Opinion: Joe Biden update: Private phone calls followed by private meetings

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With President Obama far away in Russia today, Vice President Joe Biden won’t be showing up for work until around noon, according to his official schedule.

Just back himself from a holiday-weekend trip overseas to Iraq, Biden saw some Iraqi leaders, a sandstorm and some U.S. troops, including his son Beau, who’s scheduled to take over the Biden family Senate seat in Delaware after the November 2010 election.

Today, Biden’s schedule starts at 12 p.m. with some secret phone calls with governors and mayors around the country about the administration’s economic stimulus plan that has so far stimulated unemployment way beyond the rate its officials predicted last winter.

We won’t know exactly what the vice president and those he is conversing with say because these conference calls are closed to the media. (UPDATE: After the two stimulus calls, the White House said the following officials participated: Democrat Govs. Chet Culver of Iowa and Jennifer Granholm of Michigan and Republican Govs. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota, Rick Perry of Texas and Jodi Rell of Connecticut.

Another call involved Mayors Dave Bing of Detroit, Joey Durel of Lafayette, La., Ashley Swearingen of Fresno and Charlie Tomlinson of Corvallis, Or and Whatcom County Executive Pete Kremen in Washington state.)

However, because this is the most transparent presidential administration in national history, after these private phone calls, Biden’s schedule calls for him to spend the rest of the day in ‘private meetings.’ These are also closed to the media. So no one knows who they are with or what the subjects of conversation are.

-- Andrew Malcolm

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