An interesting article in this morning's New York Times on the role of Vice-President Joe Biden:

The difference between Biden’s role and Cheney’s has at least as much to do with the culture of the two administrations as it does with the men themselves. Bush’s discomfort with world affairs created a vacuum that Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and others fought to fill. Moreover, Bush’s tendency toward the snap judgment and the gut call undermined the formal policy process in favor of jockeying for position at key moments. By contrast, there is little question where foreign policy is now decided — in the Oval Office — and the absence of a San Andreas fault line has as much to do with clarity of authority as it does with personal vibes. What’s more, as the agonizingly deliberative debate over policy in Afghanistan has demonstrated, Obama wants to hear a case fully argued out before reaching a conclusion, even at some political risk. This perfectly suits Biden, a gifted expostulator and an indifferent schemer.

Part of the worth of the read is that it dispels to a certain degree the allegation that Biden is a lightweight. He is merely capable and positive and content with his place, given that his place is valued. Turns out, he is the business and in charge of Iraq... without all that "Dark Lord stuff of the last guy.