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Biden during a visit to Baghdad
Members of the Obama administration said Biden's role in the White House was to be a contrarian and force others to defend their positions.[213] Rahm Emanuel, White House chief of staff, said that Biden helped counter groupthink.[198] Obama said, "The best thing about Joe is that when we get everybody together, he really forces people to think and defend their positions, to look at things from every angle, and that is very valuable for me."[202] The Bidens maintained a relaxed atmosphere at their official residence in Washington, often entertaining their grandchildren, and regularly returned to their home in Delaware.[214]
Biden campaigned heavily for Democrats in the 2010 midterm elections, maintaining an attitude of optimism in the face of predictions of large-scale losses for the party.[215] Following big Republican gains in the elections and the departure of White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, Biden's past relationships with Republicans in Congress became more important.[216][217] He led the successful administration effort to gain Senate approval for the New START treaty.