Vice President: Joe Biden

Biden's main duty will be to act as Obama's eyes and ears in the Senate, and possibly cast a deciding vote in the event of a deadlock. The 66-year-old is a jack-of-all-trades character with a flair for foreign affairs and has written books on everything from democratisation to child abduction and theft of intellectual property. His ability to push through difficult legislature is almost as legendary as his rhetorical gaffes ­ or "flourishes" as Obama has referred to them. Though popular with both Republicans and Democrats, the New Yorker says that Biden was unsure whether he really wanted to take the position that puts him "a heartbeat away from the Presidency".

FIRST POSTED JANUARY 6, 2009