Don’t forget the vice president: Counselor Biden is available for questions

President Barack Obama has to prove himself amid the extremely high expectations of some and the highly skeptical and cautious eye of others. To some, he must prove that he’s not an empty suit or a socialist nut-job.

The newly (and doubly) sworn- in president will be doing that for at least the next four years. How his first term goes — along with economic recovery, national security and other hot-button concerns — will determine if he has a second term.

So, as keen as the focus is on the office of the president, I’d like to draw attention to Joseph Biden and the office of vice president. After all, Biden only had to take his oath once for it to take effect.

Vice president of the U.S. is surely one of the most misunderstood and oft ridiculed offices in the land. Even vice presidents themselves haven’t thought much of the job.

Our first vice president, John Adams, called it “the most insignificant office that ever the invention of man contrived or his imagination conceived.”

John Nance Garner, one of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s three vice presidents, told reporters that the job was not worth a “pitcher of warm spit.”

The job’s main functions are outlined in the U.S. Constitution: succession and the Senate. He is first in line to succeed the president should the commander-in-chief become unable to carry out the job due to death, health impairment or resignation.

As president of the Senate, the vice president’s job mostly consists of sitting in silence while senators filibuster and debate through the night. Breaking tie Senate votes and certifying Electoral College votes are additional tasks seen to by the office holder.

Any other duties that come with the assignment are really gravy — and they are at the discretion of the president.

According to some in the Bush-Cheney administration it was the other way around. Vice President Dick Cheney was calling the shots, secretly running the country for President George W. Bush, ran the rumors. My guess is the truth lies somewhere in the middle of Cheney being a Darth Vader-puppeteer and a shrewd and gifted politician and organizer.

As the Obama-Biden days are beginning, the new vice president has made it clear that he is far from a deputy to Obama’s sheriff.

On last Sunday’s “Meet the Press,” the former senator from Delaware said he wants to be the last person in the room when it comes to decisions made by President Obama.

“The agreement he and I have is that I would be available for every single major decision that he makes,” Biden told “Face the Nation” host Bob Schiefer. “So that’s what I view my role to be, a confidant, an adviser, essentially the last guy in the room when he makes these critical decisions.”

When Obama asked Biden if he wanted the job of vice president, the veteran politician said he wanted to be hired for his judgment. And apparently he has been brought in on the major decisions in the first week of the new administration.

I just hope that our new president will listen to his vice president and his other advisers before making decisions. Wise counsel is something true leaders should use. However, truly listening to the advice and then acting upon it is, I believe, the truest mark of a good executive, on any level.

Since critics of our new president have worried about his lack of experience, I believe that listening to Biden, a 65-year-old, veteran senator with foreign and domestic policy experience, will be a plus for the new president.

While the expectations of success (or failure, depending on your perspective) for President Obama are high, I have high expectations for Vice President Biden. Counselor-in-chief to the president is a big job. Let’s watch and see how he does.

Walker’s column appears each Wednesday on the editorial page.