As expected, Joe Biden is fast becoming the clown prince of Washington D.C. His never ending case of athlete's mouth resulting from his penchant for sticking his foot between his chompers is something that should be no surprise to any long-time Biden watcher. But, amusingly, UPI tries to re-center the Biden story, rescuing him from ridicule, to discuss the supposedly important things that President Obama has entrusted to the vice president.

In "Biden soldiers on amid comedic jabs," we find UPI trying to tell us of all the important, important stuff our gabby VP is in charge of. But even the UPI can't hide the fact that these things that Obama put Biden "in charge" of are nothing more than meaningless make-work programs.

Nonetheless, UPI tries to make Biden's doings sound important.

Amid jibes from comedians, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden continues the serious task of overseeing distribution of billions in stimulus money, his office said.

"Serious"? Really? Let's face it, the only serious thing Obama wants from Biden is for him to seriously shut up and stay out of the way.

UPI goes on to say how "sobering" Biden's work has been and how he is "leading" one of Obama's "top priorities" with the middle class task force that Biden is ostensibly heading. Then there are the "major" foreign policy speeches Biden is giving about the world.

This is all puffery at its worse. Biden has been utterly inconsequential as vice president thus far and all these show efforts he is "in charge" of are meaningless fluff meant to make it seem as if the vp is somehow important in the Obama administration.

So, it's no wonder that the late-night comedy shows are skewering Biden. The vp’s bluster and big mouth are ripe for fun making.

Now, UPI isn't the only news agency trying to rescue Joe Biden from himself. As Mark Finkelstein notes, the AP is also employing euphemisms to puff Joe up and detract from the guffaws he inspires. Instead of reporting those moments of Biden's foot-in-mouth disease, the AP softens the perception to present a Joe that is "known for speaking freely," instead of known for speaking like a nitwit.

So, the media is trying as hard as it can to prop up the fool on the Hill as much as possible. Too bad Joe is tearing down all that support every time he opens his mouth.