There were a lot of wonderful, Joe Biden moments during his debate last night with Ayn Rand devotee and Eddie Munster look alike Paul "Lyin'" Ryan. One was the moment that Lyin' claimed falsely that we've had the types of massive tax cuts on the wealthy before, and mentioned President Kennedy. Joe shot back, "Oh, now you're Jack Kennedy." Lyin' looked as if suddenly developed diarrhea. Lyin' also stumbled on what he policy for Afghanistan should be, indicating that we should be committing more combat troops, not fewer, a very unpopular position. Finally, Joe did what the President failed to do in his closing statement: he called out the Rethug ticket on the "47%" statement and their dishonesty about tax policy and priorities.
You could tell the Rethugs knew they lost when they began yipping about Joe's aggressiveness and his grinning and laughing at Lyin's statements, even attacking the moderator, Martha Raddatz. But the VP did exactly what was needed: reenergize the base, and win some independent voters over. In focus groups held by NBC and CBS immediately after the debate, undecided voters gave the VP the clear win. We'll see whether the debate had any definitive impact over the next few days, but it's clear that Joe gave the ticket renewed energy.
(photo: the Happy Warrior)
BONUS I: It's well worth reading Esquire's Charles P. Pierce on last night's debate. He always has Lyin' Ryan pegged better than almost anyone.)
BONUS II: It's good to see the Obama campaign jump on Lyin's evasiveness last night in this video:
