A Chequer-Board of Nights and Days

Joe Biden's wife said Monday that he had his pick of being Barack Obama's running mate or the secretary of state nomination that eventually went to Hillary Rodham Clinton, a slip that the vice president-elect immediately tried to shush.

Jill Biden's comment came during an appearance with her husband on "The Oprah Winfrey Show," taped at Washington's Kennedy Center on the eve of the inauguration.

"Joe had the choice to be secretary of state or vice president," she said. Her husband turned to his wife with his finger to his lips and a "Shhhh!" that sent the audience into laughter. "OK, he did," Jill Biden said in her defense.

The vice president-elect blushed, grimaced and gave his wife a hug while the audience continued to erupt in laughter. "That's right," he finally said to his wife. "Go ahead."

The incoming Vice-President's office sent out a statement contending, essentially, that Jill Biden is at best an exaggerator and at worst, an outright liar and that Barack Obama only offered Joe Biden one job. Doubtless, the Ceti eels have been placed inside Jill Biden's ears, ensuring that she sticks to the script from now on.