Joe Biden Portrayed as Key Deal Broker in New Bob Woodward Book on Obama

Joe Biden Portrayed as Key Deal Broker in New Bob Woodward Book on Obama
Sep 7, 2012 4:45 AM EDT

The vice president comes across as highly partisan, but in his new book, ‘The Price of Politics,’ Bob Woodward depicts him as a skilled and respected negotiator who became the key Democratic deal maker after the GOP won back the House.



snip//

Democratic Convention

Vice President Joe Biden greets the delegates before speaking at the DNC. (Charlie Neibergall / AP)

Last night in his speech at the Democratic National Convention, Biden remained in attack mode. He said Republican nominee Mitt Romney didn’t understand “what saving the automobile industry meant to all of America.” He also contrasted Obama’s decision to order the Navy SEAL raid that killed Osama bin Laden with a 2007 quote from Mitt Romney saying he would not “move heaven and earth” to track down one man.

But Joe Biden's belligerent and at times clumsy partisanship disguises an effective personal charm that privately impresses many Republican leaders, according to Bob Woodward’s new book, The Price of Politics. Woodward discloses how Biden became the most important deal broker after Republicans won huge gains in the 2010 midterms. Through a combination of patience, a knack for telling long personal stories, and the occasional private aside, Biden helped forge major compromises on the debt limit and laid the groundwork for two of Obama's most important legislative victories: the repeal of the ban on gays in the military and the ratification of an arms control agreement with Russia.

more...

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/09/07/joe-biden-portrayed-as-key-deal-broker-in-new-bob-woodward-book-on-obama.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+thedailybeast%2Fpolitics+%28The+Daily+Beast+-+Politics%29