Who Won the Vice Presidential Debate: Paul Ryan, After Joe Biden Interrupts and Lies
CLOSING STATEMENTS -Meh
Update: 10:29 I think Joe Biden hit every Progressive platitude on the books. "Wall Street Not Main Street" "Middle Class" "Level the Playing Field"
Update 10:28: What a milk toast closing question. "What can you as a man contribute?" That sounds like it's from a chick flick, not a vice presidential debate.
Update As it wraps up, who do you think won the debate? I'm a little too depressed to keep updating...
Update 10:22 What does an "open mind" mean? What about someone who has "no agenda?" How would a venerable judge get to that position without forming opinions and beliefs?
Update 10:20 Thank you for a Federalism question. Biden basically is saying that Roe V Wade will be overturned if Romney is elected. Whoa.
Update 10:18 Biden playing the "tolerance" card. If you're going to believe something, believe it. He just said that he believes that life begins at conception, but that he's not willing to protect it. Does that seem right to you?
Update
- Obama and Clinton called on Assad to step down (Al-Jazeera) http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=qHCe-41yaFU
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- The UN reports 328,000 refugees from Syria seeking a haven in the surrounding countries, and expects this number to rise to 700,000 by the end of the year. Over 31,000 people have died so far. Well over half were civilians.
Update 9:56: Afghanistan. Paul Ryan needs to come across a stronger philosophy on foreign policy. Right now he's sounding too party-line for most voters. Biden is giving a "Mission Accomplished" speech that will probably appeal to voters who want to feel more secure.
Update: "Nobody wants the math" This moderator is worthless. This is probably a reflection on our culture though.
Update 9:53: "They do not need it." This is just rampant class warfare. I am sorry, but this debate is crazy. This is a circus. They are asking that Ryan give detailed policy answers, but then they interupt him in the middle of the necessarily long mathematical explanation.
Update 9:53: Boom. Come on Paul Ryan, up the snarkiness. He has a subtle sarcasm that isn't working very well with Biden's aggression.
Update 9:49: This debate is the jerk versus the nerd. Its like high school.
Update 9:47: What Ryan really needs to do now is to explain how growth works. "Middle class-the tax bill is coming to you" that was a strong line.
Update 9:45: Twitter is going crazy-everyone is finding Biden agressive and the moderator too wimpy @vpdebate
Update 9:42: Biden has yet to suggest real reform to Medicare and Social Security. It has already been established that the programs are broke. Does he really think that you can do that without paying more?
Update: Moderator: Do your job! She only interupts Ryan! Thank you Paul Ryan for sounding civil.
Unfunded liabilities are one of our largest debt problems. Since when is AARP the best policy think-tank in the country?
Update 9:34: Paul Ryan is really upping the personal ante...he tends to be viewed as unsympathtic. He is restating many of Romney's winning lines from last week.
Update 9:34: The moderator asserted that MEdicare and Social Security are going bankrupt...that seemed to be up for question for Obama in the last debate
Update 9:30 Emphasizing the auto industry is a big issue for Ohio. Most of the growth in my home state is occuring because of Republican policies, like the energy boom in Eastern Ohio.
Update 9:28: BURN OF THE NIGHT!! "The vice president knows that sometimes the words don't always come out of your mouth right." Ouch
Update 9:26: 1.3% growth is a more important number than gross unemployment numbers. Plus, see the graph I posted at the beginning. It's good that he's reiterating the 5 point plan. Memorable is key.
Update 9:25 ....and here comes the 47%. Yay ad hominem attacks. Come on Paul, here's your moment!
Update 9:25 Paul insists that a nuclear arms race in the MidEast is intolerable. Biden says war should always be last result. Sanctions are working, he says.
Plus, Iran is doing its best to skirt these sanctions with increased ties to China http://blog.heritage.org/2012/10/01/iran-continues-skirting-sanctions/
Update 9:20: Ryan is thinking about foreign policy the right way. International Relations is about perception and human behavior. There are no rules. Right now Biden is really downplaying the threat from Iran.
Update 9:15 Debate on sanctions. Ryan-"We want to prevent war!" Joe Biden, so we SHOULD attack Iran? He seems to be advocating a surgical strike, or at least implying that Iran isn't a big deal. "They are a good way away"
Really? They have the facilities. Check out the pic above.
Update 9:13: How effective would a military strike be? This is actually the issue. There is no real argument that Iran is or isn't a threat. They are clearly a destabilizing force in the Middle East. Paul Ryan is correct that Russia has used its veto power and connections with Iran to our detriment in the past
Upate 9:12: Curveball- He seems to be largely supporting the Arab Spring-Paul Ryan I mean. Come on, explain what you mean by "values!"
Upate: Who is the "Intelligence Community?" This isn't really making the Obama administration seem "in control."
Update 9:10: Classic Biden attack-dog strategy
Upate 9:10: Alliances based on share values-thank you Paul Ryan for actually saying what everyone likes to ignore in the postmodern age.
Update 9:10: Facial reactions are interesting. Biden is taking the "what the heck is talking about?" approach. Ryan is largely ignoring him, speaking to the moderator.
Update 9:06 : In September alone, three US Embassies were attacked (Egypt, Yemen, and of course, Libya.) This has historically been considered an act of war.
Update: Libya largely being treated as an unavoidable tragedy, like a natural disaster.
Update 9:02 Biden first! Literally....
This must be how people feel when they get ready to watch football....
New pre-debate game: Scrab-Libs: plug in your Scrabble board words in a Mad Lib. Try it; it works. @stevenfhayward
Update 9pm: Keep this in mind as the VP candidates go at it:
Update:8pm Getting ready to start the debate party. There is fresh banana bread and one of my friends has promised to do pushups for every good point made by Paul Ryan. Maybe I'll measure won won/lost the debate based on net calories gained or lost
Update 7:40 As I do some background reading, I am reminded of how much I love The Economist. And The BBC too, by the way. Nerd: yes.
Update 6:55 Everyone ready for the debate to start in a few hours? Here are some of the topics I'm guessing will be on the table for discussion tonight:
Hugo Chavez-He just won re-election in Venezuela Egypt - The new President and Muslim Brotherhood member Mohammed Morsi Iran - They are building nukes. Any questions? Israel - See: Iran. Any questions? China - This is the wildcard. Will Paul Ryan try to show off his economics expertise by arguing that China is a threat because of the massive amounts of our debt they hold? Or will there be talk of the massive new aircraft carrier they just built?
This Thursday night, the candidates for vice president of the United States will debate each other in an attempt to give the final push of help to their candidates. Since an estimated 67.2 million people watched the presdential debate last Wednesday, the heat is on for Joe Biden and Paul Ryan.
Here are a few tidbits on the foreign policy positions each man has espoused over the years.
Biden: The vice president has a long history of foreign policy committee assigments in Congress. He served as chairman of the senate foreign relations committee, so it is likely that he will bring that expience to bear as debates, and will probably try to make Ryan look callow and inexperienced. During George Bush's presidency, Biden opposed the surge strategy in Iraq and proposed in a 2007 resolution that a regional consensus be sought to develop peace in the area.
Ryan: This congressman's committee assignments is a laundry list of financial tasks, including the a tenure as chairman of the Commitee on Budget. His comments on foreign policy are usually along the lines of stating that a secure budget will aid our foreign policy. Labelled a deficit hawk, he usually takes care to emphasize that the defense budget should not be on the table for cuts.
Attacks on U.S. embassies, war in Syria, an increasingly hostile Egypt, and a nuclear Iran should all be topics the candidates must defend.
Keep an eye out for these patterns on Thursday night. Make sure to refresh and comment often!
The debate is scheduled to take place in the small town of Danville, Kentucky on October 11, Thursday evening.
PolicyMic will be covering the debate live. For live updates, bookmark and refresh this page.
