"Who am I? Why am I here?" asked Admiral James Stockdale, one-time running mate to Ross Perot, in a famous 1992 vice presidential debate. The admiral's remarks garnered ridicule from the public, but recently acclaimed political journalist and author Jules Witcover has asked the same questions about the vice presidential role itself: Just what does the vice president do and why does it matter? Witcover's new book, The American Vice Presidency: From Irrelevance to Power , explores how the roles and responsibilities of the vice president have shifted and expanded over the years.