Vice President-Elect Joe Biden he had his pick of being Barack Obama’s running mate or the secretary of state nomination that eventually went to Hillary Rodham Clinton, the former Delaware senator’s wife Jill Biden revealed during an appearance with her husband on The Oprah Winfrey Show, taped at Washington’s Kennedy Center on Monday.

“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.

Mrs. Biden said she told him vice president would be better for the family.

“If you’re secretary of state, you’ll be away, we’ll never see you, you know. I’ll see you at a state dinner once in a while.”