The
Kentucky faceoff was a clash of generational styles, Biden the
sometimes exasperated lecturer, Ryan the serious-minded student. Biden
proved the superior debater, raising his voice, directly addressing the
audience and rising above the wonky arguments with greater
effectiveness. But by going toe to toe against a graying incumbent, the
Wisconsin congressman held his own and blunted some, but not all, of his
rival’s attacks.
Biden
showed considerable passion when the debate turned to the economy,
getting in more attack lines in two minutes than President Obama did
against Mitt Romney in an hour and a half: Romney wanted to let Detroit
go bankrupt. Romney wrote off 47 percent of the country. Romney pays a
lower effective tax rate than Biden’s parents and neighbors.
Ryan
was rather flat in response, ticking off a five-point economic plan,
then lurching into a tale about Romney financially aiding a family whose
four kids were killed in a car crash—touching, perhaps, but a total non
sequitur. That, however, prompted Biden to recall the 1972 car accident
that killed his wife and daughter, as if he had to match the emotional
card that Ryan had thrown down.
Ryan’s
best line was an attempt to defuse Romney’s fundraising comments about
the 47 percent of Americans who pay no federal income taxes: “I think
the vice president knows, sometimes words don’t come out of your mouth
the right way.” Biden had to smile.
They
each spewed numbers about Medicare, with Ryan accusing Democratic
critics of trying to “scare people” about a plan that would give future
retirees a choice, including vouchers. He also accused the
administration of turning Medicare “into a piggy bank for Obamacare.”
That’s
when Biden started speaking to the camera, saying the Ryan vouchers
would cost the average senior citizen $6,400 a year, according to the
Congressional Budget Office. He touted higher prescription drug benefits
for seniors as well. “Folks, who do you trust on this?” Biden asked.
When
the talk turned to taxes, Biden ripped the Republicans for pushing to
extend the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy, saying “they’re holding
hostage the middle-class tax cut to the superwealthy,” calling this
“unconscionable.” Ryan responded by saying the administration would
raise the effective tax rate on small businesses to more than 40 percent
and that he and Romney would cut taxes for everyone without hurting the
middle class.
“Not mathematically possible,” Biden interrupted.
“It is mathetmatically possible,” Ryan insisted.
Biden
took the fight to Ryan in the opening minutes, interrupting his
indictment about “the unraveling of the Obama foreign policy” by
saying—with “all due respect,” of course—“that’s a bunch of malarkey.”
He landed a jab as Ryan was decrying the fatal attack on the U.S.
consulate in Libya by saying that his opponent’s House budget cut
embassy security $300 million below what the administration had
requested.
The
vice president had finessed a tough question about the attack from
moderator Martha Raddatz by promising that any “mistakes” would not be
repeated and quickly pivoting to the successful mission against Osama
bin Laden. Ryan scored a moment later by saying “it took the president
two weeks to acknowledge that this was a terrorist attack.”
Ryan
remained on offense by charging that the administration “has no
credibility” on Iran, which he said in “racing toward a nuclear weapon.”
“Incredible,”
Biden said with a laugh, dismissing the “bluster” about Iran and saying
Obama had imposed “the most crippling sanctions” in history.
Ryan tried to seize the initiative, even ripping President Obama for going on The View
rather than meeting with Bibi Netanyahu—and Biden counterpunched,
sometimes with derision. In short, he did precisely what his boss failed
to do against Romney.
The
discussion of Afghanistan was a wash, with Ryan conceding that his
ticket supports Obama’s plan to withdraw U.S. troops by 2014 and, when
pressed by Raddatz, acknowledging: “We don’t want to stay.”
Biden took the fight to Ryan, interrupting his indictment about “the unraveling of the Obama foreign policy” by saying—with “all due respect,” of course—“that’s a bunch of malarkey.”
The
debate may have served as a preview of 2016, with Biden not ruling out a
run for the top job and Ryan considered a contender if Romney loses.
The
debate wound toward a close on a solemn note, with Raddatz asking the
candidates about the role of their Catholic faith in their views on
abortion. Ryan said he believes the church’s teaching that life begins
at conception, and that a Romney administration would oppose abortion
except in cases of rape, incest and the life of the mother.
Biden
said he too accepts the church’s position on abortion, “but I refuse to
impose it on equally devout Christians, Muslims and Jews.” He also
noted, correctly, that Ryan has opposed the exceptions for rape and
incest, and that Romney would appoint Supreme Court justices who would
overturn Roe v. Wade —an important part of the Democrats’ appeal to women.
The
pressure heading into the Danville event was largely on Biden, in large
measure because Obama, by his own admission, had “a bad night” at the
first debate. With the president having failed to challenge Romney’s
agenda, the task fell to his running mate to do so—and without seeming
overbearing or condescending.
There
was also lots of pregame chatter that the voluble Biden might be
gaffe-prone, which managed to overlook his history as an experienced
debater.
Ryan,
who has never played on the national stage, faced lower expectations,
which mainly involved defending Romney on his embrace of the
congressman’s budget-slashing and Medicare reform plans. As the House
Budget Committee chairman, Ryan is practiced in facts-and-figures
discussions but not at playing to a television audience.
In
the end, few vice-presidential debates matter much. One exception may
have been when Sarah Palin held her own against Biden four years ago,
quieting, at least temporarily, doubts about her candidacy. But the main
function of the running mates in their single encounter is to serve as
surrogates for the top of the ticket, and both men did that effectively
on Thursday night.
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