Last night handed the pundits whatever material their preordained point of view wanted. Victory was declared by both sides. Style and Substance is the new lexicon of debate. Was Biden's prolonged smile a positive sign of engagement, or a distracting overcompensation for his boss's previous performance? Did Biden sell the administration as skillfully navigating world events, or did Ryan's contention of dropping the ball ring true? Equally defensible counterpoints were presented regarding the economy and Medicare. The spin doctors were certainly given a full bag of ingredients to make their case. I would think that last night's performance didn't move the needle, but heightens the anticipation for next week's debate.
UPDATE: Scientific Poll: The gentlemen at the diner counter every morning are an economically diverse bunch. Ryan won the debate 8 to 0 because of Biden's smirking. Scientific enough for me.
I miss Sarah Palin myself.
ReplyDeleteNow THERE was a Vice Presidential canadate !
Damn shame she didn't run for the top spot this round. But there is still plenty of time my fellow Americans .
@8:43, well, the republicans seem to have strengthened their VP candidate, but all the democrats can do is talk about 08 and even 04.
ReplyDeleteMuch like a budget, Democrats just don't want anything to do with their record the past four years.
ReplyDeleteROLF OELER
Did we really need an hour and a half debate to confirm that Joe Biden is a jackass?
ReplyDelete@1:20, i would not call biden a "jackass", on the contrary; he did a good enough job that partisan democrats can say that he won. he helped obama win in 08, and certainly is not a liability to their ticket this time.
ReplyDeleteAgreed on your conclusion.
ReplyDeleteNo one's mind was (nor should be) made up by a Vice Presidential debate. This was was entertaining but nothing much more.
1:56pm,
ReplyDeleteIn leadership judgement trumps intellect, with that in mind should not one be concerned with Biden's lack of it?
Scott Armstrong
Smirks and laughs...I guess I'd have a tough time keeping a straight face when listening to someone doling out that much B.S.
ReplyDeleteFlip-flops, absolutely no specifics, but what a pleasant young man and he looked good on T.V. I'll stick with my first assertion about T.V. debates: 85% visual, 10% tone, and 5% substance.