Biden's role

President-elect Barack Obama has been swift to name his White House staffers and even some Cabinet members, but he has not spoken about the role Vice President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. will assume.

Speaking to that issue, David Axelrod, a senior adviser to Mr. Obama, told the New York Times: "I'm sure there will be discreet assignments over time. But I think his fundamental role is as a trusted counselor. I think that when Obama selected him, he selected him to be a counselor and an adviser on a broad range of issues."

The question is being asked because the role of vice president has varied. Dick Cheney has redefined the job, exercising considerable power and taking an active role in forming policy and making decisions. He has also been the target of much criticism.

In the previous administration, President Bill Clinton gave specific assignments to his vice president, Al Gore, who took the lead role in the areas of environment and technology.

Mr. Biden, longtime U.S. senator from Delaware, has much experience and expertise in foreign and domestic policy. Having served as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Mr. Biden recently touched base with the three leading candidates for prime minister of Israel. He has also called President Alvaro Uribe of Colombia, President Mikhail Saakashvili of Georgia and Javier Solana, foreign policy chief of the European Union.

He has also interviewed the new administration's candidates for chief economist, the Times reported.

Mr. Biden is an active, outspoken Senate veteran unlikely to assume the more traditional vice presidential posture of staying quietly in the background. Yet he is not expected to be as powerful as Vice President Cheney, either.

It will be interesting to see how Mr. Biden handles his new job. Like any vice president, he will serve at the president's bidding.