I'm no fan of Joe Biden and I hope the American people retire him in 2013 but I think he's getting a bad rap on this issue. He owns a rental property which the Secret Service finds useful to its mission. Biden had a tenant in there before the Secret Service that was paying the same $2,200 per month. Biden has the same Fifth Amendment right as anyone else to receive just compensation for the use of his property. Certainly the optics might be better if Biden just donated the cottage gratis. He probably doesn't need the rental income. But, as conservatives, we shouldn't be in the business of telling citizens how much income they need. Leave that to the left.

Obviously it would be different if there were something to indicate shady dealing in this transaction. But otherwise I think conservatives should resist the urge to overlook their principles to score populist points against Biden.

Nothing new here, I have seen news reports of this under previous administrations. I think that included Cheney. It has probably become a standard "perk".