Biden to be Obama's 'confidant'

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Days into his new job, US Vice President Joe Biden says he sees his role as being a "confidant" and "adviser" to President Obama.

"I don't see myself as the deputy president. I see myself as the president's confidant," Mr Biden told CBS News programme Face the Nation.

"Hopefully I'm the last person in the room with every important decision he makes," the former senator added.

He said he sees his role differently from former vice president Dick Cheney.

Break with past

Mr Cheney was reputed to have been the architect of some of the Bush administration's most controversial policies, from the Iraq war, to interrogation tactics and an unprecedented spy programme. JOE BIDEN Born in 1942 in PennsylvaniaSenator for Delaware since 1972 Ran for president in 1988, 2008 <a class="" href="/1/hi/world/americas/7574085.stm">Profile: Joe Biden</a>

In contrast, Mr Biden, a 65-year-old long-time Washington insider, said his job is to act as an adviser.

"I said, 'Barack, I don't want to be on the ticket unless you're hiring me for my judgment'," he told CBS.

"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."