The Naked Dollar's call (see previous post) was that both sides would come away thinking their guy won. I gave a slight edge to Ryan. Gotta say, we're 2-for-2. CNN has Ryan edging Biden 48-44.
This surprises me, a bit, because I thought Old Joe won the night. He was completely full of crap, of course, but he played the hand he was dealt well. It was his condescending behavior that cost him the night with viewers. You would think that after Obama's debacle with the split-screen, Biden would have been better prepped on that score, particularly since he was well prepped otherwise. All the smiles, sneers, eye rolls, and interruptions made him seem like a bullying ass on what was otherwise a good night for him.
I personally found this debate irritating to watch, a bit like one of those cable news shows where everyone talks over each other. It was interesting to contrast it with the debate between Joe Lieberman and Dick Cheney in 1999, a favorite of mine. Like last night, the two men sat at a small table, but that's where the similarities end. Cheney and Lieberman were just two smart men having a calm conversation. Both came out looking well.
The burning question is how last night went down with independents. The evidence, so far, is that it made no difference. In Luntz's focus group, no one was swayed. But, all in all, Joe did what he was supposed to do, which was change the national topic from Obama's horrific performance last week.
And on we go.
Biden was a pitbull and sunk his teeth in early and kept Ryan off his game and on the defensive. Like Obama, Ryan is a bit passive and not well suited to debating a guy like Biden. There was no Ryan floor mopping as expected by many of R zombies. He lost on points and could only jab while taking some blows to the nose. But he had a good close.
ReplyDeleteRyan is best used preaching to the choir. He's a 1-trick pony and will likely lose his luster when the knives come out after Obama's re-election.
Biden reminded me of a 1950 Buick Roadmaster grill with his smiling teeth thing.... Had enough of it at about the 50 minute point when it started sounding like a Jerry Springer show ..
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