Vice President Joe Biden is an experienced debater, who has been in the ring countless times. Paul Ryan is viewed less favorably than Palin was just prior to the last vice-presidential debate — and Biden’s rating isn't much better, but nevertheless, Biden had quite a task ahead of him after President Obama’s lackluster performance during the first debate, which resulted in a lie-a-thon with Mitt Romney starring in the lead role and Obama as the passive nerd too afraid to call out the school bully. What played out during the Republican National Convention should have made Ryan weary of going down the road of exhausting fact checkers once again — but, he held onto his ‘misspeaks’ as if they were sacred garments.
The first question involved the Libyan incident which resulted in Ambassador Stevens murder.
Was the attack on the consulate in Benghazi an intelligence failure?
Ryan seems to have forgotten that it was the Republicans in the House that cut funding for security. Joe Biden kept a slight grin on his face, as Ryan was quick to blame the President, calling it “the unraveling of the Obama foreign policy.” Ryan brought up the Green revolution in Iran, then revisited the Libyan incident.
Biden responded, “With all due respect, that’s a bunch of malarky.” Then Biden continued, “We knew exactly what the intelligence told us” and added that they were gathering information first.
How effective would a military strike be on Iran?
Rayn, “They’re four years into nuclear capability.” Ryan continued to say that “this administration has watered down sanctions.”
Biden, “Incredible.” (laughs) “These are the most crippling sanctions in the history of sanctions. Do you want to go to war? What should we do that already haven’t done? What more can the President do, but stand in front of the United Nations and say, we will nto let them get nuclear weapons, unless you want war?”
Ryan states that the public sees President Obama on a talk show instead of meeting with Netanyahu.
Biden: “The President has met with him dozens of times, and on the phone for well over an hour. We will not let Iran get a nuclear weapon. Iran is more isolated now than when we took office”
Can you get unemployment below 6 percent and how long will it take?
Biden brought up the 47 percent remark by Mitt Romney, while Ryan grinned. Biden brought up cuts in taxes for the middle class — the pledges signed at Grover Norquist’s request to give millionaires tax breaks. “They’re holding hostage the middle class tax cut, unless we give the wealthy cuts.”
Ryan, stated the poverty rate, help people that are hurting to get the skills they need, don’t raise taxes on small businesses, Let me tell you about the Mitt Romney I know, then ventured off to a good deed that Romney did for someone….(what?). “Romney is a good man.”
Biden, “I don’t doubt his personal commitment to individuals but he did not have a commitment to the automobile industry. Stop talking about how you care about people, show me a policy. They talk about this great recession but don’t mention where it came from. “He (pointing to Ryan) voted for two wars and put it on a credit card. Trillion dollar tax cut for the wealthy.”
The point of Ryan asking for stimulus money came up. Ryan tried to dodge it with a smile on his face while Biden nailed him.
Social Security
Ryan states that Obamacare takes money out of Medicare. “They havent put a credible solution on the table.”
Biden, “We cut the cost of Medicare. We will not privatize it. Their ideas are old and they are bad.”
Off topic, sort of: *Seriously. This is an epic debate, and I never use that word. Joe Biden calling Ryan out, while Ryan tries to make Joe look rude. Joe, stop calling Ryan out on his lies. You big ol’ meanie! Moving on…*
Who will pay more in taxes and who will pay less?
Ryan: The Canadians dropped their tax rate to 15 percent. Two thirds of our jobs come from small businesses. Lower tax rates across the board. Their tax plan had been discredited by 6 companies. We want to work with Congress to achieve this?
Moderator, “Can you guarantee that this math will add up?
Ryan, “Absolutely.”
Biden, “Mitt Romney said on 60 minutes that his tax rate is fair, even though he’s paying less than many in the middle class.”
Ryan, “Lower tax rates increase growth.”
Biden, “Oh, now you’re Jack Kennedy?”
Ryan, “You work with Congress. That’s how you get things done.”
Biden, “Bipartisan? ”
(Sorry, I’m laughing. It’s hard to type.)
Moderator, “How do you do this math while spending so much on defense?”
Why not leave Afghanistan now? What more can we accomplish?
Ryan, “What we don’t want to do is lose the gains we’ve gotten.”
Biden, “The fact is, we went there for one reason. To get those people who attacked Americans. We said we’d help train the Afghan military. We agreed on a gradual decrease until 2014. It’s up to the Afghans to take care of their own security. We are leaving in 2014. Period. And we will save $20 billion (disclaimer: I may have that number wrong).
Ryan then agreed that we would leave in 2014 with stipulations. Biden said, “We will leave in 2014. 49 of our allies said they were out by 2014. We have other responsibilities.”
Syria
Biden, “It’s a different country, heavily populated. We are working with people in the region. We need to identify who we can work with. All this loose talk with Romney and Ryan. All American needs is to get into another ground war. Every time the Governor is asked about this, when he gets pressed, he says he would not do anything different.”
Ryan, “Obama said Assad should go. It’s been over a year. Had we had a better plan in place to work with our allies. They bought Assad some time. Meanwhile about 30,000 Syrians are dead.”
Biden, “What would you do differently? You never answer the question.”
Ryan, “We should not have called Assad a reformer.”
What role has your religion played in the subject of abortion?
Ryan, “You want to ask why I’m pro-life? It’s not simply because of my Catholic faith.” Ryan went onto describe his experience in seeing his daughter’s heartbeat for the first time. “I believe life begins at conception.” With respect to abortion Ryan stated, this administration funds it. Ryan brought up religious liberty.
Biden, “With regard to abortion. I respect my church’s judgement but I refuse to impose that on others. I do not believe that we have the right to tell women how to control their bodies. With regard to which way we differ, my friend here is taking Romney’s view now, but in the past Ryan has argued that there is rape and forcible rape. I fundamentally disagree with my friend.”
Ryan, “If you believe that life begins at conception, that doesn’t change.”
Biden brought up the looming threat of more Justices being brought into the Supreme Court with an agenda.
Personal character. What could you bring to this country that no one else could?
Ryan, “Honesty.”
Breaking news: Ryan, like Mitt Romney is actually hallucinating a bipartisan Congress — the same divisive Congress that Ryan thrives in.
We can safely say that Biden owned tonight’s debate.
Image: ABC.
