GQ: $#!% Joe Biden Says

$#!% Joe Biden Says
Can he raise the rafters like his boss? No. But nobody can flat-out talk like Joe Biden. And these days, everybody's listening
by Lisa DePaulo

photograph by Brigitte Lacombe

December 2010


There are only two reporters traveling coast-to-coast with the vice president on Air Force Two on a clear day in early October. Which is two more than usual. Even though Joe Biden is in the midst of a long-overdue respectfest—the recent 9,300-word Atlantic opus declaring him "indispensable," the eighty or so floundering Democratic candidates who called Joe before O to come stump for them—he's still largely ignored by the press. Until he puts his foot in his mouth. (At the signing ceremony for the health care bill: "Mr. President, this is a big fucking deal"—well, it was!) In an ironic consequence of the ongoing economic crisis—the one he's traversing the country to assuage voters' angst about—few media companies can afford to send reporters on both Air Force One and Air Force Two. We finally have a vice president who loves to talk, and the poor guy is stuck with just me and a Bloomberg reporter. "Bloomberg still has money," cracks one of Biden's aides.

Traveling with Biden instead of his boss is notable for other reasons, too. The vice president rarely avails himself of the closed private cabin up front in the 757. He prefers to sit with his staff, at a table or in an aisle seat from which he can see the entire plane. When it's dinnertime, everyone is served chili in plastic bowls. The vice president has a choice of basically anything he wants. He wants the chili.

Twice during the cross-country tour, the veep makes his way to the back of the plane, past the cabin jammed with White House doctors and Secret Service, to schmooze his traveling press corps. In his morning visit between D.C. and Madison, Wisconsin, he's revved up about his mission for today. He is leaning over the seat in front of me and Kate Brower, the Bloomberg reporter, occasionally making his point by touching our hands. Only Joe Biden can do this like a gentleman. He tells us he believes—and thinks the people believe—that "the stimulus did exactly what it was supposed to do, but it wasn't enough." And he is positive we'll get almost all the TARP money back. "It has a sell-by date on it, man." (Biden calls everybody "man.") He leaves us with this parting thought: "I used to say to my late wife, "I have great faith in the American people." And she would say, "How much faith would you have in them if you lost?" " With this guy, probably the same amount.

snip//

So how much do you love the job?
Well, my dad used to have an expression. He'd say, "It's a lucky person who gets up in the morning and puts both feet on the floor, knows what he or she's about to do, and thinks it still matters." I think this matters. I didn't want the job at first, didn't think I would particularly like it. But because of the partnership and the way the president has engaged me and used me, it's been very rewarding.

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http://www.gq.com/news-politics/politics/201012/joe-biden-interview-vice-president-obama?printable=true

I love Joe Biden! (not sure I've mentioned that or not lol)