Smokin’ Joe

Bill Clinton saved President Obama at the convention. Joe Biden saved him last night. Now it’s up to Obama to make his case.
 
Biden was by far the dominant figure in the VP debate. At a minimum, he won by showing some fight and rallying panicky Democrats. Past that, your opinion of the debate probably depends on whether you liked his act.
 
The talking heads on TV shouldn’t pretend to know how that plays. It’s fine to say: “I didn’t like it” or “I thought it was great.” But how do they know what undecided voters thought? That will sort out in the days ahead.
 
It was revealing that criticism of Biden focused on style. On substance, he did some big things: He questioned Romney-Ryan’s slippery $5 trillion tax math. He savaged them on Medicare and Social Security. And he made Ryan look like a hypocrite for attacking the stimulus after asking for stimulus money.
 
As the debate went on, Ryan looked more and more over his head. He didn’t do much to help Romney, and he didn’t do much to help his own chances in 2016.
 
Bottom line: When the other side complains about (a) the moderator or (b) your guy’s behavior, your guy won.
 
Most important, Biden bought Obama a mulligan. Whatever headaches the Vice President gave the White House over the last four years, he earned his keep last night.
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Gary Pearce

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Smokin’ Joe

Bill Clinton saved President Obama at the convention. Joe Biden saved him last night. Now it’s up to Obama to make his case.
 
Biden was by far the dominant figure in the VP debate. At a minimum, he won by showing some fight and rallying panicky Democrats. Past that, your opinion of the debate probably depends on whether you liked his act.
 
The talking heads on TV shouldn’t pretend to know how that plays. It’s fine to say: “I didn’t like it” or “I thought it was great.” But how do they know what undecided voters thought? That will sort out in the days ahead.
 
It was revealing that criticism of Biden focused on style. On substance, he did some big things: He questioned Romney-Ryan’s slippery $5 trillion tax math. He savaged them on Medicare and Social Security. And he made Ryan look like a hypocrite for attacking the stimulus after asking for stimulus money.
 
As the debate went on, Ryan looked more and more over his head. He didn’t do much to help Romney, and he didn’t do much to help his own chances in 2016.
 
Bottom line: When the other side complains about (a) the moderator or (b) your guy’s behavior, your guy won.
 
Most important, Biden bought Obama a mulligan. Whatever headaches the Vice President gave the White House over the last four years, he earned his keep last night.
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Gary Pearce

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