Obama dispatched Joe Biden to the AFL-CIO's annual conference this year and he didn't disappoint:
Thank you very much. (Applause.) Hey, thanks for the welcome. You make it believable. (Laughter.) I tell you what, it's like visiting Jimmy Williams in Philadelphia. (Laughter.) Hey, it's good to be -- at least in my best comfort zone, man. The best place for me to be my whole career is surrounded by organized labor. And I know how to say "union." (Applause.) And old joke, Mr. President, you know, you go home with them that brung you to the dance. Well, you all brought me to the dance a long time ago. And it's time we start dancing, man. It's time we start dancing.
That bolded bit is a straight shot at the Clinton administration, which Labor types used to joke didn't know how to pronounce the word "union." Biden is also the guy who brought Jared Bernstein, Labor's favorite economist, into the administration. And he's also also the guy who's been having regular lunches with folks like AFL-CIO prez John Sweeney. And he's the guy chairing the Middle Class Task Force which Labor feels is the body that will be most focused on their concerns. For more on Biden's apparent role as the voice of labor within the administration, read Chris Hayes's column on the subject. But if Biden's friendliness to Labor isn't in doubt, his clout is. The big unknown, for Labor and everyone else, is what weight the Veep's opinions carry on economic and social policy. What happens when Biden collides with Summers? The only hint we've seen was this Washington Post article relating Summers and Geithner teaming up against Biden's chief economist, Jared Bernstein, on deficit policy. Summers and Geithner won. If you want to read Biden's whole speech to the council -- and it's worth reading to get a sense of the Veep's easy familiarity with the constituency -- it's copied below the fold.
