Free Republic

So now we know what Team Obama's comeback plan was following last week's defeat in the Presidential debate. Unleash Joe Biden to interrupt, filibuster, snarl, smirk and otherwise show contempt for Paul Ryan. The carnival act contributed to the least illuminating presidential or vice presidential debate of our lifetimes. From the opening bell, Mr. Biden seemed to take to heart the interpretation that President Obama offered this week of his debate performance—that he had been "too polite." That was not a problem for the Veep, whose marching orders were clearly to steamroll the overmatched moderator Martha Raddatz and dismiss everything...

Podcast: Kristol Reacts to the Vice Presidential Debate

The Obama campaign is struggling to respond to mounting criticism of Vice President Joe Biden's bizarre behavior during last night's debate with Rep. Paul Ryan. Biden not only interrupted Ryan frequently--82 times, according to Republican National Committee chair Reince Priebus--but frequently laughed, smirked, and snorted at serious moments, showing contempt for his opponent and disturbing even friendly observers. A CNN poll conducted after the debate, which handed Ryan a narrow 48%-44% victory, also showed that Ryan had beaten Biden by an even wider margin when it came to "likeability." Viewers in the poll--with an admittedly small sample-- also said Ryan...

As I posted yesterday, I was worried about Ryan going into the debate and it was justified.  Unlike Biden, who has run for President twice and is in his second run for VP, Ryan never has been in a formal, moderated debate at the national level and so was a little unsure of himself from the get-go.  He really only warmed up near the very end when he rattled off all the broken promises for this administration (it seems by then Biden got too tired to interrupt him).  So Biden won the argument.  He won by interrupting him at least...

Everyone is talking about the laughs heard 'round the world. Vice President Biden smirked and scoffed so much that the issue consumed most of the post-debate cable news coverage. However, what wasn't mentioned was how Mr. Biden inadvertently made a strong case for Barry Goldwater's conservatism when it comes to the nature of the welfare state. Regarding the Obama administration's hard and fast deadline to remove all forces from Afghanistan, Mr. Biden said: "Unless you set a timeline, Baghdad in the case of Iraq and — and Kabul in the case of Afghanistan will not step up. They’re happy to...

(snip)Joey’s speaking parts didn’t really sound that much better than they looked. And they looked pretty bizarre.                              Or, as the <>Bookworm suggests (h/t Doug Ross), perhaps they just hired a new pharmaceutical provider. “Do you remember Jennifer Granholm at the DNC, when she was yelling and gesticulating wildly?  She was a 33 rpm record playing at 78.”     “Watching the Vice Presidential debate tonight, it was obvious that Joe Biden had broken into her medicine cabinet and taken twice the dosage.”   Apparently Big Guy’s advice to Little Joe was right on target: “I think...

Some of Biden's wife's Tweets during the debate last night: How badly do you want to take a razor to that little V of hair in the middle of Paul Ryan's forehead? Now let's all go back to forgetting about Kentucky until the next Kentucky Derby. Joe's using his thoughtful voice now. Joe's never given up on the idea that if you laugh hard enough you can float up to the ceiling. Joe's smiling so much because he wants to show off his recently bleached teeth, ok? Joe's wearing his "Gettin' Lucky in Kentucky" shirt underneath his suit tonight.

Riding a wave of building enthusiasm and favorable post-debate polling swings, GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney appears to have also jumped to an early lead in several battleground states, judging by party affiliation of the 522,719 votes cast so far in the US.

Vice President Joe Biden had one task in his debate with Rep. Paul Ryan on Thursday night: to regain the offensive against the Republican ticket after his boss, Barack Obama, all but relinquished the stage to Mitt Romney in the first presidential debate last week. Biden failed in that goal, for the most part, though the sometimes gaffe-prone vice president certainly did not embarrass himself. What the 69-year-old vice president needed to do in this debate was to use his vastly greater experience in public office—four decades’ worth—to show up his 42-year-old rival’s inexperience, especially in foreign policy. But Biden...

The Joe Biden Workout The vice president was everywhere at once. He probably won the debate. He definitely shed a few pounds. By John Dickerson|Posted Friday, Oct. 12, 2012, at 3:09 AM ET In the vice presidential debate, Joe Biden found a way to be both a participant and the guy in the Barcalounger at home yelling at the television. He interrupted Paul Ryan, moderator Martha Raddatz, and even himself with interjections, sighs, and quips. He appealed to the heavens, he looked to the floor. With all the activity, he surely shed calories. When he wasn’t engaged in those antics,...

Thursday evening's debate between the vice presidential candidates was historic... Never before have both vice presidential candidates professed membership in the Catholic Church and claimed with pride the name Catholic as an accurate description of their Christian faith. Yes, both Ryan and Biden profess the Catholic faith. However, there is a certain irony in the timing of their debate. On the day when Pope Benedict XVI commemorated the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council - and presided over the opening of the Year of Faith - the two Catholic participants in this political debate show the stark contrast right...

Vice President Joe Biden and Republican Paul Ryan took center stage on Thursday night for their highly anticipated debate. Biden was under pressure to help President Barack Obama's campaign recapture the momentum it enjoyed before Obama was outmaneuvered by Republican rival Mitt Romney last week in the first of their three debates.

I did my best to make you proud tonight. But I hope you remember one thing: This debate wasn't about me, or Congressman Ryan. It was about you, and what we're fighting for together. So if you're standing with Barack and me, like we're standing with you, please chip in $5 or more to show it: https://donate.barackobama.com/Our-Team Thanks, Joe

OVERVIEW Ahead of Thursday’s vice presidential debate, more voters view Joe Biden unfavorably than favorably, while opinions about Paul Ryan are more evenly divided. Biden’s image is far less positive than it was shortly before his 2008 debate with Sarah Palin; Ryan is viewed less favorably than Palin was just prior to the last vice-presidential debate. The national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, conducted Oct. 4-7 among 1,511 adults, including 1,201 registered voters, finds that 39% of voters view Biden favorably, while 51% offer an unfavorable impression of the vice president. Just more...

Paul Ryan had perhaps the question of the night when he challenged pro-abortion Vice President Joe Biden on the issue of the HHS mandate that compels them to pay for abortion-causing drugs.During the debate, Ryan brought up the controversial mandate that pro-life groups oppose.“What troubles me more is how this administration has handled all of these issues. Look at what they’re doing through Obamacare with respect to assaulting the religious liberties of this country. They’re infringing upon our first freedom, the freedom of religion, by infringing on Catholic charities, Catholic churches, Catholic hospitals,” he explained. “Our church should not have...

Biden was out of control in last night's debate. The sit-down format of the debate was deliberate and lends itself to this type of hyperbole attitude strategy exhibited by this poor excuse for a VP. Biden has that wicked joker smile, which is awkward and creepy... Nonetheless, Obama, mistakenly thought like in his own debate, that Biden did a good job. I can see Obama and Biden high-five'n each other in that corrupt, hood-winking, thuggish, Chicago-style poltician manner that only this Adminstration can. All this left me convinced that this administration has now become shameless in their pursuit of the...

RADDATZ: Good evening, and welcome to the first and only vice presidential debate of 2012, sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates. I'm Martha Raddatz of ABC News, and I am honored to moderate this debate between two men who have dedicated much of their lives to public service. Tonight's debate is divided between domestic and foreign policy issues. And I'm going to move back and forth between foreign and domestic, since that is what a vice president or president would have to do. We will have nine different segments. At the beginning of each segment, I will ask both...

Last night during the United States of America lone Vice President debate, it was a very live wire performance. It was simply the difference between a calm, measured, adult, Rep. Paul Ryan in his responses and a Vice President Joe Biden who was if not acting like a “clown”, he was sure acting like a “drama king.” Overall, it looked like VP Biden was simply was “cracking up” under the pressure to perform as Vice President. Looks like Rep. Paul Ryan was not only speaking to the GOP/Republican base, but to the rest of the country as a whole and...

Chris Matthews, in his epic post-debate meltdown after the Romney-Obama debate, had the most telling line: “this was not an MSNBC debate.” Matthews and other liberals were particularly upset that Mitt Romney had managed to actually speak uninterrupted, occasionally running over his time and requesting opportunities to respond to things Obama said (although the final tally showed Obama spoke for 4 more minutes than Romney, owing largely to his “umms.”). Tonight was a different animal. Joe Biden came in with one game plan: don’t let voters hear a word Paul Ryan said. The post-debate count circulated by the RNC showed...

I think both candidates basically did what they needed to do in the vice presidential debate, which leaves the Republican ticket in a slightly better position—since Biden’s goal was damage control with the base and Ryan’s was reinforcing a positive impression with persuadable voters. After the calamity they experienced in last week’s presidential debate, liberals needed to be bucked up by the Obama campaign, and I think they got that tonight. It probably came at a real cost—I have a feeling that Biden’s hyper-aggressive and at times buffoonish performance (and perhaps especially his Joker grin, which seemed to me as...