Republican debate reaction: "The vice president was mean to our candidate." Suck it up and stop whining... It's only going to get worse.
— J. Casper (@repsac3) October 12, 2012
If you're a liberal or a Democrat, you probably loved Joe Biden's performance last night; if you're an independent or a Republican, not so much.More at the link.
According to RealClearPolitics.com, the Obama campaign was deeply wounded after last weeks presidential debate. Mitt Romney not only came off as more likable the he ever had previously, but he also came off as more knowledgeable and confident than President Obama. Over the past eight days, the polls have shifted over to Governor Romney's favor.
Biden was sent out to reverse this increasing trend, rally the base and show the American people that the administration still had fire in its belly. There is, however, one word that Vice President Biden forgot, and that word is overkill.
Biden's been here before. All throughout the 2008 Democratic primary season, and during his 2008 VP debate with Governor Sarah Palin, he was calm, collected, even presidential. He was a likable and charming guy. This time, we saw a different Joe Biden.
Biden smirked, grinned, and waved his hands wildly. Some people would call it impassioned. Others might suggest that he was doing an impression of a southern preacher trying to perform an exorcism. He shook his finger repeatedly in the air, and interrupted Congressman Paul Ryan 82 different times. Paul Ryan maintained his cool, and was polite to a fault.
As the old adage goes, it's all about how things look. Biden tried to exude strength, but ended up coming across as unhinged, cocky, arrogant and rude. Paul Ryan tried to come across as confident and composed, but may have come across as slightly timid. So who ended up getting the best results for their team in the end? Well, as of right now, it might very well have been vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan.
According to the CNN poll of independents, Paul Ryan won the debate, 48% to 44%. The same poll showed that people who watched the debate believed that Paul Ryan expressed himself better than Joe Biden, 50%-41%. An NBC poll of 435 uncommitted voters after the debate showed Paul Ryan winning with 63% to 31%. CNBC had it 56% to 36%, again with Paul Ryan coming out on top. Even the Danville Advocate Messenger had Paul Ryan on top at the end of the day, attracting 56% to Biden's 41%.
So how could Joe Biden's strategy have backfired so horribly? It's quite simple. He did not come off as 'presidential.' He wasn't Joe Biden. He was Malarkey McSmirk.
Only someone who is personally, literally a bullying asshole, like Walter James Casper III, would actually think Biden did well. Honestly, you'd have to be a horrible, horrible person to think that Biden gave a good performance. And no one on the right is arguing that Biden was "mean." Everyone is arguing that he was angry, blustery, brusque, contemptuous, cranky, overbearing, rude, and completely unserious. Biden's performance was so bad that he actually proved himself unfit to serve. But for epic harassment troll and Internet predator Repsac3, conservatives are "whining." Typical. Leftists have absolutely no class. They've got no basic decency. When you can't win on the merits you shout down not only your opponent, but the moderator as well. It was an historic debate, but not in a good way. Biden's already outranked Al Gore for giving one of the worst debates in history. Commentators are saying Biden's was the worst they'd ever seen.
And here's Peggy Noonan with more, "Confusing Strength With Aggression":
In terms of content—the seriousness and strength of one's positions and the ability to argue for them—the debate was probably a draw, with both candidates having strong moments. But in terms of style, Mr. Biden was so childishly manipulative that it will be surprising if independents and undecideds liked what they saw.And just like the first debate, Obama's going to get crushed.
National Democrats keep confusing strength with aggression and command with sarcasm. Even the latter didn't work for Mr. Biden. The things he said had the rhythm and smirk of sarcasm without the cutting substance.
And so the Romney-Ryan ticket emerged ahead. Its momentum was neither stopped nor slowed and likely was pushed forward.
Meaning that things will continue to get hotter. The campaign trail, commercials, all sorts of mischief—everything will get jacked up, cranked up. Meaning the next debate is even more important. Which means, since the next debate is a town hall and won't be mano-a-mano at the podium, that the third debate, on foreign policy, will be the most important of all.
In sum, Joe Biden failed at the most important goal in Thursday night's debate: to halt Mitt Romney's momentum. Not only did he fail at that, he showed once and for all just how big a bullying buffoon he really is.
Joe "Malarkey McSmirk" Biden. That one's for the ages.
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