# What does the Vice President \*do\*? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 4, 2008, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-vice-president-do/462059 "2008-09-04T21:35:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Janx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Janx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Janx)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2008, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-vice-president-do/462059/1 "2008-09-04T21:35:32Z")
That’s all. I have always wondered this, do they just get up in the morning and ask “How’s the president today?”. :rolleyes: Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2008, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-vice-president-do/462059/2 "2008-09-04T21:39:07Z")
He presides over the Senate, for one. > **[U.S. Senate: Vice President of the United States (President of the Senate)](https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/briefing/Vice_President.htm)** > > Vice President of the United States (President of the Senate) and > **[Vice President of the United States](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vice_President_of_the_United_States)** > > The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The vice president is also an officer in the legislative branch, as the president of the Senate. In this capacity, the vice president is empowered to preside over Senate deliberations at any time, but may not vote except to cast a tie-breaking vote. The vice The mod... ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2008, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-vice-president-do/462059/3 "2008-09-04T21:49:56Z")
> [@Janx](#): > > That’s all. > > I have always wondered this, do they just get up in the morning and ask “How’s the president today?”. :rolleyes: His Constitutional duties are: - Presiding over the Senate (he leaves this to the President _pro tempore_ most of the time, who leaves it to other senior Senators most of the time.) - Breaking tied votes in the Senate (uncommon now that there’s 100 Senators.) - Waiting for the President to die or resign or be removed. That said, modern Vice Presidents have lots of unofficial duties delegated to them by the President. For example, Al Gore was responsible for a great deal of the Clinton Administration’s science and space policy, and Dick Cheney does a lot of foreign policy and national security stuff in the Bush Administration. The Vice President is also a statutory _ex officio_ member of a number of important committees, such as the National Security Council, and most VP’s regularly attend Cabinet meetings. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2008, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-vice-president-do/462059/4 "2008-09-04T21:52:12Z")
Sarah Palin asked the same question. The VP has historically been a ceremonial position; the joke is that the VP’s job is to go to funerals. But that changed with the Bush administration where many have suggested that Cheney is the brains of the outfit and is pulling Bush’s strings. So it’s whatever the President wants it to be. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2008, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-vice-president-do/462059/5 "2008-09-04T22:08:42Z")
Of course, a lot of the President’s job amounts to being a figurehead, too. Many of the things the President does are things that, in principle, anyone could do. It’s just that if most people did them, nobody would pay attention. For instance, I could get in touch with a bunch of members of Congress, and write up a bill that I recommend that they pass, but nobody would care (at least, not unless a whole lot of other people were recommending it, too). On the other hand, if the President gets in touch with a bunch of members of Congress with a proposed bill, it’s going to make it onto the floor. What enumerated power of the office is it which makes this happen? None of them, but it happens anyway. The Vice-President can share in a lot of this sort of thing. ---
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2008, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-vice-president-do/462059/6 "2008-09-04T22:22:26Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > … and Dick Cheney does a lot of foreign policy and national security stuff in the Bush Administration… This understates the facts, I believe. I think it’s fair to say that while the last few occupants of that office have been re-defining and expanding the role, Cheney has essentially determined the direction the country has gone in many, if not most areas, domestic and international. Don’t ask for cites. There are enough books out there that attest to his influence. So the next veep will probably do LESS than this one. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2008, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-vice-president-do/462059/7 "2008-09-04T22:54:04Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > Sarah Palin asked the same question. The VP has historically been a ceremonial position; the joke is that the VP’s job is to go to funerals. But that changed with the Bush administration where many have suggested that Cheney is the brains of the outfit and is pulling Bush’s strings. > > So it’s whatever the President wants it to be. I’d say it changed with the Carter administration. Certainly, Mondale, Bush, and Gore were all significant parts of their administrations. Quayle added nothing to the Bush administration. ---
**Author:** ![Oy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bc8723/32.png) [@Oy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oy)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2008, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-vice-president-do/462059/8 "2008-09-04T22:54:27Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Of course, a lot of the President’s job amounts to being a figurehead, too. Many of the things the President does are things that, in principle, anyone could do. It’s just that if most people did them, nobody would pay attention. For instance, I could get in touch with a bunch of members of Congress, and write up a bill that I recommend that they pass, but nobody would care (at least, not unless a whole lot of other people were recommending it, too). On the other hand, if the President gets in touch with a bunch of members of Congress with a proposed bill, it’s going to make it onto the floor. What enumerated power of the office is it which makes this happen? None of them, but it happens anyway. The Vice-President can share in a lot of this sort of thing. This too varies enormously from president to president. At the moment, George W. as a lame duck, has very little influence, I’m guessing. And he never was much of a "hands-on’ president. If Obama is elected, he’s a policy wonk, so he’s going to be all over that, and probably leave the Congressional lobbying to Biden. ETA: This is not a judgment. Some of our more effective presidents have been hands-off kinds of presidents. It’s just a method of doing things. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2008, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-vice-president-do/462059/9 "2008-09-04T23:11:35Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > I’d say it changed with the Carter administration. Certainly, Mondale, Bush, and Gore were all significant parts of their administrations. > > Quayle added nothing to the Bush administration. Before then. The post expanded greatly when held by Nixon under Eisenhower. Nixon also stepped in when Eisenhower was ill, but he did much more and was much more visible in the office than previous VPs, even when Ike wasn’t ill. JFK was noted for maintaining the importance of the office by delegating a lot of stuff to LBJ. However, LBJ, in turn, let Humphrey walk the dogs. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2008, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-vice-president-do/462059/10 "2008-09-04T23:31:23Z")
Doesn’t the VP also “represent” the president in meetings he cannot attend? Like if there were two important places in one day that would benefit from attendance could the VP can go on behalf of the president to one of them? ---
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2008, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-vice-president-do/462059/11 "2008-09-04T23:33:27Z")
He often does, but his only constitutional obligation is as president of the senate. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-vice-president-do/462059/12 "2008-09-05T01:53:57Z")
Well, he protects the space-time continuum, for one. ---
**Author:** ![Oy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bc8723/32.png) [@Oy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oy)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-vice-president-do/462059/13 "2008-09-05T03:58:57Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > Well, he protects the space-time continuum, for one. Well, I’m no physycist, but I imagine if he or she dematerialized instantaneously, it would be a Bad Thing. There’s a reason why matter is conserved. ---
**Author:** ![desdinova](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8baadc/32.png) [@desdinova](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/desdinova)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-vice-president-do/462059/14 "2008-09-05T04:32:49Z")
They don’t _do_ anything! That’s the beauty of it! ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-vice-president-do/462059/15 "2008-09-05T05:05:42Z")
In terms of regular daily work, the VP does pretty much whatever the President wants. For some of the past few administrations, that’s been quite a lot, as exemplified by Cheney. I imagine Obama would have large and definite areas for Biden to take care of, and most likely McCain would delegate some things to Palin as well. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-vice-president-do/462059/16 "2008-09-05T18:49:05Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > Breaking tied votes in the Senate (uncommon now that there’s 100 Senators.) Bah! Al Gore did it to pass one of, if not THE biggest tax increase in American history! ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-vice-president-do/462059/17 "2008-09-05T19:24:16Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > On the other hand, if the President gets in touch with a bunch of members of Congress with a proposed bill, it’s going to make it onto the floor. What enumerated power of the office is it which makes this happen? None of them, but it happens anyway. Article II, Section 3 of the Constitution specifically says that the President “shall from time to time recommend to their [the Congress’] consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient,” so this is definitely among the President’s enumerated responsibilities. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-vice-president-do/462059/18 "2008-09-05T19:48:25Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > Bah! Al Gore did it to pass one of, if not THE biggest tax increase in American history! Yeah, well, given that the economy is pretty much always growing, most tax increases are bigger than the ones before just because they’re operating on more money. It’s not as if Clinton and Gore went “Mwahahahaha! Now we have all the rich people’s money and we can do whatever we want!” (Seriously, why do Republicans seem to think that taxes are the invention of Satan?) ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-vice-president-do/462059/19 "2008-09-05T22:20:31Z")
LBJ once said his job involved watching over JFK’s shoulder like a raven. Of course, his job changed considerably. Don’t about 20% of vice presidents have to take over? Due to assasinations and health problems and resignations and the like? I probably won’t be President next year, and the Vice President probably won’t be either, but our odds are immensely different, aren’t they?! ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-vice-president-do/462059/20 "2008-09-05T23:00:08Z")
Dan Quayle pulled his weight just as a fund raiser. He also chaired something called the Council of Competitiveness, which was probably less substantial. He did these while VP, but they weren’t part of his official duties. I’m no fan, but the guy gets a bad rap sometimes. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-the-vice-president-do/462059.md?page=2)