In an interview with ABC News’ This Week on Sunday, Vice President Joe Biden blamed a lack of Republican support for the limited success of the stimulus, as the tenuous support of the three Republican who voted for the measure prevented Democrats from passing an even larger package.

“There was a reality,” Mr. Biden explained yesterday. “In order to get what we got passed, we had to find Republican votes. And we found three—three. And we finally got it passed.”
ABC’s Jake Tapper then asked, so “if you didn’t have the legislative reality, it would have been bigger?” Mr. Biden: “I think it would have been bigger.”

On the topic of the tea parties, Biden said that while the groups contained “racist elements” at its fringe, the movement itself is not racist.

“I wouldn’t characterize the Tea Party as racist,” he said. “There are individuals who are either members of or on the periphery of some of their things, their protests, that have expressed really … unfortunate comments. But it is not a racist organization.”

Also on Sunday, a federation of tea party groups formally repudiated and distanced itself from Tea Party Express leader Mark Williams, whose group issued a satirical letter from “Coloreds” to President Abraham Lincoln.

Asked about the Democrats chances in November, Biden said that he expected the party to hold its majorities in the House and Senate and pointed to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid s improving poll numbers against Sharron Angle as evidence that the electorate would move toward Democrats as they start to follow races more closely.

“It’s just going to take time. This is July. The election is not until November,” Biden said. . . . “And I think we’re going to have to firmly make our case. I think we can make it and especially in the context of who’s going to be opposing us.”
“Compared to the alternative,” he said. “I think we’re going to get a fair amount of credit by November and I think we’re going to do fine.”
“I don’t think the losses are going to be bad at all,” Biden said, adding that he and President Barack Obama disagreed with White House press secretary Robert Gibbs’ assessment a week ago that Democrats could lose the House. “I think we’re going to shock the heck out of everybody,” Biden said.
He offered Reid’s surging poll numbers as an example:
“And so, again, this is July. November and, at the time, the most vulnerable time any public official finds himself in is when they have no opponent.
“Look at Harry Reid. You know, I got — I got kind of banged around for saying I think there was a 55 percent chance Harry Reid is going to win. Well, Harry Reid, when he was the – you know, on the other side of the barrage of how bad Harry Reid was, was in trouble. Now Harry Reid, in the last poll, was up 7 points. I – he I think he – I – I’d bet anything – I’m not allowed to bet, but I’ll bet Harry Reid wins. You’re going to see that repeated.”

Responding for the first time publicly to the leadership shakeup in Afghanistan, Biden said that he did not take “personally” comments made by former Afghanistan commander Gen. Stanley McChrystal.

“I didn’t take it personally at all; I really, honest to God, didn’t,” the vice president said in an interview on ABC’s “This Week.” “Compared to what happens in politics, this was a piece of cake.”

But Biden also said that six four-star generals, whom he did not identify, advised the administration that McChrystal could not credibly remain commander in-theater after the comments. (NB: though it is hardly a definitive list, Wikipedia says there are 40 active-duty four-star generals in the United States armed forces, including 11 in the Army and 4 in the Marine Corps.)

You can watch the full interview here.