HANOVER -- Asked whether raising the cap on Social Security taxes would make the system solvent, Joe Biden was blunt: "The answer is yes. No one up here is going to say it."

That's become a familiar refrain for Biden -- the only guy on stage willing to actually tell it like it is. And it works. Biden's blunt talk on everything from Social Security to Iraq takes many aback, in a way that separates him from the field. Unfortunately, blunt-speak is rarely popular, which might explain his low standing in polls.

Biden's reputation is such that the most dangerous place in Washington, it is said, is between Biden and a camera. It is remarkable that someone with so much media experience remains so authentic and blunt, and in a way that is appealing and doesn't come across as false.