Live-Perlblogging the Danville VP Debate
9:32: Calling it for Biden. He was strong, statesman-like, and consistent. He was able to capitalize on all of the issues that Obama left on the table last time. Whether it will mean anything, I don’t know, but it at least gives you an idea of Obama’s strategic layout for debate #2, which promises to be more specific and aggressive. The 47% will come up. Ryan wasn’t necessarily bad tonight, but Biden was just all over him. Like I said earlier, Ryan had the “policy wonk” thing to deal with, and Biden just had to avoid looking like your drunk uncle.
9:30: That makes two debates without talking about immigration. Also, Biden totally is losing his voice. He sounds like Batman. Kind of awesome… I’m ready for him to take down Bain (get it!?)
9:27: Biden not mincing words, describing exactly — in detail — what is at stake with the Ryan budget.
9:25: Ryan panic mode = make up numbers!
9:21: Biden drives home the importance of Supreme Court nominations in the context of Roe v. Wade. This is great stuff. Biden killed it, and Ryan’s face says something along the lines of: Can we please please please talk about something else?
9:20: Biden illustrates that the Democratic Party is friendlier to women’s reproductive health. He makes the clear distinction between his personal belief on abortion and the government specifically restricting abortion. Then he debunks Ryan’s claim that there is some socialist assault on the Catholic church.
9:16: Ryan’s Catholic faith compels him to take care of the vulnerable. Is that why 62% of Ryan’s budget cuts come from programs that benefit low-income Americans?
9:14: Ryan and Biden go back-and-forth on Syria, and the fact of the matter is that both administrations would probably have the same measured and shrewd approach, with Romney being the more trigger happy of the two. Ryan says he would only put troops on the ground if it were in the best national security interest of the country. Well, yeah. The “apologizing for America” narrative is weak on Syria. How exactly has Obama been weak in decrying the Assad regime?
9:12: Raddatz is awesome. If Lehrer wasn’t already asleep, he’d realize he’s getting pwnd hard.
9:08: If Obama had this kind of energy last week, this whole thing would have been O-V-E-R.
9:05: Biden = charming, eager elder statesman. Ryan is meh.
9:00: Ryan says that the Navy is the smallest it has been since WWII. Romney said this in January at a primary debate, and Politifact promptly gave it a “pants on fire” rating:
This is a great example of a politician using more or less accurate statistics to make a meaningless claim. Judging by the numbers alone, Romney was close to accurate. In recent years, the number of Navy and Air Force assets has sunk to levels not seen in decades, although the number of ships has risen slightly under Obama.
However, a wide range of experts told us it’s wrong to assume that a decline in the number of ships or aircraft automatically means a weaker military. Quite the contrary: The United States is the world’s unquestioned military leader today, not just because of the number of ships and aircraft in its arsenal but also because each is stocked with top-of-the-line technology and highly trained personnel.
8:54: Romney’s plan is projected to raise taxes on middle class families by $2,000. Period. Biden lays it out in no uncertain terms.
8:52: An aside, here’s Mitt Romney arguing in favor of deficit-financed stimulus spending in late 2008.
8:49: Obama was calm but let the bullshit sit out on the table, unchallenged. Biden is calm, yes, but he’s also relentlessly combating the bullshit.
8:45: Yes. Biden gets to the heart of the Medicare issue. It’s absolutely absurd that Ryan is claiming that he is going to be some Great Protector of Medicare. Since when?
8:41: Biden with one of the better responses about the $716 billion — bringing up the donut hole and citing the proposed privatization on Social Security from Ryan some years ago. But I want to talk about aesthetics really quickly. Biden is the perfect VP. He is the quintessential charming attack dog. He is condescending and avuncular, yes, but he’s just so darn likeable. I don’t think Ryan is necessarily doing a bad job tonight, but you’re just not going to get the better of Biden. He knows what he’s doing.
8:35: Ryan offers up the $716 billion. Obama left this on the table last week. Ryan is setting himself up here. Biden better spike this.
8:34: Right-wingers on the Twitters are going off on Biden for being “mean.” No, he’s being strong in calling out Ryan’s lies, such as the idea that unemployment is somehow growing everywhere in the country right now. Nope.
8:32: Yeah, Biden goes after Ryan for suddenly “being concerned about the debt” after a decade of neglect: two wars, absurd spending. Ryan was in Congress that whole time, y’all.
8:28: We’re on to the economy now. Biden says everything that Obama should have said last week: auto bailout, 47%, tax cuts for the wealthy. He is being aggressive. He’s done his homework and he’s not messing around. What has Ryan to say about it? “We’re heading in the wrong direction.” Energy independence, yada yada yada. Biden was way more specific, and his condescending smile is indicating that he knows it. Ryan: “Romney is a car guy.” Oh, so that means he supported the auto bailout? Super convincing! The fact is, auto sales are at a four year high because of the bailout (and despite Romney’s opposition). Ryan is waxing poetic in the same way Obama did last week. Ryan throws in a zinger about gaffes, but other than illiciting few LOLs from where I’m sitting, I don’t think it was that great.
8:19: The Obama administration didn’t water down existing sanctions to Iran. That’s a lie. Biden is right to call out the Romney ticket for advocating war with Iran, and nothing less. Biden wins Iran.
8:17: “We will not let them acquire a nuclear weapon. Period” – Joe Biden. How’s that for apologizing?
8:10: Leading with Libya. In light of today’s events, that’s definitely a weak point for the administration, who arguably downplayed the intelligence that there was a mounting terrorist threat to the Libyan embassy. Biden defers to Iraq policy instead, but Ryan rightfully hammers home the administration’s failure to secure Benghazi. But then we go to the “apologizing for America” meme and Ryan says, alas, we’re projecting weakness and not “standing up for our values”. Biden hammers him on the defense budget and Romney’s amateurish response to the Libya crisis. This is the kind of pizazz Obama lacked last week. Looking pretty even right now. They are both being aggressive and covering their talking points.
8:03: They’re sitting down. So casual!
7:45: Hey Everyone. I’ll be live-blogging the Danville debate tonight. Here are some preliminary thoughts. If you tuned into WUPRadio tonight, you heard me talking about debate expectations. Last week, I argued that people often conflate Obama’s oratory abilities with his debate acumen, much to the president’s detriment. So while Obama certainly lost the debate, the Romney campaign’s ability to manage debate expectations prior to Denver compounded the president’s nauseating failure. People believed Obama was a good debater when that’s really not his oratory strength. For tonight, the tables have turned. People think that Paul Ryan is going to be a good debater because he has emerged in the national conversation, for whatever reason, as a brain-child policy wonk. He’s not. Conversely, Joe Biden is thought of as an avuncular, gaffe-prone goofball. He’s not. Both stereotypes are wrong. Look, Biden has done this before. He first ran for president in 1988. This isn’t his first rodeo. Sure, Ryan may seem sharp and wonky on the campaign trail. He may even be really prepared tonight (some P90x?) to deliver some zingers. But this is really Ryan’s first test on the national scale. Rest assured that after Obama’s poor showing last week, Biden will not shy away from being the attack dog (the classic VP role). 47%, women’s reproductive health, Medicare, the Ryan budget — these better all be on the table in a way they were not last week, or else Obama will be in trouble yet again.