Friday, October 12, 2012

DEBATING THE DEBATE


Let’s start with Martha Raddatz.

I heard Gwen Ifell say several times that Martha did a great job moderating the debate.

No, she didn’t.

She “challenged” Biden only twice and then gave him the answer she wanted to hear from him.

When she challenged Ryan, she tried to answer her question before she asked it and tried to back him into a corner.

To his credit, Ryan did not get stuck in that corner.

That said, I thought the debate was slightly less lost by Ryan than by Biden.

Is that a win? Time will tell

Stylistically, it was a Ryan run away.

Biden was boorish, snide, always grinning, often in inappropriate places, smirking and making strange noises at odd times.

Joe also spoke forcefully, but was mired in a hodge-podge of subjects all crammed into one flailing statement after another.

He seemed to admit that Iran is closer to having the materials needed for nuclear weapons than has been admitted to date.

He also contradicted the State Department about security surrounding the events at Benghazi.

The Vice President seemed taken aback for a moment when Ryan pointed out the unemployment rate in Biden’s own home town.

I wonder whether anyone caught Biden’s assertion that he voted against the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

He did not.

Ryan had a couple of effective jabs when he reminded Biden that he was under duress to make up for lost ground and then when he reminded him that sometimes the right words don’t come out of his mouth.

He drank a lot of water, though.

Ryan was also much more clear and organized with his answers. He had the Romney talking points down pat and expressed them well.

He was also more “presidential” than Biden, and anyone who was honest would have to say that if Obama dies in office or Romney dies after being elected, based on tonight’s performance, Ryan would be the man most suited for the White House.

It is my opinion that Ryan had a rather lack-luster win in this debate. On the other hand, it is hard for me to imagine how a vice presidential debate could be all that lustrous to begin with.

All-in-all, it was, at the very least, entertaining.

10 comments:

Ducky's here said...

He had the Romney talking points down pat and expressed them well.

------
No. He paused and fumbled, often realizing holes had been torn in his simplistic positions.

The discussion is about Biden and his aggressiveness. The spotlight is off Barack the Wimp and the bleeding is stanched.

Win Dems.

Lone Ranger said...

I tried to watch it but failed. Biden's constant smirking just make me sick. Biden has hidden his shortcomings for 40 years with arrogance and bluster. If the next two debates go as badly for the democrats as the first two, they are toast. Toast. Is that racist?

Joe said...

Ducky: Liberals believe that if you talk louder than your opponent you have won the point.

Biden blustered and lied.

LR: Yeah, it was not fun to watch. It was basically obnoxious, thanks to Biden and Raddatz.

Ducky's here said...

Joe, the fringe right believe they understand a lot more than they understand. Especially when it comes to the left.

Question: Did Obama the Wimp talk over and attack Romney?
Answer: No

Question: Did he lose ground because of that?
Answer: Yes.

What did you expect Biden to do. Especially when your opponent looks and talks like Eddie Munster.
Do you catch Ryan's answer on Afghanistan?
Let's stay after 2014?

He was equally as informed on domestic and economic matters.

He's all yours. Come on, the guy doesn't even realize that Atlas Shrugged is science fiction. He's going to shift the R&D budget to promoting a motor that runs off static electricity.



Joe said...

Ducky: Romney did not raise his voice during the first debate. Obama just went comatose.

Ryan did not raise his voice during the VP debate. Biden went ballistic.

The winner is not decided by who shouts the loudest, but by who presents him/herself as more presidential (or vice presidential).

On that point, Ryan was a run away winner.

I'm not saying that he was the runaway winner of the whole debate. He was the winner by a somewhat larger than slim margin.

That's my assessment, and I'm sticking with it.

Xavier Onassis said...

Bidens smirks, eye-rolling and outright disdain for Ryan are the proper reactions to the lipstick wearing idiot.

His ideas aren't new at all. They are 50-60 years old and that world doesn't exist anymore.

Plus, he thinks that a celibate Austrian and former member of the Hitler Youth who currently lives in an Italian castle, wears pointy hats, capes and elf shoes speaks directly to God and whose pronouncements on women's reproduction are infallible.

Xavier Onassis said...

I'm not the only one who think's Biden's reactions to Ryan were entirely appropriate. http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/taibblog/the-vice-presidential-debate-joe-biden-was-right-to-laugh-20121012

Joe said...

XO: "Bidens smirks, eye-rolling and outright disdain for Ryan are the proper reactions to the lipstick wearing idiot."

No, they're not. And the idea that you think they're OK speaks directly to your sense of civility and to your respect for the office they each seek.

You should be ashamed, only liberals are incapable of feeling shame.

Ducky's here said...

I don't think Joe reads Taibbi, XO.

Insufficiently deferential to Ryan.
Uncivil.

Craig said...

Insufficiently deferential to truth.
Presidential (or vice presidential).

Insufficiently deferential to math.
Who cares.