MR. GREGORY:  But don't you--can't you understand, though, a lot of voters look up at this president and say, you know, "We're not sure we get him.  Is he, is he a liberal, is, is he a moderate, is he a pragmatist?  What is he, exactly?"

 

VICE PRES. BIDEN:  What he is, is he is a progressive leader who, in fact, understands that politics is all in the art of the, the possible, and it's critically important to do two things.  He knows his job as two overarching responsibilities:  Promote economic growth and keep America safe.  And so, to the extent that he has to make compromises that don't compromise those two objectives, he will.

 

MR. GREGORY:  This is not a guy who campaigned saying, "Look, politics is the art of the possible." This is someone who campaigned, both of you did, coming to Washington saying, "Business is going to change around here."

 

VICE PRES. BIDEN:  Well...MR. GREGORY:  And that's why so many new voters came into the process.  They expected more.

 

VICE PRES. BIDEN:  By, by the way, that's exactly what the president did say, that business was going to change.  You remember, I ran against him in, in the primaries.  I've always been a little less optimistic about the idea that somehow the Republicans last year were going to join hands with us.  The president reached out.  He reached out in every way to the Republicans last year to say, "Hey, let's work on health care.  Let's work on this. 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40720643/ns/meet_the_press-transcripts/ns/meet_the_press-transcripts

Ed