Having slept on it, and read this morning’s ruminations from near and far, I haven’t had any blazing new insights on last night’s vice-presidential debate, but am convinced more than ever that Biden’s performance, whatever its effect on swing voters, dispelled a dark cloud over the Democratic tribe. And that’s not just because it might have interrupted Romney’s “momentum” or countered the president’s “loss” last week.
In retrospect, what dispirited an awful lot of Democrats about the first presidential debate was that it emblemized the fear that in an intense, high-stakes battle with an ascendant and radicalized conservative movement, progressive elected officials just didn’t have the willingness or ability to make a full and passionate case for their own cause. That was at the heart of criticisms not only of the president’s demeanor, but also of his many missed opportunities to rebut Romney and expose the rickety substructure of the mendacious self-presentation Moderate Mitt was attempting. And this is obviously a complaint that’s been just under the surface of mixed progressive attitudes towards Obama and many other Democratic leaders for years now.
Damn straight. We want fighters. The President let us down last week but he can recover. I know he is not as fiery as Biden and has a more measured “keep cool and calm” temperament, but the moment calls for righteous indignation and a fervent defense of all the good he has done. He is the most accomplished President since President Roosevelt. That is not spin, that is the fact. He needs to forcefully defend all he has done and will continue to do. He failed last week but hopefully he was taking notes on Air Force One while he was watching his Vice President fillet Congressman Ryan. Sure we don’t expect Biden’s laughter and eye rolls and the Biden Smile. But we expect the Obama smile and the patented Obama “That’s Not True.” I can hear it being said forcibly in my mind because the President has said it before. Now is not the time for politeness. Or kindness. If Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan are going to lie they need to be called on it repeatedly.
By the way, here is a pic of the President on Air Force One watching the debate:
Biden made the whole Democratic argument — on policy and values and he hit Romney really everywhere Democrats wanted him to. He left nothing unsaid. You can agree with those points or not. But this was exceedingly important for recovering the damage from last week’s debate when many Obama supporters simply felt that Obama wasn’t willing or able or something to make the case Democrats around the country are hyped up to make. Why didn’t you say this? Why’d you let him get away with that?
Biden said it all. And for Democrats around the country that was extremely important….
I suspect Ryan’s equivocations and unwillingness to give details will be the day 2 and weekend stories. But the most critical point in terms of the trajectory of the debate was that Biden left it all on the field.
Charlie Pierce in a pre-debate piece that proved to be spot on:
Joe Biden is not riven with self-doubt. Joe Biden is not exhausted by the hurly-burly of politics. Joe Biden is not burdened by the weight of events and laid low by the constant battle against know-nothing obstructionism. Joe Biden is not going to take the stage tonight and find himself wishing he were anywhere else. I mean, god be good to him, as my gran’ used to say, but Joe Biden actually likes all these silly performance pieces in which we insist he be engaged in order to stay vice-president. He revels in them. He would do ten of them a day, if he could. When I consider Joe Biden, and I look at the enthusiasm with which he throws himself into the various cataracts and torrents of hogwash that constitute our politics these days, I find myself looking at him the way I look at people who sky-dive or drive in demolition derbies. I have no idea why they do what they do, and I have absolutely no intention of doing it myself, ever, but, goddamn, do those people look like they’re having fun.
So tonight, when Biden takes the stage to debate Paul Ryan, the zombie-eyed granny-starver from the state of Wisconsin, it is very unlikely that the debate will hinge on whether either man really wants to be there. Biden eats these kinds of things on toast, and Ryan is as ambitious as Satan.
“The pressure is still on Obama in next week’s town hall-style debate in New York. But make no mistake: Biden — by turning his volume to 11 last night — takes some of that pressure off the president. If you’ve followed Obama over the past six years, you know it’s not his style to be overly aggressive. Well, Biden last night both gave Obama a roadmap for how to attack Romney-Ryan (on abortion, tax fairness, foreign policy), and he gave him room to do it in the way he feels most comfortable. The question is: Can he deliver? And can Romney deliver another solid performance? Obama is looking for a Goldilocks’ performance. Obama in Denver was too cold, Biden in Danville might have been too hot, and Obama, the sequel, has to figure out how to be just the right combination of assertive without being condescending.”
Too hot only for the mealy mouth goatee wearing pundits who are too chickenshit to call out lies. It was the perfect temperature for me.
CNBC: “U.S. consumer sentiment unexpectedly rose to its highest level in five years in October as consumers became more optimistic about the overall economy in a possible boost to President Obama’s reelection hopes next month.”
…and finally, from our illustrious founder Jason330, if you are a water bottle or some plastic container of water, you had better watch out. This guy will f*ck your sh*t up.
