Joe Biden Was Offered Choice of VP or Secretary of State

While he didn't deny it his spokesperson did. "The vice president-elect didn't deny her claim on the show, but Biden spokeswoman Elizabeth Alexander did three hours later in a statement e-mailed to reporters immediately after the exchange aired on television. "To be clear, President-elect Obama offered Vice President-elect Biden one job only — to be his running mate," the statement said. "And the vice president-elect was thrilled to accept the offer." http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/biden_oprah Odd...

If you actually listened, Jill didn't say "Joe was offered the choice" or "Obama offered Joe the choice..." She said "Joe had the choice..." I can certainly see a conversation happening that went like - "Hey, Joe, I've heard you have ambitions of being SoS, but I'd really like you as a running mate. What do you think?"

This is interesting, and if this was so, when was this choice given to him? I have heard about this before watching the Oprah Show yesterday, and then while watching the Show and wish there was more said on this as well. Personally I cannot see Hillary being upset by it as she was never offered the VP position. But still this is quite interesting for sure.

I had heard that, too. I'm glad he chose to be VP. I don't think it is very surprising, since he has a lot of foreign policy experience.

Hilary was probly hoping he would take the sec. of state job so she could get VP. Of the two I would rather be Sec of state. But to each their own. He had his choice and he made it. The VP usually gets over shadowed by the president and in this case I think it will be especially true.

I don't know what scares me more, Biden being a heartbeat away from the Presidency or Biden appointed as Secretary of State. He definitely has a loose lips problem which probably would have come out during the campaign had it not been for the extreme focus put on Sarah Palin. I'm happy with Hillary as Secretary of State but would have been happier with her as the VP candidate. Another poster mentioned something about whether Hillary was offered the same choice. I can tell you that she was not. The Obama campaign didn't vet her at all for consideration as the V.P. candidate, something that caused a lot of issues with her supporters. I don't think that Hillary will be upset by the news at all. I believe that she took the position to increase her visibility and to demonstrate how ready she is. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if she made another run for it in the future. Best of luck to President-Elect Obama and his administration. What a mess to have to walk into!

No I do not think she will be upset. IMO she has more leeway to show what she can do as Secretary of State. Barring anything unforeseen happening to the President I do not think the VP has any real decisions to make.

Curiouser and curiouser. I wonder if hillary was presented with options as well or if she was out of the loop. Biden is an ok guy, despite the polar opposite ideolgy he has from mine, but the Secretary Of State should be an articulate and sure spoken person.....Biden, well...is...how do I say this.......um.......yeh...you get the idea.

Hmmm... Does that mean that Hillary could of end up being VP? I hope it doesn't upset Hillary to hear that, maybe she already knew it. Maybe Joe won't tell his wife important things like that any more, if she is going to "spill the beans".

Surely she's fully aware of this. Maybe being vice president would have felt very much like second-class citizenship to her, since she tried to be president. In any case, she seems to be a wonderful candidate for Secretary of State!

Well maybe Hillary was offered the same thing first? I don't think she will really care one way or the other. I really think she just wants to make things happen.

Hi annie! That really is interesting! I don't know why if he was given that choice then that he did pick being VP if what he really wanted was Secretary of State then why didn't he take that position? And will Hillary Clinton be upset? Why should she? She is going to be Secretary of State! What difference does it make now! The decisions are made and it sure is too late to change their minds! Tomorrow Biden will be the Vice President! If he really did have the choice then he made it!

Honestly I think it would have been better with Biden as secretary of state and Clinton as VP, because Clinton has experience being a personal counselor to the President and Biden has extensive foreign policy experience. I was thinking that he probably let Biden pick. It's too bad, I would have liked him for secretary of state.

I don't see where this is such a big surprise. It could have been a conversation as simple as Obama saying, listen, I want you on my team. If you don't want to campaign with me as my VP nominee, would you be interested in the sec of state when all is said and done? I think Hilary is fine with her position. Otherwise she could have just stayed in the senate. I'm sure that most of the Washington insiders heard rumblings of this long before it got to us.

Maybe she was offered a choice too? This is the first I have heard of this, and it's interesting. I hope that Hillary will not be upset because I think that she is well placed as Sec of State. Of course it could be that he wasn't actually offered the job but asked which he preferred as part of the vetting process??? I don't know. I'm just so very excited that the day is almost here!!!!!

Why should she be upset? The post is hers. Why worry about something that didn't happen? Also, I don't think it is a big deal. Just think about all the things you don't hear...all the deals that go down that are shady. Only a handful get caught. No big surprise here if the news is indeed true. I wouldn't be surprised if it is just another ploy for making the news. Gessh, I'll be so glad when all this hoopla is over. What a waste of the taxpayers money!

Thats the thing about Politics..they all know whats up before we even get a right to vote on it..and I bet Hillary is just glad she got something out of it..

Who cares? lol. I don't think Hillary would be upset about any of this. I'm sure lots of discussions went on before anything was decided and she officially threw her support behind Obama. She got a high profile job that'll keep her in the news and might put her on the favorable side in the public opinion circus. Then she'll just have to bite her time until she can run again in eight years. Biden on the other hand... let's just say I think it's safer to have him in the VP position. Too many slips of the tongue he does himself;)

I don't think that it would surprise her a bit, but my question is how did Obama give him the choice for VP or secretary of state? I mean he had to run for VP with Obama and Obama can not appoint secretary of state till he has won. Just how did he know for sure he would win? Sounds like he did and it was rigged the whole time! However that does not surprise me at all.