaffe prone out of sheer idleness and boredom. Perhaps the White House could install Solitaire on his computer. At my workplace, many fellow colleagues quietly fill the working hours with online chess games. Perhaps Biden should take that up too.

Oprah: I’m not seeking job with Obama

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — Although Oprah Winfrey worked hard on Barack Obama’s presidential election campaign, she never considered going to work for the president-elect’s administration, the talk show host said Friday.

“I have a few full-time jobs already and a few full-time commitments, you know — contractual commitments that say I have to be where I am,” Winfrey told AP Television. “So, it never ever occurred to me, not even occurred to me.”

Winfrey said she would stay put, even if the president-elect came calling.

“Even if I was offered, I still have contractual commitments and what could I do?” Winfrey said. “I do what I do best on TV every day.”

Earlier this week, Winfrey’s production company confirmed she would host her Chicago-based talk show to Washington for at least two episodes during inauguration week. She’ll have a live show from the Kennedy Center Opera House one day before the ceremony, and tape another one on Jan. 21.

One plan she hasn’t yet thought out was her dress for the inaugural ball, despite rumors to the contrary.

“I actually haven’t picked it,” Winfrey said. “I had a dress on the vision board, but I’m not sure that’s gonna fit, so I have to work on something else.”

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LOL! Oprah in the Obama administration!?

She can do more on his behalf by remaining on her show than anything she could ever do in Washington. I would expect that no matter what Obama does or does not do while President, Oprah will remain his top cheerleader. Even as he backs away from previous positions he campaigned on, fans like Oprah are likely to overlook that and just focus on the history of Obama instead of the reality of Obama. I hope for all our sakes, that Obama can deliver on his hope/change promise, but let’s not lose sight that he’s a mere human being capable of stumbles and missteps, not the messiah Oprah has ordained.

Kennedy Clan Urging Caroline To Seek Senate Seat

The 2012 Ticket?

Further confirmation of Caroline Kennedy’s intention to seek Hillary Clinton’s Senate seat has come from inside the Kennedy camp today. Her cousin, Robert Kennedy Jr., the lone Kennedy who chose to back Hillary instead of Obama during the dem primaries, has confirmed the Caroline Senate story.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he and the rest of the powerful Kennedy clan are urging Caroline to seek the New York governor’s appointment to the Senate seat now held by Hillary Rodham Clinton — and added she is ready and seriously considering it.

“I know she’s interested,” Robert Kennedy, who himself was prominently mentioned for the seat, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Friday. “She spent a lot of her life balancing public service with obligations to her family. Now her children are grown, and she is ready to move onto a bigger stage.”

Once Clinton, in line to become secretary of state, is confirmed to President-elect Barack Obama’s Cabinet, New York Gov. David Paterson will appoint someone to fill the seat for two years.

The Kennedy family’s connections and history cannot force Paterson to choose Caroline, but the family’s strong support could increase pressure on him to pick her over lesser-known contenders. For Caroline Kennedy, seeking the Senate seat would be a significant departure from the life she has lived until now, protecting her family’s privacy — and her own.

Robert Kennedy said his extended family would come out en masse for her if she does get the appointment and has to run for election in 2010.

“If she runs, you will see more Kennedys than you have ever seen in your life,” he said.

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There are many ways that Caroline could contribute to causes and advocate for issues as a private citizen. Political service is one way to make an impact in this world, but it is hardly the only way. With the Kennedy name behind her, Caroline could achieve much without having to pull the seat out from under other candidates who have more experience and wanted the Senate seat too. The name ‘Kennedy’ should not be a free pass to cut ahead in line of others who have worked for years to establish themselves through hard work and effort.

After everything that has happened with a relatively unknown Barrack Obama exploding onto the national stage and becoming President- elect within his first Senate term, I shouldn’t be surprised that Caroline Kennedy could walk into a Senate seat because she woke up one day and said she wanted it.

Welcome to the new democratic party brought to you by political thugs from Chicago and orchestrated by the democrats own Rovian team of Axelrod and Brazile. The new democrats include such illustrious members as: Obama, Al Franken, Chris Matthews (you know he’s eye a PA Senate race of his own), and now Caroline Kennedy. It’s all in the name and connections.

Richard Nixon always claimed that one day Caroline Kennedy would become the first female President. I thought about that today. I thought about how a path could emerge that would take Caroline from Senator to White House in 2016. It’s actually very easily mapped out if she becomes a Senator now, replaces Biden as VP in Obama’s second term, and runs for the president once Obama’s second term ends (if he were to win a second term of course).

It’s not that far fetched if you factor that Biden will not likely run for President himself in 2016 as he would be 75 years old at that time. Plus, Biden who has already had several aneurysms, could have further health issues over the next 8 years. Needing an heir apparent for the dem party after Obama’s reign is over, will make someone an insider favorite well before 2014 when the 2 year pre election campaign efforts begin.

As a VP, Caroline would have a tremendous platform to mount a campaign while also sidestepping the ‘experience’ question nicely. She has already demonstrated her ‘loyalty’ to Obama. They’ve worked together well when she helped on the VP selection committee.

As the first black president, he could make even more history by bringing along the first female VP to office and then helping her become the first President too.  He wouldn’t do it for Hillary, but Obama owes the Kennedy’s a lot, he finds Caroline likable enough, and it would buy one more historical footnote to the Obama legacy- why wouldn’t he do it?

As much as it breaks my heart to think it, if Caroline were to become a Senator, it’s likely she could be in a position to outmaneuver Hillary in a presidential bid in 2016. Heartbreaking isn’t it?

Maybe that was the Kennedy plan all along? Knock off Hillary to push forward one of their own. No one was in position to make it for this election, but the stage is set for a few years down the road. I predict we’ll see a Kennedy on a national ticket in 2012 and then again in 2016. Biden better gird his loins. There’s a Kennedy kick coming his way soon.