Biden Another Cheney?: "Vice President Cheney's clout within the Bush administration is heavily tied to the fact that the he early -- and quite credibly because of his medical history -- disavowed any plans to seek the presidency in his own right. We're in the midst of a four decade trend toward more and more powerful and influential vice-presidents (in the sense of clout not constitutional prerogative). But the big brake on the veep's role in decision-making has always been the fact that everyone else who wants to be president someday has a strong interest in keeping his power in check. Since Jimmy Carter picked Walter Mondale in 1976 you can see these two dimensions of the veep's modern role in constant tension -- whether with Mondale or Bush or Gore. And the Cheney model, to a significant degree, resolved that tension."
(Via Talking Points Memo.)
