Monday, Apr. 04, 2011
Joe Biden
Age: 68
Occupation: U.S. Vice President
Previous TIME 100 appearances: 0
Vice President Biden may be a popular punch line in jokes about the Obama Administration, but his influence on the core issues facing the White House this year is hard to overstate. Point negotiator in the budget talks with Congress, ever present voice on foreign policy and military matters and the public face of Obama's economic recovery efforts, Biden will help determine the state of the nation in 2011, as well as Obama's prospects for a second term in 2012. As Biden himself might put it: Biden's a big f---ing deal.