Biden appeals to base, Ryan takes higher ground in debate

The only vice-presidential debate in the 2012 election season is complete and the verdict is in: Biden did exactly what the liberal base demanded and Ryan went for a broader audience.

Vice President Biden spent the debate pushing the liberal talking points by painting his opponent as killing medicare, gutting social security, being a warmonger and more – all while smiling like the Cheshire Cat, laughing while Ryan was speaking and even snorting during Ryan’s honest answer about his personal views on his religion and abortion. Biden also chose to interrupt the Congressman more than 80 times.

The Washington Times’s Emily Miller tweeted this:

Many more tweets were to be found criticizing the Vice President for his disrespectful handling of a U.S. Representative and V.P. candidate. Ultimately the debate came down to style vs. substance.

Perhaps Gary Young in his post at Guardian.co.uk said what some were thinking after the debate as he wrote that  “They fought to a bloodied draw in which Biden won on substance and Ryan won on style.”

Polls at MarketWatch.com and CNN show Ryan came away the winner while CNBC.COM’s unscientific poll gave Biden the nod.  In the end, it appears a draw, but there is more to consider.

(add your responses to the CDN debate questions at the bottom of this post)

Biden’s antics and rhetoric will only appeal to the liberal base that would have gone his way no matter what. Biden presented no plan for getting America’s economy going, fixing the massive debt crisis or dealing with the growing Middle-East mess – other than that he and Obama would do more of the same.

A key message from the debate was that Biden approves of how Obama has worked with Congress while Ryan says that the President needs to come to the table with a more open mind. Biden, and an obviously biased moderator, said that Ryan’s “framework” approach lacked details. Ryan pointed out that coming to the table with an all-or-nothing approach is why the government is so dysfunctional and that the President should present a framework within which Congress can feel free to negotiate, compromise and reach agreement.

There were no obvious gaffe’s or “there you go again” moments in this debate. The debate was likely lightly watched due to competing sporting events and the fact that VP debates have little impact on voters – people just don’t vote for the Vice President. Afterall, less than 8% of likely voters are undecided and they weren’t watching the debate.