On a procedural level, he has vowed not to blur the lines between the executive and legislative branches the way his predecessor sometimes seemed to.

Cheney was a frequent presence at weekly Senate GOP conference meetings and had an office just off the House floor, all part of the unusual level of political independence he maintained under President George W. Bush. Both Biden and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., have agreed that Biden will not attend the weekly Democratic caucus meetings.

On broader issues, Biden regularly denounced Cheney on the campaign trail, calling him the most dangerous vice president in history. And in interviews since the election, he has continued to criticize Cheney for his handling of the job.

"I think the recommendations, the advice that he has given to President Bush ... has been not healthy for our foreign policy, not healthy for our national security, and it has not been consistent with our Constitution, in my view," Biden said on ABC's "This Week."

Cheney recently snapped back at Biden's criticism. "If he wants to diminish the office of the vice president, that's obviously his call," the vice president told Fox News.

Biden has characterized his new role as one of presidential counselor, there to advise Obama on a broad portfolio of issues. He did have certain requirements for the job that he shared with Obama early on.

"I want a commitment from you that in every important decision you'll make, every critical decision, economic and political as well as foreign policy, I'll get to be in the room," Biden said he told Obama.

So far, the president-elect is said to have made good on the promise, consulting Biden on his Cabinet choices and seeking his input in crafting a nearly trillion-dollar economic stimulus package.

Axelrod declined to say whether Obama had openly rejected the Cheney vice presidential model when choosing Biden as his running mate, but he said the president-elect had a strong view on how the job should work.

"There was a recognition that there's a president and a vice president and the president sets the direction of the administration," Axelrod said. "The vice president can influence that in his discussions. Once set, the job of vice president is to help execute that."

Obama also has asked Biden to chair a newly created task force aimed at making sure the administration's economic policies would benefit the middle class.

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After decades of a well-established routine in Washington and Delaware, Biden's life is set to change dramatically.

Besides leaving the Senate, he and his wife are preparing to move from Wilmington into the vice presidential mansion at the Naval Observatory in Washington. Jill Biden has said she hopes to continue teaching, in the Washington area.