Vice presidents aren’t usually figures of great political consequence. When he ran for the Democratic nomination in 2008, Joe Biden never broke five per cent. And yet, by the time he finished his term as President Barack Obama’s second-in-command, “Uncle Joe” was one of the best-loved figures in the country. Since the death of his friend John McCain, he appears to be the last of our Splendid Old Men: the citizen-statesmen who forged true friendships across party lines and for whom “compromise” isn’t the same as “surrender”.