Joe Biden is my hero.

Not just because he’s the vice president of the United States. Not just because he’s a Syracuse University alumnus. Not just because the Obama campaign is selling beer cozies with his face on them that say “Cheers Champ.”

No, my affection for Joe — I sometimes feel like we’re on a first name basis — comes from his ability to say and do things that the president just could not get away with.

Don’t underestimate the importance of this to the administration’s messaging strategy.

President Barack Obama has a particular public persona, one that very often rubs people the wrong way because, frankly, it comes across as boring. This makes sense, considering the president was a law professor.

In case you don’t believe me, just look at his last debate performance. While Mitt Romney was delivering punchy, clever lines with very little substance, Obama would embark on long-winded explanations of policy that nobody wanted to hear.

To be really honest, even I stopped paying attention a few times. It’s wonderful that Obama knows his stuff, and we deserve a president who knows what he’s talking about. That said, his style can often be a weakness because it’s just not relatable.

That’s where our friend Joe comes in. The vice president can step in and comment on the issues facing our country in a way that Obama can’t.

Early on in the president’s term, the administration chose to take on health care reform. Upperclassmen should be glad they did, because now young people can stay on their parent’s insurance until age 26, rather than paying for their own, much more expensive insurance policy.

Unfortunately, the good sense of the bill didn’t win everyone over, and it took nearly a year for the legislation to finally pass.

After this long struggle on behalf of the American people, supporters were justifiably exasperated; just glad the fight was over. Then came Joe to remind us how significant an event it was.

“This is a big f***ing deal,” he whispered into a live microphone while embracing the president during a press conference in the East Room of the White House. No statement could have better captured the moment.

More recently, most people who keep up on politics will know that President Obama endorsed the legalization of gay marriage.

But first, Joe Biden communicated his support for equality just five days prior, saying he was “totally comfortable” with gay marriage.

At the time, most people chalked it up to Biden’s gaffe-prone self, but it did get people talking. For five days, the media speculated on the president’s position.

No one was sure if Biden’s statement was signaling a larger change in the administration, or if it was just crazy old Joe speaking off the cuff. Of course, we now know Obama did use the opportunity to fully endorse gay marriage.

Looking back, it is fairly clear that Biden was doing what’s called ‘floating’ an idea. Essentially, saying something vague about an issue to see how people react to it.

So, the vice president says he’s comfortable with gay marriage, and the reaction to it is tame, if not supportive. Seeing the positive response, the president could then come forward and make a full statement on the issue.

No one really knows how many of Biden’s statements are an intentional strategy.  This is part of what makes him great — you never know what he’s going to say, so if he did say something crazy on purpose, we would think it was an accident.

One thing’s for sure: He makes watching politics a lot more interesting. Oh, and did I mention he’s an SU alumnus?

Colin Crowley is a senior political science and philosophy major. His column appears online weekly. He can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter at @colincrowley.

Published on October 14, 2012 at 11:58 am