By Jeffrey Lord on 10.11.12 @ 11:04PM
The other day Paul Kengor had a column about Joe Biden titled "Old Smirkin' Joe".
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Not for nothing the term "smirk." That smirk was everywhere tonight in the debate with Paul Ryan -- and one finds it impossible to believe that was anything but bad news for the Obama campaign. Not since the 1960 Kennedy-Nixon debate in which a pale Nixon, his shirt collar too big and his dark eyes darting around nervously on every black-and-white TV in America (as it was then) has a candidate had such a problem with his looks and mannerisms.
Biden was Al Gore on steroids… and Al Gore lost a debate for sighing and going out of his way to make facial expressions that showed a wildly misplaced sense of arrogant superiority over George W. Bush.
The Biden smile tonight was glaringly out of place for reasons of simple respect to Ryan, not to mention the individual topics being discussed. What's to smirk about when discussing a dead Ambassador? Iran and the bomb? The unemployment rate in Biden's hometown of Scranton? Which, by the way, was clearly news to Biden.
What was the big lesson of that Kennedy-Nixon debate? Yes indeed -- it was all about how one looks on television. On radio Americans of the day thought Nixon won. But the televised image of Nixon -- and the cool, handsome JFK -- ruled the day. The debate - and the election -- went to JFK.
Joe Biden looked terrible. And it will cost him.
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Paul Ryan vs. The Joker
By John Tabin on 10.11.12 @ 11:33PM
Joe Biden, Batman's fiendish archenemy, grinned widely and laughed maniacally throughout his debate with Paul Ryan tonight. The vice president and Arkham Asylum escapee repeatedly interrupted Paul Ryan, Mitt Romney's sidekick. Ryan remained unflappable, an extremely brave accomplishment given Biden's history with sidekicks; Biden famously murdered Jason Todd, the second Robin. In a debate that was heavy on foreign policy, defending the Obama administration's record required Biden to cripple the truth as severely as he crippled former Batgirl Barbara Gordon.
Liberals widely hailed Biden's performance. Everyone else was aghast. Like most vice presidential debates, the evening did not affect the election in any way.
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Biden Did Not Reverse the Romney/Ryan Momentum
By Quin Hillyer on 10.11.12 @ 10:24PM
Paul Ryan was much more likeable tonight that Joe Biden. His logic was a lot easier to follow. His level of knowledge was at least the equal of Biden's. His credibility was usually greater than Biden's. His body lanugage was better. He blinked less. While Ryan left some wide open opportunities untaken, and while there was one exchange of about five minutes where he looked like he was dodging a question, he overall came across as somebody that Americans would be far more comfortable with in terms of facing a future rife with problems.
My wife felt even more strongly. She said: "I thought Biden was splattered against the wall."
This debate, in short, certainly did nothing to stop the trajectory of a campaign that is creeping in favor of Romney and Ryan. The only question I have is whether Ryan accelerated that movement. I think he did, slightly. But Biden's pugnaciousness probably stopped a lot of the glumness that has been bedeviling Democrats in the past eight days. That alone is a not insubstantial benefit for the Obama team.
This is still a very, very close race. The Romney campaign still needs to step up its game. It needs stronger, more memorable commercials. And it needs to start blasting ObamaCare's medical device tax. But if I'm Mitt Romney right now, I am feeling very good about having chosen Paul Ryan as my running mate. He is very impressive, and very capable. I think he achieved a slight victory tonight.
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Biden Sounded Like He Spent Six Hours at a Bar
By Aaron Goldstein on 10.11.12 @ 10:57PM
My lasting impression of the sole VP debate between Vice-President Biden and Paul Ryan is that Biden sounded like a loudmouth at a bar who had spent the past six hours drinking and should have been cut off by the bartender five hours earlier. Paul Ryan, by contrast, was a paragon of sobriety.
With that said, Biden did better in his debate than Obama did last week. However, as I stated earlier this evening, that isn't saying a whole lot.
I do wish Ryan had been more assertive concerning Benghazi and Iran. Ryan should have identified Secretary of State Hillary Clinton by name when he spoke of senior officials who blamed the attacks on the YouTube video. He should have also said it was Secretary Clinton who said there were no lines in the sand where it concerned Iran.
However, I think Ryan got stronger as the debate progressed especially where it concerned domestic policy on jobs, health care and taxes.
When Biden made mention of Romney's 47% comment, Ryan got off the best line of the night when he told Biden, "Sometime the words don't come out of your mouth the right way."
Given Biden's propensity for inserting one or more of his feet in his mouth, he is the last person on earth who should be chiding anyone for having "loose lips."
For much of the debate, Biden came off as sullen and abrasive and when he wasn't interupting Ryan, he was rolling his eyes and looking up at the ceiling. He even chided moderator Martha Raddatz. During the segment on Afghanistan, when Raddatz asked Biden about troop levels, he snapped, "You need to be straight with me." It made him come off as a bully.
I think Biden realized this because towards last third of the debate his demeanor turned softer and pretty much maintained that tone.
I'm sure the liberal media will spin this as an upset victory for Biden but I don't think he did President Obama any favors nor do I think he has done anything to stall Mitt Romney's momentum.
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CNN Poll: Ryan Wins
By Jeffrey Lord on 10.12.12 @ 12:23AM
That was quick! CNN is in with a poll showing Ryan over Biden 48-44.
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To read another article about the debate, click here.
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