Are we all supposed to be optimistic about the VP debates? I don't know enough about both candidates to know what they are like (beyond what comedians make everyone out to be). Is Biden that much of a skilled debater to take Ryan's calm logic out? I probably can't stand Ryan more than Romney but is he just not someone we have to worry about?
nathan smart!
http://www.nathansmart.com
It's a vice presidential election. It's the appendix of an appendix.
Biden could definitely stanch a lot of the Obama campaign's bleeding right now. While his reputation is a gaffe-machine buffoon a la Selina Meyer, he is actually a pretty skilled debater (his gaffes usually come at campaign events, TV interviews, and hot mics ("It's a big fucking deal.")) and has over 30 years of extensive knowledge of the issues. I've seen a lot of conservatives pre-emptively call the debate for their party's "intellectual heavyweight" Paul Ryan, but the dude is a shrimp in comparison. He has been vaunted up to this mythical figure that honestly does not match his record. His budget is a mess that makes astronomical assumptions that economists have not been able to figure out. Also he's an Ayn Rand & P90X loving bro-douche. I hope Biden wipes the floor with him for reasons completely unrelated to the very real truth that a good performance here from him could be crucial to change the narrative of the last week.
are you looking at nationwide polls instead of electoral polls? obama is ahead where it matters.Originally Posted by ericluxury
The coveted comedy nerd vote.
Not if Scott Aukerman has anything to do with it.
Hot tub foot?
VP debates rarely, if ever, make a big difference in elections. Although, we all said that about last week's debate before it happened and now things are a whole hell of a lot tighter than they were the day before Obama laid an egg. Also, in 2004, Dick Cheney got a lot of credit for neutralizing the Kerry victory in his first debate with Bush. You absolutely have to worry about Ryan in context of the debate if he decide to be just as mendacious as Romney was in his and if Biden doesn't call him out. On a larger scale, you should be scared shitless of Paul Ryan being a heartbeat away from the Oval Office. Unless you too have a weird love affair with Ayn Rand and think life begins two days before semen leaves a man's testes.
"The only true currency in this bankrupt world is what we share with someone else when we're uncool."
I think President Dukakis would strongly disagree...
I think that McCain would also argue that VP debates matter. The Palin/Biden debate was not only fascinating to watch, but I think that, for many people, it was their first awakening to what an awful nightmare a Palin White House would be.
Biden's in a good spot here, I think. Ryan's in a position where--if Biden plays it right--he's just going to have to be on the defensive. He has to stand by and defend Romney's "27 lies in 38 minutes," because that is the duty of the running mate, and if he doesn't, it'll make their ticket look weak and shifty. Ryan's recent hissy fit that he had with that reporter leads me to suspect that he'll have a hard time maintaining his compusure in debate of this importance.
Two things:
-The VP Debate didn't disqualify Palin nearly as much as her Katie Couric interview. She was actually fine in the VP debate
-The reporter Paul Ryan had a hissy-fit with wasn't just any reporter, it was FOX NEWS' Chris Wallace. So, not exactly a hardball grilling, and still he wouldn't give any more specifics on the math of their tax plan. Biden has to nail him on this tonight. If he doesn't have the time to go through the math right there, can the campaign please put the math up on the website so people with the time and interest can crunch the numbers? Of course they won't do this, but he has to get him cornered. Biden is aware of this. One thing is for sure -- for better or worse, Joe certainly won't be boring.
It wasn't the VP debate that turned that election. It was the Presidential debate where Dukakis was asked in a really nasty, shitty way if he'd be in favor of the death penalty for a man who raped his wife. It put Dukakis, a vehement anti-capital punishment guy on the hot seat, and looking flustered, he lost that debate. But even that debate didn't swing the election like the Willie Horton ads did.
The VP debate that year gave us the Lloyd Bentsen/Dan Quayle zinger about "Jack Kennedy" and such, but it didn't have a very impact on the race, in the end. Outside of the Cheney/Edwards VP debate, really none have wound up having too much an impact, but I've only been alive since 1980, and can only attest to the study and research I've done, so maybe in years past there was more an emphasis on it. This year, the presence of the Randian Psychopath and the possibility that he'd be a heart-attack away from the Oval Office should be enough to force people to pay attention to this debate though, for sure.
"The only true currency in this bankrupt world is what we share with someone else when we're uncool."
Does Mitt Romney have heart troubles? I keep hearing you say that Ryan is a heart attack away form the presidency and that's usually reserved for old people like McCain.
nathan smart!
http://www.nathansmart.com
He's in his early 60s. I'd say even with modern medicine any time you have a man in his early 60s health issues should be a concern. And actually, that's something everyone should think about regardless. Nobody thought Kennedy would die in office, for instance.
"The only true currency in this bankrupt world is what we share with someone else when we're uncool."
There was at least one guy that did.
Too soon.
"The only true currency in this bankrupt world is what we share with someone else when we're uncool."
Perhaps I'm an idiot, which is likely, but I don't see how Ryan could come out of this without taking a lashing. For all this talk about him being an intellectual anchor for the Republican ticket, there's a lot of potential ammunition in the Ryan Plan to fire with. And considering that Romney's been, generally, indecisive on numbers and specifics unless you're digging, it gives Biden plenty to talk about.
Wait. So are you saying that Kennedy's heart was the guy on the grassy knoll??
nathan smart!
http://www.nathansmart.com
Oh cripes, now the Conservatives I know are saying the moderator sucked. RIGHT. CUZ YOUR BOY LOST. BITCH.
You're from quaint lil Alaska. WE GET IT.Palin told Fox News Channel’s Sean Hannity on Thursday night: “That’s a tough format. It reminded me…of watching a musk ox run across the tundra with somebody underfoot."
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