Vice President Biden, Gentleman

The State Visit Arrival Ceremony was a bit of a madhouse thanks to the rain in Washington today. The plus side: Vice President Joe Biden had a moment of chivalry.

Hundreds of guests were on the South Lawn for the ceremony, which was canceled for public viewing and moved indoors.  But then a decision was made to hold it outdoors after all, after the rain let up. But by the time everything was re-organized, it was once again raining, and those who didn't have umbrellas were getting soaked awaiting the arrival of President Lee. In a chivalrous move, Biden left his position in the ceremonial line, and walked across the South Lawn to offer his umbrella to a woman sitting in a wheelchair, her casted leg wrapped in a plastic bag.

The woman declined the Vice President's offer, but it was a very nice gesture.

*Photo by Alex Berliner for Obama Foodorama

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Today: POTUS, VPOTUS Power Lunch

The President has no public events scheduled, and will have his weekly tête-à-tête with Biden. A quiet day? Not so much, thanks to Jimmy Hoffa, Jr...
President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden's weekly private luncheon today in the Oval Office Private Dining Room is one of the few events that's actually noted on the President's daily schedule, two days out from his Thursday jobs address to a Joint Session of Congress. Lunch will be at 12:30 PM. (Above: The President and Biden in the Oval Office, heading for the Private Dining Room)

The President and Vice President will both receive the Presidential Daily Briefing in the Oval Office, at 9:45 AM. At 10:15 AM, the President will meet with Senior Advisors, also in the Oval Office. Though his schedule is ostensibly low-key, the President is once again surrounded by controversy, thanks to remarks made by Jimmy Hoffa, Jr., on Monday. Hoffa was the President's warm-up act for his Labor Day address to a crowd of 13,000 in Detroit. The Teamsters president called members of the Tea Party "son-of-a-bitches," and essentially declared war on the GOP. The comments are causing an outcry in the media, with the story currently sitting above the banner on Drudge Report, where it's been since yesterday afternoon.

It's turned into "a big $&%!!# deal," as Biden himself might say. So far, the White House has declined comment. Press Secretary Jay Carney may or may not address the issue during his daily briefing, currently scheduled for 1:30 PM. Carney will certainly be asked about Hoffa's comments by the press corps. UPDATE, 9:55 AM: Carney's briefing has been changed to 3:00 PM, the White House announced.

Biden's day, for the record, begins at 9:15 AM, when he will swear in David Petraeus as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, in a brief ceremony at the White House.

*Photo by Pete Souza/White House, taken on May 16th, 2011

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Noodling Around: Joe Biden Lunches In Beijing

Official video from the Vice President's official trip: A visit to snack shop Chao Ganr for traditional fare...

Vice President Joe Biden is on a 9-day trip to China, Mongolia and Japan. The White House posted a video of the Veep eating a traditional lunch at Chao Ganr, a "snack shop" near the Drum and Bell Tower neighborhood in Old Beijing on Thursday, his first day in country. Joined by family and newly installed U.S. Ambassador to China Gary Locke, Biden enjoyed pork buns, zhajiang noodles and cucumbers. (Above: Biden sits across from Locke)



President Obama welcomed China's President Hu Jintao to the White House for a State visit and "quintessentially American" State Dinner last January. In Beijing, Biden met with his counterpart, Vice President Xi.







All of China is talking...

Biden's visit "has all of China talking," noted the White House blog. "Embassy Beijing’s post about the traditional lunch...on one of the most popular Chinese microblogs, Sina, received over 6,400 retweets and 3,000 comments in less than an hour," said the White House.



A bench-clearing, on-court brawl between the Georgetown Hoyas basketball team and China's Shanxi Brave Dragons at the Olympic Sports Center in Beijing during a good-will exhibition game for the Veep got waaaaay more tweets and comments than the lunch.



Joining Biden at lunch were his daughter-in-law Kathleen and granddaughter Naomi, who are traveling with him through Asia. Also eating local in Old Beijing was Locke's wife Mona.



*White House video

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