海角大神

Joe Biden seems to really enjoy swearing in senators. Is that charming? Or does he bring a little too much enthusiasm to the job?

That鈥檚 an issue in Washington in the wake of Mr. Biden鈥檚 bravura performance on Tuesday administering the oath of office to new and newly reelected members of the US Senate.

Biden cuddled. He cajoled. He glad-handed moms and, according to critics, got a little too familiar with some daughters.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not that big of a deal, I guess, but it got kind of creepy,鈥� at The Federalist.

Why does Biden swear in senators, anyway? He gets the job because under the US Constitution, the vice president is also the president of the Senate. He gets to vote if there is a tie. And he gets to officially welcome electoral winners into the club.

The official swearing-in is carried out en masse on the floor. Then Biden hosts individual ceremonial swearing-ins for those who want something a little more personal. Many new senators bring family members along for what is a pretty big day in their lives.

And Biden gets to be Biden. He doesn鈥檛 just whisk these folks along as if it were a chore for him on a grip-and-grin greeting line. He especially greets the newbies with the enthusiasm you might appreciate if this was a crowning moment in your career. For many observers it is, yes, charming.

鈥淎dministering the oath of office to the U.S. Senate sounds like a mundane job.... Joe Biden turns it into an event that's so joyful, and so lacking the partisan rancor that typically dominates American politics, that it鈥檚 almost hard to believe that you鈥檙e watching a scene from Washington,鈥� .

Biden greeted new Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell warmly, points out Mr. Gonyea, and told Senator McConnell鈥檚 grandson to say, 鈥淕randpa, can I talk to a Democrat?鈥�

He greeted newly reelected Sen. Thad Cochran (R) of Mississippi, who scraped by a tea party challenger, with 鈥淭haddeus!鈥�

鈥淏est guy in the US Senate right here. I can say that now because it can鈥檛 hurt him,鈥� Biden said.

He called absent grandmothers with proffered cellphones. He agreed with crying babies that 鈥渢his is boring.鈥� He asked toddlers if he could wear their hats. And so forth. If you want to see some highlights, The Washington Post鈥檚 Fix political blog has put together a of 鈥�102 seconds of pure Joe Biden magic.鈥�

Not everybody was amused by some of his comments to young women, though. Some conservative bloggers say that the media would have been harsh on Biden鈥檚 penchant for hugging politicians' daughters if he were a Republican.

They noted that the daughter of Sen. Chris Coons (D) of Delaware pulled away and looked uncomfortable when Biden tried to kiss her cheek. After meeting the daughter of Sen. Joni Ernst (R) of Iowa, he said, 鈥淗ow old are you? Fifteen? I hope mom has a big fence.鈥� (Presumably the fence would defend against marauding boys.) And so on.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not the biggest deal in the world and I don鈥檛 think Biden is some sort of dangerous character.... I also think he could take the feelings of these young women into account and leave them off his hug target list. Take it down a notch, Uncle Joe,鈥� at right-leaning Hot Air.

Such complaints seem limited to Biden鈥檚 political opponents, at least for the moment. If any Democrats join in the chorus, Uncle Joe might need to watch out. In the meantime, anyone who wants to experience the full Biden treatment can spin the wheel of the Post鈥檚 "."聽 On our first try we got, 鈥淵ou鈥檝e got a smile that lights up a room.鈥�