Seeking to convince us that “Speaking Freely, Biden Finds Influential Role,” the New York Times, instead, makes clear that the Vice President’s role is anything but influential.

Consider:

Top aides say it has become customary for Mr. Obama to solicit Mr. Biden’s opinion at the end of meetings. But his views by no means always carry the day. At one January meeting to discuss the budget, Mr. Biden railed that the government was in no fiscal shape to pursue a health care overhaul this year — to the dismay of many present and others who heard about it.

The vice president later backed off, but Mr. Obama — who disagreed strongly with the view — has come to see Mr. Biden as a useful contrarian in the course of decision-making.

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One can always count on Joe Biden for a doozy of a statement. At a time when Congressional Democrats need reassurance from the White House before they go ahead and vote for a turkey of a stimulus bill that will do nothing to jump-start the economy and is rightfully being panned in the arena of public relations, the Vice President comes out with this:

Vice President Joe Biden acknowledged today that Democrats could face political repercussions in 2010 for their support of the $900 billion economic stimulus package.

“But when we do [approve it], I’m sure you’re going to be nailed in ads, `Well they voted on that’ 30 second ads,” Biden told roughly 200 members of the House Democratic Caucus gathered here for their three day annual retreat. “I promise you as [a colleague] once said to me, `I’ll come campaign for you or against you, whichever will help you the most in your district.’ And so will the president because, again, we’re all in this together.”

I am sure that this makes Congressional Democrats feel great because the White House has done a bang-up job thus far in helping its allies on the Hill out when it comes to public relations. And in the event that this weak tea did not do enough to disconcert Democrats, the Vice President followed it up with . . . well . . . what on Earth does one make of this?

The vice president also offered some trademark candor about the prospects of success.

He recalled a recent White House meeting with the president and senior aides in which they were discussing the many challenges the country faces. “If we do everything right, if we do it with absolute certainty, there’s still a 30% chance we’re going to get it wrong,” was his message at the meeting.

So if the Administration and Congressional Democrats do everything right, they might still end up getting it wrong? And the Vice President has scientifically calculated matters to put the odds of getting it wrong despite doing everything right at “30%”?

If Joe Biden didn’t exist, we would have to have invented him. I don’t think that the Vice President has even come close to reaching his potential as an inadvertent comedian.

More people are noticing that our Vice President is . . . well . . . unique amongst men:

How many vice presidents does it take to shoot from the lip?

Ask Vice President Joe Biden, who this week experienced a sweat-inducing “did I really say that?” moment after he lamely tried to turn U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts into a punch line while standing next to the president of the United States.

Instead, Biden found himself the target of an arctic blast of reaction from President Obama.

Ouch. Not only did his line about “my memory is not as good as Justice Roberts” - a reference to Roberts flubbing the words to the oath of office when he administered it to Obama Tuesday - earn him groans from the crowd of White House staffers he was swearing in Wednesday. It earned him a YouTube moment - and a firm put-a lid-on-it presidential grip on Biden’s arm.

It’s nothing new. “Shoot from the lip” Biden hasn’t exactly been a stranger to the gaffe-o-meter this week.

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