Posted on 10/11/2012 4:05:17 PM PDT by mdittmar
DANVILLE, Kentucky - U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden arrived here Thursday afternoon in a cavalcade of armoured vehicles to go head-to-head with Republican rival Paul Ryan in what could be the most important debate of his long political career.
Ryan said earlier this week he expected Biden to come out "like a cannon ball" in order to revitalize a Democratic campaign that has seen a drop in the national polls after U.S. President Barack Obama's sub-par performance in Denver last week.
"Joe Biden is one of the most experienced debaters we have in modern politics but the Achilles heel he has is President Obama's record," Ryan told reporters in Florida Wednesday.
Biden has been prepping for the debate with Maryland Rep. Chris Van Hollen, who served with Ryan on the House of Representatives budget committee and knows his style.
Biden is well-known for his folksy approach but also for his blunt language. His recent statements indicate that he has no intention of holding back.
This week he appeared to be sharpening his attacks on Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney by going after his taxes and bank accounts.
"He made over $13 million in income, almost all from investments which he paid in 17 per cent or less" in taxes, Biden told a rally. "He got millions; he has millions stashed in tax havens like Bermuda and the Cayman Islands. The guy had a Swiss bank account, he refuses to release 10 years of tax returns which he demanded of his running mate."
Referring to Romney's statement that 47 per cent of the American public lives off the government and can't be helped, Biden said the job of the president is to "lift people up, not to tear them down."
"When he said it's not my job to worry about 'these people,' well whose job is it?" Biden asked. "Ladies and gentlemen, we are our brother's keeper. We are one nation under God. We are all in this together, and if the 47 per cent doesn't make it, the country doesn't make it!"
Thursday's 90-minute debate on both domestic and foreign policy is Ryan's first since his initial run for Congress in 1998. The 42-year-old Wisconsin congressman was barely walking when Biden, 69, began his political career.
Ryan, too, is expected to come out fighting in the same quietly aggressive and determined style used by Romney last week. He has been prepping with Ted Olson, a litigation lawyer and former solicitor general.
Ryan told reporters in Florida before flying to Kentucky that he intends to speak in broad strokes and not get bogged down in details, according to the Associated Press.
"We've done debates in hotels around the country where I am at the time," Ryan told ABC News. "We sit around a table, we have a moderator, and he and I debate each other. He (Olson) knows my record, he's studied it, he's studied what we do in Congress, arguments that the president and vice-president use to try to win their debates by default."
Biden is coming to a state that his party wrote off well before the election campaign began. The Democrats national campaign headquarters gave no funding to the Kentucky organization, Danville campaign chairperson Roberta Zeller said. "We had to raise all our own funds," she said.
National polls show Romney has pulled even with Obama. But Obama still leads in the important swing states where the race will be decided such as Ohio, Pennsylvania and Colorado, while Romney has narrowed the gap and is now even in New Hampshire, Florida and Virginia. He is campaigning heavily in Ohio, which experts believe he needs to win.
Campaigners on both sides expect this race will be tight right to the finish.
” Biden is well-known for his folksy approach but also for his blunt language. His recent statements indicate that he has no intention of holding back.”
This is a Big F’n deal!!
Van Hollen is a nasty piece of work.
Desperation is Bolshies putting their hope in Joe.
They can spin whatever happens any way they want ......America will fall in love with Paul Ryan tonight.
Biden is indeed a master debater.
If he doesn’t drool or trip on his own feet, the left wing media will declare him the “winner.”
This is not a debate :It’s the moderator and biden reciting attack ads against Romney.
Interview on Fox had the Dem. saying they are going to pound away on the $5,000 dollar lie.
You know...it just might be to our benefit we have a fiscal wonk. The danger is in giving the democrats too many details and that is precisely what they a crying about. When the reality is any policy position has to go through congress, unlike 0bama throwing billions of dollars around through executive orders.
The Moderator is an Obamabot, so it should be OBVIOUS very quickly, as to how the questions are structured to favor the Dope.
Yup, they will really like Ryan after 20mins or so. After that the nastiness exuding from Biden will seal the deal for Romney/Ryan
If 0bama had won the first debate, the media wouldn’t be promoting THIS debate to the extent they are. After all, this is the VICE Presidential debate. Historically not nearly as significant, but today we’re led to think this actually is more important than the Presidential debate. What a farce the media is.
Martha will be coming to Boden rescue .
Look for some if the most slanted hate filled questions from
This Obama buddy for 25 years !
She will be so outrageous it will be the blow up the debate .
This creature hates Ryan !
Martha will be coming to Boden rescue .
Look for some if the most slanted hate filled questions from
This Obama buddy for 25 years !
She will be so outrageous it will be the blow up the debate .
This creature hates Ryan !
What is the over/under on Joe lies tonight? He is very good at it and rarely gets called on it.
Pray for America
>Biden: “we are our brother’s keeper.”
No, if the lazy shiffs were my brothers I’d tell them to get their @$$es to work and quit being a bum. (excluding the truly needy)
biden blows smoke and the 47% inhales it.
A small voice in the back of my head (screaming to get over all the other voices) is telling me that this will be a bigger blowout than the first debate.
Plugs will come off as an ignorant bully dick if he gets aggressive, and a classless clueless quisling dope if he doesn’t. Doesn’t matter. Ryan has more brilliant thoughts before breakfast than SloJo has all week.
Ryan has the experience to put the smarmy weasel moderator in place without blinking, and with a smile. I’m happy to see the presstitutes raise expectations so high for Biden. I haven’t finished the rules for tonight’s drinking game though. Probably be: take a sip every time Joe scowls and Ryan grins in return. I won’t make it halfway through the “debate.”
Biden’s bringing a knife to an air strike. Chris Matthews best be put on suicide watch ...
BTW, great tagline. I’d go F350 though :o)
My inclination is that you are right. Lets hope so, for the good of the nation.
” Biden’s bringing a knife to an air strike. “
LOL....best line of the evening!
Nothing we haven't heard before.
I think this will be a blowout. It doesn’t really matter how the MSM slants the debate....the people will determine who wins this, just like last time.
Ryan has been debating since high school.
Glock 19 vs a water balloon
LOL!
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