SALON

Friday, Oct 12, 2012 1:32 PM UTC

Biden hulks out

The vice president smashes Ryan -- and makes up for Obama's failure in the most recent debate

By

Topics: 2012 Elections, The American Prospect, Republicans, Democrats, Paul Ryan, Joe Biden, Vice Presidential debate,

Biden hulks out (Credit: AP/Pool-Rick Wilking)
This article originally appeared on The American Prospect.

The American Prospect “This is like the ‘Avengers,’ when the Hulk grabbed Loki and smashed him on the floor.”

I watched this debate in Chesapeake, Virginia, with a group of local Democrats, and it’s fair to say that they were excited by Vice President Biden’s performance in tonight’s debate. They cheered his jabs — “This is malarkey” — and cheered when he directly attacked Paul Ryan for his rhetoric.

In other words, if Biden’s job was to cover for President Obama and rebuild Democratic enthusiasm, then he accomplished it with flying colors. From foreign policy to Medicare to taxes and national security, Biden defended the administration’s policies and offered a strong retort to claims from Paul Ryan and the Romney campaign.

Biden was dominant throughout the debate, but there were particular areas where he was most capable. On foreign policy, Biden relied on decades of expertise to essentially box Ryan into a corner — by the end of each exchange, Ryan was willing to concede that the administration made the right moves on Iraq, Afghanistan and Iranian sanctions. Biden gave an excellent defense of the administration’s stimulus policies, while at the same time hitting Ryan for requesting stimulus funds. Other discussions were not so decisive — Ryan fought Biden to a draw on taxes — but in each case, Biden managed to put Ryan on the defensive.

One thing that stood out, throughout the debate, was Biden’s demeanor. Throughout, he laughed at and openly mocked Ryan, usually when the congressman made claims on foreign policy. Republicans were not happy with this — on Fox News, Brit Hume said that “Biden looked like a cranky old man, and Ryan like a polite young man” — but it’s not clear if undecided voters will see this as disqualifying. Indeed, despite his feistiness — bordering on aggression — Biden came across as a statesman: cool and confident. Ryan, on the other hand, was playing as the House Budget Chairman. And while that can be effective, it’s not the tool to bring to a stage like this.

Martha Raddatz was an excellent and effective moderator. She made a few missteps, but actually pressed the candidates on their respective positions. Jim Lehrer would do well to study her.

As for the polls, it’s hard to say what effect this debate will have. It’s possible that this won’t stem Romney’s rise in the polls. My guess is that it will; Joe Biden has energized Democrats, and — hopefully — convinced them of Obama’s willingness to fight.

Read more of The American Prospect at http://www.prospect.org.

More Jamelle Bouie.

Next Article

Related Stories

More Related Stories

Featured Slide Shows

The week in 10 pics

close X
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11
  • Lisa Montgomery embraces her nephew Thursday after a tornado tore apart her home in Cleburne, Texas. The twister killed six people and destroyed entire swaths of the North Texas town.
    Credit: AP/LM Otero

  • Jack McMahon, the defense attorney for abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell, speaks outside the Criminal Justice Center Philadelphia Tuesday. His client was convicted of killing three babies in his clinic, and will serve multiple life sentences.
    Credit: AP/Matt Rourke

  • A photo taken Monday captures Vice President Joe Biden's response to a Milwaukee second-grader's innovative proposal to end America's epidemic of gun violence. This guy!
    Credit: AP/Jenny Aicher

  • Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., flanked by a grouper-eyed Michele Bachmann, addresses the IRS' admission that it targeted Tea Party groups in advance of the 2012 election. In an op-ed for CNN Thursday, the Kentucky senator slammed the president for his faux outrage.
    Credit: AP/Molly Riley

  • Ousted IRS chief Steven Miller is sworn in on Capitol Hill Friday. Miller testified before the House Ways and Means Committee on the extra scrutiny the agency gave conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status.
    Credit: AP/J. Scott Applewhite

  • Attorney General Eric Holder pauses as he testifies on Capitol Hill before the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday. Holder is under fire, among other things, for the Justice Department's gathering of phone records at the Associated Press.
    Credit: AP/Carolyn Kaster

  • O.J. Simpson sits during an evidentiary hearing at Clark County District Court in Las Vegas, Nev., Thursday. Simpson, who is currently serving a nine-to-33-year sentence in state prison for armed robbery and kidnapping, is using a writ of habeas corpus to seek a new trial.
    Credit: AP/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Jeff Scheid

  • Major Tom to ground control: On Sunday astronaut Chris Hadfield recorded the first music video from space, a cover of David Bowie's "Space Oddity."
    Credit: AP/NASA/Chris Hadfield

  • When it rains it pours. President Barack Obama speaks during a news conference Thursday with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, inexplicably inspiring an #umbrellagate Twitter meme.
    Credit: AP/Jacquelyn Martin

  • A smoke plume rises high above a road block at the intersection of County A and Ross Road east of Solon Springs, Wis., Tuesday. No injuries were reported, but the the wildfire caused evacuations across northwestern Wisconsin.
    Credit: AP/The Duluth News-Tribune/Clint Austin

  • Recent Slide Shows

  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11

Related Videos

Comments

 4 Comments

Comment Preview

Your name will appear as username

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href=""> <b> <em> <strong> <i> <blockquote>

follow salon

Most Read

Popular on Reddit

links from salon.com

vote
New Yorker launches tool by Aaron Swartz to protect leaks: Strongbox, co-created by the late technologist, is an open-source drop box for leaked documents
238 points239 points | 8 comments
vote
New Yorker launches tool by Aaron Swartz to protect leaks: Strongbox, co-created by the persecuted late technologist, is an open-source drop box for leaked documents
174 points175 points | 1 comment
vote
Loaded terminology like "entitlements" and "welfare" skews the debate and alters America. How right-wingers use semantic tricks to kill government.
169 points170 points | 43 comments
vote
Obstruction will ruin the GOP: Playing politics and abusing the system can excite the extremes, but it's a recipe for long-term political disaster
53 points54 points | 8 comments
vote
How right-wingers use semantic tricks to kill government -- "...much of the U.S. economic security support system consists of subsidies for the affluent in the form of tax breaks, like those for private retirement savings plans such as 401(k)s and private employer-provided health insurance."
34 points35 points | 3 comments

From Around the Web

Presented by Scribol
listener_new_rect The Listener: So long, Sookie Stackhouse

Recommendations