That's likely to be the case for Vice President Kamala Harris, who this week was named the new point person on immigration.
This is definitely not a ceremonial task,” said Nina Rees, a former deputy assistant for domestic policy to Vice President Dick Cheney.
Harris' team has clarified that the vice president does not own all of immigration policy.
Kamarck's argument bucks the traditional wisdom, which says if a vice president does well on thorny issues, more credit goes to the president and, if not, it gives the president some political cover.
The matter of who gets praise, or blame, is even trickier when it's clear the vice president has White House aspirations.