Biden seeks to be a hands-on Vice-President like Cheney

Washington: Vice-President-elect Joe Biden was all smiles when he paid a courtesy call the man he will succeed, Dick Cheney. But he has insisted he wants to be nothing like him.

Biden has called Cheney "the most dangerous vice president we've had probably in American history" and said he couldn't name a single good thing Cheney had done. But even if he won't acknowledge any similarities, there's one way that Biden wants to be like Cheney - a strong partner in governing the country.

Biden is proving to be a hands-on No. 2 to President-elect Barack Obama. He is carving out his own niche, specialising in foreign affairs, his area of expertise for decades in the Senate, and sticking close to Obama.

Past vice presidents have often been relegated to ceremonial roles, without major input on daily decisions.

But the last two vice presidents, Cheney and Al Gore, have been extraordinarily involved and insisted on private weekly lunches with their bosses.

Biden has said he told Obama, before accepting the running mate slot, that he wouldn't want a peripheral assignment like reorganising government, which Gore took on, along with other tasks.

Proactive role

In an interview with New Yorker magazine last month, he said he told Obama: "I don't want to be a vice-president who is not part of the major decisions you make." Biden will certainly have a special interest in the Iraq war, with his son scheduled to deploy there this month.

So far, Biden has been working closely with Obama. He has been in almost all the president-elect's meetings at his new government office space in Chicago and has been dispatched to make calls to several foreign leaders.

Biden was asked to smooth over a miscommunication following Obama's phone call with Polish President Lech Kaczynski last week. Kaczynski issued a statement saying Obama vowed to continue with President George W. Bush's missile defence project. But Obama's advisers denied it, and the Polish foreign minister later said it was a misinterpretation on their part.

Biden called Kaczynski a couple of days later to explain that the Obama administration will assess the programme before deciding whether to stick with it.

He also spoke this week with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Jordan's King Abdullah II, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Brown's predecessor, Tony Blair.

Biden has said he'd like to use his 36 years of experience in the Senate, including leadership of the Judiciary and Foreign Relations committees, to help push Obama's agenda in Congress. It's longtime insider's experience that Obama lacks and a role that has not been Cheney's focus.

Cheney has been forceful in the White House, while venturing to Congress occasionally to cast a tie-breaking vote or meet with Republican lawmakers.

Despite the harsh words during the campaign, the Cheneys invited Biden and his wife, Jill, to the Naval Observatory, which is the official vice president's residence, for an hour-long tour on Thursday. Biden said he had been in some of the first-floor rooms before.

But it was his first look at much of the mansion that will be his first Washington residence after decades of commuting by train from Delaware.

Both couples were on their best behaviour, at least during their greetings on the porch that reporters observed.

"Mr Vice-President, how are you doing," Biden said.

Cheney replied, "Joe, how are you?" and offered his congratulations.

Chicago (Reuters) Barack Obama will meet with his former rival, Republican Senator John McCain, on Monday to talk about ways they can work together, an Obama spokeswoman said.

The meeting between the former competitors will take place in Chicago at Obama's transition headquarters two weeks after the Democratic senator won a decisive victory over McCain in the November 4 election.

It will be the first time the two have spoken since McCain called Obama to concede the election. McCain gave an emotional speech after the concession in which he promised to help his rival address the country's many challenges.

"It's well known that they share an important belief that Americans want and deserve a more effective and efficient government, and will discuss ways to work together to make that a reality," said Obama's transition spokeswoman, Stephanie Cutter.

She said the two men would be accompanied by McCain's close friend, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, and Obama's chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel.

Obama and McCain teams had been in touch "for a while" to work out a time for the men to meet.