Not really about Biden, but about grooming a successor: Obama could probably find a high-level cabinet post for Biden to do well in, and after Biden resigns, Obama could likely get his hand-picked chosen successor designated as VP. Julian Castro, say, and give him assignments over the four years in some area he’s particularly weak in, like foriegn policy in Castro’s case. 2012 rolls around, and the sitting VP runs for POTUS–probably has a much better chance of winning office than anyone else, and Obama gets one of his Cabinet positions filled with someone he trusts. Maybe AG? Biden would make a good AG.
What do you have against Julian Castro? Yeah, that’s a highly visible position. George HW Bush was the first sitting VP to be elected to the presidency since - van Buren?
The time to do this was before the election. Biden was elected and it would not look good to drop him now and do the old switcheroono.
Look for Biden to be sitting in the VP chair 4 years from now.
I really expect Biden to make a run in 2016. He’ll stay VP until then.
Obama’s highest priority is having the most successful second term possible, not picking a successor. And this is the apex of Biden’s career, so he won’t quit. EDIT: Are they still a ticket? I’d say it’s the administration at this point. Regardless, we went through all of this with Bush and Cheney eight years ago, and not only did Cheney not quit, I’ve never heard of anyone trying to make him leave. Unless the VP dies or decides to quit, he’s not going anywhere.
Sheesh, I thought the nutty Replace Biden threads would die out after the convention but apparently even the election isn’t enough to put them to rest. You do realize that Biden has already been re-elected as VP, right? It’s a little late for him to be dropped from the ticket. And what on earth would induce him to resign when he is seriously thinking of running in 2016? Barring some massive scandal, Biden will be VP for the next four years.
In any case even if it were somehow possible, I suspect Obama is more interested in governing for the next four years than figuring out how to win the 2016 election for the Dems. With his legislative and foreign policy experience Biden is a major asset in this regard. Castro, not so much. There isn't the slightest reason to believe Obama wants to get rid of Biden.Joe Biden will be older in 2016 than Old Man McCain was in 2008. Plus, he will have stuck his foot in his mouth about a gazillion times between now and the beginning of the campaign in two years. No, he isn’t going to run.
Biden was elected to do a job. It isn’t much of a job, but the voters have spoken. Pulling a stunt like the OP proposed to subvert the will of the voters in order to make Obama the kingmaker for 2016 (with the expectation that Democrats will like up like penguins to approve of Obama’s choice for his successor, before a single debate or primary had even occurred) is a tactic more befitting of undemocratic leaders like Chavez or Putin. I would be in very strong opposition to a harebrained stunt like this, and I would strongly think that the Congress should reject a replacement VP under those circumstances.
If Biden were to resign and try to force Congress’ hand to approve a VP nominee, it would be monumentally stupid. First of all, we’ve had several presidents with no sitting VP, and the country has been fine. Second of all, that would put Boehner next in line for the presidency, and… well, did the OP even think this through for a second?
Biden doesn’t feel that way or he would not have left the Senate to become VP.
Jeez, if you don’t like my idea, just say so outright.
It’s different leaving one elected job to go to a higher elected job, rather than leave an elected job to go to an appointed job.
It’s also different to leave an elected job that you had run for in good faith, and thought you would serve at the time you were running, versus running for an elected job, then shortly afterward (before inauguration) announce that no, you won’t be doing it.
Ravenman’s right. It would reflect poorly on both Biden and Obama to have put themselves forward as “the ticket,” and then to say, “but now that you’ve voted, here’s what you’re really going to get.”
I don’t begrudge a politician who puts himself up before voters seeking a promotion, or whose term in office is cut short due to personal events (e.g., scandal, health, just cannot stand the job, etc.) But run for office only to resign in order to hand the office off to an unelected, hand-picked successor? Yes, that’s something worthy of jackholes like Chavez or Putin. Or, quite possibly, Mayor-for-Life Marion Barry.
Your idea may be terrible, but you’re still tops. You’ve got style and.. hey, have you been working out lately? Lookin’ good, prr!
Sorry for dancing around it. 
Your idea sucks.
There’s no up side to this for Obama, so it won’t be done. I don’t really see an up side for Biden either. VP is the peak of his career so he’s not going to move downward in a a bid to move upward. I think he wants to run in 16, but that doesn’t mean it will be practical. I doubt he’ll be on the ballot in November 2016.
Let’s count how many bad ideas there are in this post.
- It’s not Obama’s job to pick a successor.
- If Obama wanted to get rid of Biden as his VP, he should have done it before the election and let the voters decide.
- The voters should also have had a say in who the new VP is, not just accept Obama’s choice.
- If Biden resigned today, he’d just become Vice President again in January. He was re-elected to that office, remember?
- Most VP’s don’t become the next President so it’s a poor spot to park a designated successor.
- If Biden isn’t qualified to be Vice President, why should he be considered qualified to be Attorney General?
- What happens to Eric Holder in this scheme? Apparently he gets the boot too.
- If Julian Castro is weak in foreign policy, why should he be given the job of Vice President, much less duties related to foreign policy?
- Why would Congress go along with something like this?
- This would be seen as an admission that Obama had chosen an unqualified running mate and would be used as a weapon against his administration.
- Trying to appoint a designated successor would alienate Democrats that might be considering their own presidential runs.
- Trying to manipulate the system so openly would be seen as arrogant.
- Why would Biden agree to any of this?
Well he is Biden.
People are being gentle with you, ppr, because we know you’re so sensitive. 
I was disagreeing with your comment about the vice presidency not being much of a job. We all know what John Nance Garner said about it, but the truth is that even though the vice president doesn’t have a lot of Constitutionally mandated responsibilities, the VP can wield a significant amount of power depending on who he is and who the president is. Biden wanted to be a major voice in the administration with major responsibilities, and by all accounts he is.
That’s a little overdramatic. If the VP automatically ascended to the presidency, you might have a point. The truth is that if this happened, at most it would give Castro a small leg up on the Republican nominee. It wouldn’t guarantee his election. The U.S. system just doesn’t work that way, and the sitting vice president has succeeded the president very often. Anyway, Biden isn’t going to quit. I don’t think he will run in 2016, but regardless, he’s not leaving.
Maybe Biden will be decent enough to die quietly in a storage room and all of this will be moot.
Oh I kid, I kid. I love ol’ Joey T-Tops.
Not only does your idea suck, but the 73-year-old Biden will retire in 2016. Anybody who thinks otherwise is delusional.
Wait a minute. Are you the guy who is saying everything backwards because of the election? Or is Poe’s Law running rampant around here?