He made headlines late in the campaign when he told supporters that Barack Obama would face an international crisis early in his presidency, designed to "test the mettle of this guy."

And earlier this month, he openly criticized the Obama transition team for failing to consult the Senate Intelligence Committee on Obama's choice of Leon Panetta to head the CIA.

"I'm still a Senate man and I always think this way," Biden said.

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Longtime friends say Biden's loose-lipped reputation is overblown.

"He is direct, he does try and say what he thinks. I think that's one of the reasons Barack picked him," said Larry Rasky, Biden's longtime political adviser. "He knows he will have an honest partner who will sit across the table from him without guile or motive."

Biden has long been a respected voice on foreign policy in the Senate. He also distinguished himself as a member of the Judiciary Committee, crafting the landmark Violence Against Women Act and legislation to create the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

Biden became recognizable to television viewers in 1987, while presiding over the controversial Judiciary Committee hearings on President Ronald Reagan's failed nomination of Robert Bork to the Supreme Court. In 1991, he was similarly visible leading the explosive confirmation hearings for President George H.W. Bush's Supreme Court pick, Clarence Thomas, who faced Anita Hill's accusations of sexual harassment.

Biden's first run for president collapsed in 1987 after he acknowledged plagiarizing material from speeches delivered by British Labour Party leader Neil Kinnock. Shortly thereafter, Biden underwent several surgeries for life-threatening brain aneurysms that kept him out of the Senate for seven months.

He ran again for the Democratic nomination in 2008, getting off to a rough start when he was forced to explain his description of Obama as "clean" and "articulate" on day one of his campaign. Biden dropped out of the race early after a poor showing in the Iowa caucuses. But his sharp, witty performances in several nationally televised debates drew the notice of Barack Obama's team in the search for a running mate.

In Biden, the president-elect's aides believe they have found the right combination of legislative leadership and everyman appeal that will help to move Obama's plans on Capitol Hill and in the public square.

"Joe Biden has served under seven administrations. He's seen what works and what doesn't work — that's the value of having him," Obama's senior adviser David Axelrod said. "He brings a wealth of experience not just on issues of substance but also how to best get things done."

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Biden doesn't think much of the way Dick Cheney handled the vice presidency.