The Biden v. Ryan Debate Thread

Chucklin' Biden will aggravate Republicans but play great to the Dem base. omar little is right - Biden's gaffe-prone, tripping-over-his-words goofiness really helps him out because no one can read the laughing and interrupting as some calculated signal that some dumb coach thought was a good idea to send a signal to voters that he's more knowledgeable about the issues or something. It just seems like Biden's being who he is. In general I think the tone he struck would play really well to, like, on-the-fence but generally Dem-trending Dads. On the level guy, calling out the bullshit where he sees it, was there in the room in the 80s working on tax reform - that other guy looked like a sweaty debate camp guy out of his league.

(sorry about the Weekly Standard links there, but I didn't see it anywhere else)

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/A4-CmQRCQAAMvDq.jpg

It was really good when he was able to say "I remember--I was in the room." (xxpost)

i think the abortion thing was kinda huge. i have no idea who is still undecided but flat out saying that you will work against legal abortion has gotta get a lot of people moving against you.

Actual beginning of letter to the editor in our local paper:

Three days. That is how long the Romney/Ryan sign was in my yard before one of our "tolerant" locals took it upon themselves to destroy it. Sadly, it was a couple of days longer than I expected. In the previous national election, saliva and other bodily fluids were repeatedly deposited on my lawn sign — once, staggeringly, by a young American accompanied by a congratulatory adult.

I would never consider interfering with another's right to choice: be it regarding a womb, a marriage or a political ideology, and certainly not a yard sign. How disappointing that my children have to witness the ignoble acts of individuals who brook no such diversity, in a community that appears all too often to sanction such bigotry.

First CNN poll, Ryan-48, Biden-44. That doesn't surprise me--and again, I thought Biden was excellent for the most part. Maybe the most useful thing he'll have done is rouse Obama.

― clemenza, Thursday, October 11, 2012 8:20 PM (4 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

CBS has it at 50 Biden, 31 Ryan, 19 tie

mentioning CNN seriously in any capacity should be an automatic three-day ban

I first read that as people voting for his tie.

It was a v nice tie

More than the jovial presence, Biden's way of beating back GOP talking points was my most favorite part of this. I know new shows are going to be "Did Biden laugh too much?" 24/7 but I wish they would focus on how he stood up for Obama in a way that was coming from a real place.

news shows

Also the parts where he looked right into the camera and asked seniors how they were doing.

Just remembered one of Biden's best lines: "Oh, now you're Jack Kennedy."

^^^^^^

to put it less colorfully than i did upthread: i really see no upside in the Republicans complaining about Biden's laughter. not that that will stop them, or stop the media from blathering on about it.

Yeah real swift Paul, bringing JFK into a VP DEBATE

I kept expecting Biden to point to Ryan with is thumb and look off to the side and say "Can you believe this fucking guy?"

Yeah real swift Paul, bringing JFK into a VP DEBATE

Never works well in a VP debate

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-7gpgXNWYI

Joe: "I knew Lloyd Bentsen. Lloyd Bentsen was a friend of mine. And Lloyd Bentsen knew Jack Kennedy. And you, sir, are no Lloyd Ben--no Jack Kennedy."

Biden should probably stay away from anything Kennedy-related

come on who can even remember 1988

I wasn't alive for instance

Neither was Ryan, apparently.

come on who can even remember 1988

*raises hand*

don't think anyone will ever outzing the bentsen zing. the best of the best.

ok so it's not just me.

http://i.imgur.com/iv9Ua.png

smells like bisque

republicans acting butthurt, dems like they've had a colonic, malarkey, jack kennedy, debate definitely a biden win

biden creamed him. he laughed in his face. he basically treated him like a lying joke. and he his a lying joke, so the whole approach worked for me.

Exactly. Nothing like what happened tonight has ever happened in one of these debates before.

fuck Jack Kennedy (if Chris Matthews isnt down in the grave right now)

i think obama should take joe's cue and go over mitt's head in the next debate. just take on the whole spiritually and intellectually bankrupt republican party. bring up dubya A LOT. remind people how shitty these people are. don't take mitt seriously. portray him as just one in a long line of con men.

And if the country is going to endure some debate about the laughing and smiling, maybe people will realize - exactly how ARE you supposed to react to a bunch of crap like this from someone who wants major political power. Is sarcasm a SIN?

Nothing like what happened tonight has ever happened in one of these debates before.

If you mean Biden trounced him--true or not--then it hasn't happened since last week.

No, I mean that no one has ever looked as bad as Ryan did tonight. Not Palin, not Quayle, no one.

What?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6G9AePwl1AE

just to begin.

Honestly, I just don't see that. Not taking anything away from Biden, but I can't imagine Ryan doing any better than he did. The only time he seemed to get rattled (as he always does) was when they were trying to pin him down on these phantom loopholes. Palin was much worse...I mean, there's no way to even evaluate her.

Chait immediately gives up his wrong prediction:

http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/10/joe-biden-dispenses-with-the-niceties.html

seemed to set the bar for who should pay higher taxes at $1 million a year, not the $250,000 line Obama has labored to align his party behind.

wait how did I get the memo that obama's raised the bar from 250k to 1m a while back and chait's just getting it now

I like how he kept pointing out that 97% of small businesses make LESS than 250k a year. GOP's only hope is to keep the debate on "Was he rude?" cos there was a lot of substance to Joe's debate and it's best for them that it gets ignored in favor of bidenlaughs.gif

Palin was much worse...I mean, there's no way to even evaluate her.

― clemenza, Thursday, October 11, 2012 9:25 PM (7 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

not to mention admiral stockdale

Watching this right now because I was busy earlier, Biden is handing Ryan's ass to him.

lol david brooks

Ryan hails from a different era, not the era of the 1950s diner, but the era of the workout gym. By Ryan’s time, the national media culture was pervasive. The tone was cool, not hot. The meritocracy had kicked in and ambitious young people had learned to adopt a low friction manner. Ryan emerges from this culture in the same way Barack Obama does.

This is a generation armed with self-awareness. In this generation, you roll your eyes at anyone who is quite so flamboyantly demonstrative as the vice president.

the meritocracy had kicked in

I didn't say his performance was worse. He looked worse. He looked worse because he took a bigger fall.

And he had more invested in it.

Or more people were invested in him.

the meritocracy had kicked in

― a hauntingly unemployed american (difficult listening hour), Friday, October 12, 2012 12:45 AM (20 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

ha yeah uh brb just gonna check up on some stats here

Hair-reverse Ryan just needs a 1000-foot stare.

http://heat.iwarp.com/cgi-bin/i/Images/sizemore2.jpg