Watching the vice-president work a room, as described by Politico’s Ben Smith, sounds a little like watching minor league baseball. It’s unpredictable — “He talks about things that we can hardly envision and are definitely not in the talking points,” said one aide. You can get a lot closer to the action than at the next level up (“Biden is delivering a level of physical contact, personal connection, and unpredictable gossip that used to be what donors paid for but which seems to cause Obama to recoil”). Despite the obvious pleasure he takes in schmoozing, “Biden is not a huge fund-raising draw.” He plays mostly in “second-tier” cities. Also, he’s willing to provide entertainment for the whole family: Biden “spent last weekend in a water fight with children at a party he hosted for reporters at the Naval Observatory.” This weekend, he just might slingshot Obama ‘12 T-shirts into the crowd at the Des Moines Rotary Club.
Joe Biden: Schmoozer-in-chief [Politico]
