Being vice president of the United States is sort of like working for Donald Trump or watching reality TV. It requires a high degree of tolerance for indignity and abuse.
The job is inherently subservient — the only thing worse than embarrassing the president is outshining him — and the office almost always diminishes its occupant. Enter as a respected governor or U.S. senator and soon you're transformed in the public eye to a lapdog, a nullity or an anchor on the administration.
(A notable exception being Dick Cheney, who, in caricature, was portrayed as the puppeteer and power behind a feckless President George W. Bush.)
