I had low expectations. After Barack Obama’s disappointing and deflating debate performance last week, there’s a lot of pressure for Joe Biden to deliver. That’s scary because the guy’s been known as a gaffe machine. And you never know how people perform under pressure.
At the get go, I thought Biden delivered big time. He had energy. He had fire. He took control of the debate.
Not only did Biden not allow Paul Ryan to get away with any misleading charges against the Obama administration’s record, he also put Ryan on the defensive on the economy, foreign policy, tax cuts, and the middle class.
The Economy
When Ryan said the rest of the country’s doing as poorly as Biden’s hometown in Scanton, Pennsylvania where the unemployment rate was above 10%, he quickly countered by telling him that the unemployment rate is going down. All the way down to 7.8%, the lowest it’s been in 4.5 years.
Foreign Policy
Biden made his case about Libya, Iran, Syria, and Afghanistan. He mentioned Romney’s Libya trip-up and made it clear that the Obama administration had all facts straight before they acted. Regarding Iran and Syria, the administration got world leaders to come together to work on solutions and avoid another middle east war for Americans. Biden was especially great on the Afghan war, saying how they’ve accomplished their goals, and it’s time to get out and let the Afghans take over.
Tax Cuts & The Middle Class
He mentioned Mitt Romney’s “47%” and Ryan’s similar “Takers vs. Makers” comments during discussions about taxes and the middle class. I could be wrong, but I think he got the “Takers vs. Makers” percentage wrong. He mentioned that 30% were “takers,” but I think it’s actually more like 60%-70%, which is the percentage of the population that Ryan thinks are getting more benefits from the federal government than they are paying back in taxes.
He mentioned the auto bailout and how Romney was against it. More importantly he pointed out Ryan’s hypocrisy regarding the economic stimulus. Ryan blasted the stimulus as ineffective and a waste of taxpayer’s money, but he himself wrote letters to Biden requesting stimulus aid for his state to grow jobs.
Biden also put Ryan on the defensive by asking him for “specifics” regarding Romney’s tax plan. Ryan had no answer.
Obama’s First Two Years
I think Obama will need a better answer regarding his first two years when Democrats had control of Congress. In the first debate, Romney attacked Obama for focusing on universal health care instead of the economy. This time, Ryan repeated a similar attack. Both times, Obama and Biden had no answers. How about telling the American people that the administration was busy stabilizing the the financial crisis and reforming Wall Street to avoid another financial crisis in the future. It wasn’t just health care for the first two years.
Bain and Romney’s Tax Returns Are Still Missing in Action
I’m surprised that there’s still no mention of Romney’s record as a job destroyer at Bain Capital, which invested in companies that are pioneers in outsourcing and made millions by bankrupting companies. Romney is selling himself as a job creator. His track record at Bain says otherwise. It’s an easy attack. Just do it.
Also missing in action in the first two debates are Romney’s elusive tax returns. Obama has to work this into his next debate. We can’t elect a president who has something to hide in his tax returns.
Twitter Crowd & TV Ratings
The first debate got over 10 million tweets, which was a record for a political event. This one got about a third of that, which is not bad. It’s not the main event.
In terms of TV Ratings, initial estimates came up to 51.4 million. Sure, it wasn’t nearly as high as the 70 million that tuned in to watch Biden’s debate with Sarah Palin in 2008, but that was an an anomaly. Compared to previous vice presidential debates since 1976, it’s one of the highest. Biden is the king of TV Ratings for vice presidential debates.
And The Winner Is …
CNN’s poll called it a tie. But among undecided voters, CBS has Biden winning handily 50% to Ryan’s 31%; the other 19% thought it was a tie. Reuters/Ispos also gave the match to Biden among both reistered and independent voters -- 42% to 35%. So much for the Republicans’ assertion that Biden’s aggressiveness would turn off undecided voters.
I agree with the undecided voters. Biden won handily. If Ryan didn’t have a decent closing argument, it would have been as disastrous as Obama’s debate. When all the Republicans can talk about afterwards is Biden’s facial expressions, even they know they’ve lost.
I loved every minute of it. It had entertainment and substance. Most importantly, it was comfort food for Democrats. I’m not sure if this will have any effect on the polls, but it sure will fire up depressed Democrats. On that basis alone, Biden had won.
Biden also seemed more genuine, speaking naturally. Ryan seemed like he was reciting lines from a play, with stylised expressions and gestures.
Old Farts Have the Edge So Far
Ironically, it’s the old farts, Romney and Biden, who have shown more fight and energy. They won their debates; Obama and Ryan lost theirs.
Overall, Biden/Ryan debate was better than I had expected. It was engaging, tense, and informative.
How about for the last debate, we let Biden loose on Romney, and Obama on Ryan. I have a feeling that Romney/Biden will be pretty damn good. Obama/Ryan will probably put everyone to sleep -- no offense, younglings.
