WE ARE BACK WITH FORMER VICE PRESIDENT AND PRESUMPTIVE
DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE JOE BIDEN.
SO LOVELY TO HEAR YOU.
I THINK HEARING YOU TALK BEFORE THE BREAK WOULD HAVE BEEN A
GREAT COMFORT, SO MANY PEOPLE HAVE FELT IT.
LET'S TALK ABOUT THE RATES.
YOU'VE GOT THE NOMINATION BUT YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED TO LEAVE YOUR
HOME.
CAMPAIGNING IS ALL ABOUT REALLY GETTING OUT THERE AND GETTING
YOUR MESSAGE OUT THERE, SHAKING HANDS, KISSING BABIES, ALL OF
THOSE THINGS.
WHAT'S YOUR PLAN TO TRY AND CONVINCE THE AMERICAN PEOPLE
THAT YOU SHOULD BE THE NEXT PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
WHILST YOU'RE IN YOUR BASEMENT?
>> WELL, BY TRYING TO USE THE TECHNOLOGY OUT THERE, I CAN'T
GET OUT AND SHAKE HANDS -- LOOK, I'M A TACTICAL POLITICIAN.
I LIKE TO BE OUT THERE BECAUSE PEOPLE WHEN YOU LOOK THEM IN THE
EYE, THEY TELL YOU THEIR PROBLEMS AND WHAT THEY'RE ANGRY
ABOUT.
TO ME, IT'S BEEN THE GREATEST LEARNING EXPERIENCE OF MY
CAREER.
BUT I HOPE WE'RE NOT MASTERING BUT GETTER BETTER AT DEALING
WITH TECHNOLOGY.
WE HAVE IN THE LAST SEVERAL WEEKS, THEY TELL ME OVER I THINK
IT'S 50 MILLION PEOPLE HAVE WATCHED SOME PORTION OF
SOMETHING WE'VE DONE, AND THINGS KEEP MOVING ALONG.
I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT, WHAT I HOPE TO BE ABLE TO DO, AT LEAST,
IS TO BE ABLE TO, IN FUTURE BROADCASTS AND IN FUTURE DIRECT
APPEALS AND/OR DISCUSSIONS WITH THE PUBLIC, BE ABLE TO DO IT
PHYSICALLY OUTSIDE.
>> James: YEAH.
I THINK IT'S BETTER TO DO IT OUTSIDE WHERE THE SUN'S SHINING
OR THE WIND'S BLOWING AND, YOU KNOW, JUST FEEL MUCH MORE
NATURAL.
BUT IN THE MEANTIME, I'M JUST GOING TO USE WHATEVER MEANS
THERE IS AVAILABLE ON THE INTERNET AS WELL AS ON THE NEWS
MEDIA TO BE ABLE TO MAKE MY CASE.
>> James: WELL, YOU'RE LOOKING VERY WELL.
I WILL SAY YOU LOOK VERY GOOD IN THE BASEMENT.
YOU'RE LOOKING VERY, VERY WELL UNDER --
>> I WORK OUT EVERY MORNING.
I GET A CHANCE TO ACTUALLY -- I'M PROBABLY IN BETTER SHAPE NOW
THAN WHEN I WAS ON THE ROAD.
>> James: FANTASTIC.
NOW, EVERYBODY IS TALKING AND WONDERING ABOUT WHO YOUR RUNNING
MATE IS GOING TO BE.
I'VE HEARD, AS AN EXCLUSIVE ON THIS SHOW, YOU'RE GOING TO TELL
US WHO IT IS.
WHO'S IT GOING TO BE?
>> WELL, I'VE GOING TO TELL YOU IF YOU KEEP IT GUY SHEET OKAY.
HONESTLY, LITERALLY NO ONE IS WATCHING THIS.
>> OKAY, JULIA LOUISE DREYFUS IS GOING TO BE MY PERSON.
I THINK SHE HAS ALL THE EXPERIENCE IN THE WORLD.
I'M NOT SURE SHE'LL DO IT, BUT THAT'S MY CHOICE, THAT'S WHO I'M
GOING TO PICK.
>> James: IN ALL SERIOUSNESS, ANSWER ME THIS -- I KNOW YOU
CAN'T TELL ME WHO IT IS -- BUT HAVE YOU --
>> I DON'T KNOW WHO IT IS YET.
>> James: BUT HAVE YOU HAD CONVERSATIONS WITH A LIST OF
THREE, FIVE?
HOW DOES IT WORK?
>> WELL THE WAY IT WORKS IS IN PAST PRESIDENTS FROM DEMOCRAT
AND REPUBLICAN -- OR NOMINEES, I SHOULD SAY -- HAVE GONE OUT AND
THEY PUT TOGETHER A COMMITTEE, AND THEN, AT THE END OF THE DAY,
MOST OF THE PRESIDENTS IN THE PAST HAVE HAD A GROUP OF THREE
OR FOUR PEOPLE WHO TO THE INTERVIEWING OF THESE
INDIVIDUALS, WHEN YOU NARROW IT DOWN TO, I'M GUESSING, I DON'T
KNOW, SOMEWHERE BETWEEN TWO AND FIVE PEOPLE.
AND, SO, WE'RE GOING TO PROBABLY BE ANNOUNCING THE SETTING UP OF
THAT COMMITTEE, WHICH WE'RE DOING NOW, PICKING THE PEOPLE
WHO AGREE TO SERVE ON IT, AND WE'LL BE ANNOUNCING THE
FORMATION OF THAT PROBABLY BY -- I ASSUME BY MAY 1, WE'LL HAVE
THAT DONE, AND MY GUESS IS IT'S GOING TO TAKE UNTIL SOME TIME IN
JULY, WE'VE NARROWED IT DOWN AFTER THE BACKGROUND CHECKS AS
TO WHO THE ONE, TWO, THREE PEOPLE ARE WHO MAY BE -- AND
HUNT AT THAT POINT.
>> James: WHAT QUALITIES ARE YOU LOOKING FOR IN THIS PERSON?
>> THE FIRST AND MOST IMPORTANT QUALITY IS SOMEONE, WHO IF I
WALKED AWAY MIDDLE EAST FROM THE OFFICE FOR WHATEVER REASON THAT
THEY COULD BE PRESIDENT, AND THE PUBLIC LOOK AT THAT PERSON AND
SAY SHE IS CAPABLE OF BEING PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
TOMORROW.
THAT'S NUMBER ONE.
NUMBER TWO, THE ONLY THING I KNOW A LITTLE BIT ABOUT IS THE
VICE PRESIDENCY, AND I KNOW HOW IT WORKED WITH BARACK AND ME,
PRESIDENT OBAMA AND ME, AND THAT IS HIS ADVICE TO ME AND HE TOLD
ME AT THE TIME WAS PICK SOMEONE WHO HAS SOME BACKGROUND OR
COMPETENCE THAT MAY NOT BE YOUR STRONG POINT, MAKE SURE THAT
YOU'RE ABLE TO MAKE UP FOR EACH OTHER'S WEAKNESSES.
I MADE UP FOR VERY FEW OF HIS WEAKNESSES, HE MADE UP FOR A LOT
OF MINE.
BUT TO MAKE SURE THERE'S SOMEONE WHO HAS COMPETENCE IN AREAS YOU
CAN DELEGATE PRESIDENTIAL AUTHORITY TO THAT PERSON, LIKE
THE PRESIDENT DID WITH ME IN RECOVERY ACT, WHICH WAS ALMOST
$850 BILLION, FOREIGN POLICY POLICY ISSUES, ARMS CONTROL,
THAT KIND OF THING.
SO YOU KNOW, WHEN THE PRESIDENT KNOWS WHEN THEY SEND THE
VICE PRESIDENT, EVERYONE KNOWS, WHEN THAT VICE PRESIDENT SPEAKS,
THEY SPEAK FOR THE PRESIDENT, AND THAT THIRD THING IS
REQUIRED, THEY HAVE TO BE INTELLECTUALLY SYMPATICO, YOU
HAVE TO BE ON THE SAME WAVELENGTH.
NOW, BARACK AND I NEVER DISAGREED ON THE STRATEGY, WE
SOMETIMES DISAGREED ON TACTIC, AN THAT'S WHEN THE THIRD -- THE
FOURTH REQUIREMENT, SOMEONE YOU COMPLETELY TRUST, BECAUSE BARACK
AND I, THE PRESIDENT AND I WOULD HAVE LUNCH ONCE A WEEK, AND
BEFORE THAT, WE WERE IN A SITUATION WHERE HE ASKED THAT
I -- ASKED DID I HAVE ANY REQUIREMENTS AND DID HE HAVE ANY
REQUIREMENTS.
AND HE SAID, YES, I WANT TO MAKE SURE.
AND I SAID WHY ME?
HE SAID BECAUSE I KNOW YOU WON'T BE INTIMIDATED BY THE OFFICE,
YOU'LL ALWAYS TELL ME WHAT YOU BELIEVE.
SO IT SHOULD BE SOMEONE YOU HAVE CONFIDENCE IN AND HAVE STRENGTHS
YOU DON'T HAVE.
ALL THE PRESIDENTS I WORKED WITH HAD CONFIDENCE TO PICK PEOPLE
WHO ARE REALLY BREAK, WHO ARE PEOPLE THAT MAY HAVE A
CONFIDENCE THEY DIDN'T POSSESS GOING INTO THE OFFICE AND NOT BE
AFRAID TO PICK PEOPLE WHO YOU CAN LOOK TO AND SAY I DIDN'T
KNOW THAT.
SO THAT'S WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR.
>> James: DID IT PLAY ON YOUR MIND?
IS IT SOMETHING YOU CONSIDERED, SHOULD YOU BECOME THE PRESIDENT
OF THE UNITED STATES, HAVE YOU GIVEN ANY THOUGHT TO HOW LONG
YOU WOULD WANT TO BE THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
AND DOES THE CHOOSING OF YOUR RUNNING MATE ENTER YOUR HEAD
WHEN YOU WERE THINKING, WELL, I MIGHT ONLY DO ONE TERM, BECAUSE
THAT'S SOMETHING PEOPLE ARE TALKING ABOUT ON THE INTERNET.
>> I PROMISE I WON'T SERVE MORE THAN THREE TERMS.
( LAUGHTER ) LOOK, TWO THINGS.
NUMBER ONE, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THINGS ARE GOING TO BE LIKE IN
THREE YEARS, AND -- IN TERMS OF WHAT THE STATE OF THE NATION
WILL BE, AND I ALSO KNOW, IF I SAY I'M ONLY GOING TO SERVE FOUR
YEARS, YOU'RE MIDDLE EAST A LAME DUCK PRESIDENT AND EVERYTHING
CHANGES.
SO THE AMERICAN PUBLIC SHOULD HAVE CONFIDENCE, I WILL BE
COMPLETELY, THOROUGHLY CANDID WITH THEM ABOUT THE STATE OF MY
HEALTH, THEY WILL BE ABLE TO JUDGE MY ENERGY LEVEL, THEY WILL
BE ABLE TO MAKE THAT JUDGMENT, AND WE'LL MAKE THE DECISION
THREE YEARS OUT, PRESUMPTION, ASSUMING I'M THE NEXT PRESIDENT.
>> James: BACK WITH MORE TO HAVE THE "THE LATE LATE SHOW,"
EVERYBODY.