Being Vice President of the United States seems like a big deal. I mean, by the title, it seems to be the second most important job in the US. But is it?

No. It really is not to be honest.

Let’s think about how much power Joe Biden has. If there is a deadlock in the Senate, he has the tie-breaking vote. But because everyone knows which way he will vote, there never ends up being a need.

Nowadays the VP doesn’t even show up to the Senate, they always elect a President pro tempore. So what else are the VP’s duties.

Well really not anything. They are the first up in the line of succession so they need to keep up on all the goings on just in case the President becomes unable to serve. For the most part they go around campaigning and enjoying a nice pay check and some media coverage.

But I think there is a role for the VP, and Joe Biden does a good job of it.

Biden is really an average Joe (lots of pun intended). Listening to him talk in an interview is like listening to a local politician talk about Washington. And with the general population growing more and more uncomfortable with intelligent politicians (just look at the GOP field) it is good to have someone who can converse with the general voter.

To be honest, if there was to be a huge disaster in the US, I would want Biden to talk to the people, because he would be honest and to the point. He does not seem to be too motivated by the politics of Washington (most likely because he is not involved) and he understands Americans.

Dick Cheney was quite the opposite. While Biden comes off as a goofy and  an average guy, Cheney was the evil Sith Lord who was pulling all the strings in the executive office.

And that was the problem. Cheney was never supposed to have the power he had. The VP should not be the one controlling the country, they should be the one at the local bar getting to know the people. They should be the ones who go around the country campaigning because they have nothing better to do.

Cheney had so much power that he could not even be called VP. He was more Evil Overlord of America. Cheney is a very smart man who saw opportunity in the VP position. He realized that Bush was so weak that he could take over control of both the White House and much of the Senate.

So to answer the title of this blog, yes, the VP position CAN mean something. Chances are it doesn’t, but there are certain pairings of President and VP that turn it in to a meaningful post.

But for the sake of the country, let’s keep it meaningless. Let’s fill it with down to earth people who are able to stay attached to the real world instead of becoming entwined with the mysterious world of politics. Let’s have more Joe Bidens.