Tribute to Joe

... The reason I think Biden got the best of things is straightforward. For the first hour, at least, he dominated the debate, pushing Ryan onto the defensive. Many of the points he made were telling and substantive ones—not merely bluster. Identifying a key weakness in the Republican platform, he repeatedly challenged Ryan to explain how he and Romney could pass a five-trillion-dollar income-tax cut without raising the deficit or increasing other types of taxes on middle-income Americans. “It’s mathematically impossible,” he thundered. Ryan didn’t have a convincing answer because there isn’t one. He cited six “studies” that he said had concluded that the Romney math adds up, but, as Justin Wolfers, of the University of Pennsylvania, quickly pointed out, these weren’t exactly all peer-reviewed analyses: four of them were blog posts or op-eds. Eventually, Ryan fell back on the largely discredited supply-side argument that the tax cuts would unleash growth and generate more revenues, saying that Ronald Reagan and John Kennedy had proved it could be done. To which a dismissive Biden replied. “Oh, now you’re Jack Kennedy?”...

... The night belonged to Smokin’ Joe, who came out strong and kept slugging as long as his legs would support him. In a way, he’d been preparing for this since 1988, when his first Presidential campaign was derailed by allegations of plagiarism. Biden was just forty-five then, a rising star in the Democratic Party noted for his speaking skills, his bonhomie, and his populist politics. An elder statesman now, he retains all of these attributes. I said before the debate that he was an underrated politician. Last night, he demonstrated why that’s true. The guy in the Oval Office owes him more than a phone call. ...John Cassidy, New Yorker

Comments

[M42]

“It’s mathematically impossible,” he thundered.
Ryan missed an opportunity on this one. The obvious rebuttal was,"So now we're getting math lessons from someone who helped increase deficit spending 400% and who supported adding 5 trillion to the national debt". He missed a few other opportunities, too. But he did convey courtesy and respect.

[PW]

Ryan is, as others have said, a zombie. But not even Ryan would have tried to sling that bull, M42!

[M42]

I think the insult you were fishing for there was to compare Ryan to "Eddie Munster". A Zombie? Not so much. That role was played flawlessly last week by the President.

[PW]

But Ryan is -- physically and intellectually -- a lurching monster. Isn't that what a zombie is? (Eddie Munster is an unknown to me so I can't judge that comparison!)

[Thingumbobesquire]

http://thingumbobesquire.blogspot.com/2012/10/new-opinion-poll-who-is-uglier.html