The *ONLY* Joe Biden vs Paul Ryan debate is going down tonight at 9pm. The Presidential debate seems to have made the stakes all the higher for this debate. The projections I heard said 40 million people are expected to tune in. Even so, I doubt this thread goes nearly as many pages as my 2008 Biden vs Palin debate thread, unless Biden goes gaffe crazy.

10/11/2012 2:44:02 PM

Close thread just to deny Supplanter the satisfaction

10/11/2012 3:05:06 PM

We haven't seen Ryan on a public stage of this nature before.

He has never struck me as being that intelligent, he seems like the kind of person who throws around buzzwords to sound competent (more so than most politicians), but i'm highly skeptical of his actual astuteness.

Romney proved that it doesn't matter what you say, it's how you say it, and Biden is really good at saying things in a good way.

10/11/2012 3:09:50 PM

^ I'm with moron. I'm thinking as long as Biden doesn't put his foot in his mouth Ryan will get pissy/aggravated and will make himself look bad.

[Edited on October 11, 2012 at 3:14 PM. Reason : ]

10/11/2012 3:13:55 PM

Obligatory Krugman zinger:

Quote :

"Paul Ryan is a stupid man's idea of what a smart person sounds like."

10/11/2012 3:14:56 PM

^ ha, that pretty succinctly sums up what i was trying to say, i guess, about Ryan.

10/11/2012 3:29:59 PM

Unfortunately, as much as Ryan's prescription for the downturn is completely wrong, the message of austerity and belt-tightening will always find a receptive audience amongst a sizeable portion of the population in times like these. And while I won't speculate on Ryan's actual intelligence, when it comes to the budget, he knows his shit. It's his bread and butter.

He'll probably debate Biden to at least a stalemate.

10/11/2012 3:37:26 PM

Chris Wallace, of all people, gave Biden the blueprint to make Ryan look like an idiot: ask for specifics.

http://youtu.be/yBeL4f-KuF8

[Edited on October 11, 2012 at 3:47 PM. Reason : :]

10/11/2012 3:47:27 PM

Quote :

" And while I won't speculate on Ryan's actual intelligence, when it comes to the budget, he knows his shit. It's his bread and butter. "

Except he doesn't, this is an image he and the GOP desperately try to project and nothing more.

10/11/2012 3:50:03 PM

My hope is that Biden calls his budget out for being merely a product of the Heritage Foundation. . .

10/11/2012 3:52:56 PM

This has to be the most lopsided debate ever.

I mean Ryan is highly intelligent and can really get his points across. Plus he's on the right side of the cutting spending issue.

Biden on the other hand is a buffoon and comes off as a total monkey boy.

If you though last weeks debate was bad for obama, just wait. I can't wait to see the media firestorm after this debacle

10/11/2012 4:03:33 PM

For me, the vp debate should be more interesting than the first presidential debate turned out.

All eyes on Ryan to see how he performs. We all know his legislative record will be attacked but I'm curious what his plan of attack is for Biden. Not much is really known about Biden other than his being prone to gaffes. I'm guessing Ryan will just debate Obama in absentia tonite. Kind of like Clint Eastwood did at RNC.

And I've been amused with Chris Wallace's republican grilling lately.

10/11/2012 4:07:09 PM

Quote :

"Except he doesn't, this is an image he and the GOP desperately try to project and nothing more."

You read Krugman, and Krugman tells you that his proposed budgets are unworkable and reliant on impossible growth predictions. Fine. I get it. You don't like him or his proposals.

But the fact of the matter is that he IS a fiscal policy wonk. It's what he has spent the bulk of his time working on in Congress. He's the Chairman of the Budget Committee, for chrissakes. He is well-versed on the ins and outs of the budget, much moreso than a guy like Biden who really has no role in the budget process.

10/11/2012 4:18:31 PM

10/11/2012 4:19:31 PM

Quote :

"He's the Chairman of the Budget Committee, for chrissakes."

The House Science Committee is full of science deniers - this doesn't mean much.

10/11/2012 4:28:18 PM

Quote :

"But the fact of the matter is that he IS a fiscal policy wonk. It's what he has spent the bulk of his time working on in Congress. He's the Chairman of the Budget Committee, for chrissakes."

Michelle Bachman sits on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. She also believes Muslim extremists have infiltrated the White House. Your argument is invalid.

10/11/2012 4:32:11 PM

The point is that he knows his shit. Not that he's right, or that his proposals are in any way fiscally-sound, but that he's well-versed on the budget and what is in it. He writes fake budgets for shits and giggles.

When Ryan and Biden get into a budget argument, Ryan will come across as more knowledgable on the matter, even if Obama/Biden's budget strategy is more workable and better for the economy.

The reality is that in a debate, it doesn't matter who is more correct. It matters who comes off as more informed and more Presidential. And it's pretty obvious that Ryan will have the edge over Biden in that department.

[Edited on October 11, 2012 at 4:41 PM. Reason : 2]

10/11/2012 4:39:28 PM

So you're basically saying he's a huckster, not an idiot.

I can live with that.

10/11/2012 4:59:17 PM

10/11/2012 5:02:44 PM

Quote :

"unless Biden goes gaffe crazy."

Doesn't matter if he points out each and every lie, inconsistency, and impossibility in the Romney/Ryan platform.

Biden makes silly gaffes, Ryan just plain lies. I guess we'll see which one is better for a debate.

10/11/2012 5:04:40 PM

Bidens gaffes have never hurt him because they are generally good natured. It's a lot different than just making up things.

10/11/2012 7:07:43 PM

The problem is the Ryan supporters don't realize that he's just making shit up

10/11/2012 7:27:08 PM

Wonder if he's going to win his other race that he's running for?

10/11/2012 7:43:57 PM

Looks like Biden is going first, and hitting hard.

[Edited on October 11, 2012 at 9:04 PM. Reason : .]

10/11/2012 9:03:41 PM

Biden: "with all due respect, that's a bunch of malarkey"

10/11/2012 9:09:46 PM

Is Biden going senile?

10/11/2012 9:11:25 PM

"should america apologize?"


"what we SHOULD do is......"

10/11/2012 9:12:14 PM

Is it just me or is Biden not talking at all?

He needs to speak the fuck up

[Edited on October 11, 2012 at 9:14 PM. Reason : instead of just making funny faces the whole time]

10/11/2012 9:13:39 PM

His occasional smile is killing me.

10/11/2012 9:15:54 PM

Quote :

"instead of just making funny faces the whole time"

there is a lot of this going on isn't there

[Edited on October 11, 2012 at 9:17 PM. Reason : paul ryan is Biden's friend]

10/11/2012 9:15:57 PM

Pretty sure I just heard Ryan try to score points saying our embassies need more defenses, and Biden point out that Ryan is cutting those funds

10/11/2012 9:19:18 PM

"Oh God."

10/11/2012 9:20:56 PM

biden just killed that shit

"FACT MATTER. FACTS MATTER"

"AND WHEN WE CHOOSE TO ATTACK, WE WILL HAVE THE WORLD BEHIND. AND THAT MATTERS"


also

"WAR SHOULD ALWAYS BE THE LAST OPTION ON THE TABLE"

[Edited on October 11, 2012 at 9:23 PM. Reason : ]

10/11/2012 9:21:42 PM

I think Biden is wearing a shock collar and Obama is holding the remote.

10/11/2012 9:22:32 PM

They both are doing fairly well... they're saying practically the same thing though.

People are going to see what they want to see.

10/11/2012 9:23:28 PM

BOOM!!

10/11/2012 9:24:25 PM

12.1 people remain out of work.... the horror...

[Edited on October 11, 2012 at 9:25 PM. Reason : ABC typo i guess]

10/11/2012 9:24:58 PM

Hey look Biden just got every talking point you people LOVE into one run-on sentence!

10/11/2012 9:25:14 PM

Let Detroit go bankrupt and 47% just came out in the same sentence.

10/11/2012 9:25:57 PM

Lol, geeze.

[Edited on October 11, 2012 at 9:29 PM. Reason : This is getting personal, sad, funny, and just, I don't know.]

10/11/2012 9:28:44 PM

Pretty even though Biden is probably slightly ahead just because of his personality.

Certainly not a momentum keeper for Romney to this point.

10/11/2012 9:32:13 PM

^agree

10/11/2012 9:33:00 PM

I know it's just Biden, but looking a little childish and exasperated.

I know, I know, "well id be exasperated too across the table from this lying idiot Ryan punk, blah blah."

It's still fundamentally immature and looks bad to most.

10/11/2012 9:35:16 PM

2 wars, medicare part D, and tax cuts for the rich, and now the GOP cares about debt, except for Ryan just admitted to asking for stimulus money for himself

10/11/2012 9:36:40 PM

The little line graph at the bottom, if it means anything at all, is always clearly in favor of Ryan.

I don't think you can argue it's not usually in the middle with Biden.

10/11/2012 9:37:34 PM

Going after him on the vouchers!

10/11/2012 9:38:34 PM

Quit interrupting, Biden, you fucking douche.


[Edited on October 11, 2012 at 9:41 PM. Reason : I guess the 2 minutes he's up on Ryan right now isn't enough.]

10/11/2012 9:40:02 PM

biden has got to stop interrupting

ryan did it a few times earlier too

10/11/2012 9:43:32 PM

We all got your joke picture the first time it just was dumb so we ignored it

10/11/2012 9:43:58 PM

Biden is getting mad.

Ryan wins by default.

[Edited on October 11, 2012 at 9:46 PM. Reason : My Facebook is completely lit up with "Biden is an asshole" right now.]

10/11/2012 9:44:37 PM