Worst. Debate. Ever.

 

Wow, that was painful to watch! I kept wishing the clock would strike 10:30 and this whole scenario would finally go away and leave me alone.

I have never witnessed anything so repugnant in my life as Joe Biden's condescending smirks and mocking laughter. He acted like a jackass. In the process, I thought he demeaned himself, his running mate, the offices they hold and the country they supposedly govern.

On the other hand, I thought Paul Ryan's display of self control was phenomenal. It must have been incredibly difficult to refrain from punching the guy's lights out. I don't know what the undecideds thought of it all but I do hope they  were able to look away from Biden's mugging long enough to hear at least some of the warnings Ryan was trying to impart about the dire situations we face, both at home and abroad.

At this point, I think rather than this sort of a "debate," perhaps an old-fashioned duel is in order. 

Seriously, what's happened to the idea of "a man's word" and the concept of honor generally? I recently got an email forward about all the things that, if you can remember them, pronounce that you're officially Old. Metal ice cube trays with a lever to loosen the ice. One bathroom shared by all. One telephone in the house, either in the front hall or living room. TV stations that went off the air late at night, playing the national anthem and a poem about Gd... and not coming back on the air until 6 AM. Bicycles that weigh fifty pounds and have only one speed... that sort of thing. I must say it came at a time when I was vulnerable to nostalgia, wishing for a time when I couldn't have imagined a White House peopled by incompetents, snide fools and ill-meaning thugs.

 

Instant polls noted by Michael Barone:

• CNBC Ryan 56%-36%
• CBS Biden 50%-31%
• CNN Ryan 48%-44%
• AP Ryan 51%-43%

 

 

Comments

[Mannie Sherberg]

Those facial distortions we saw from Biden were not -- as the media would have it -- "smiles" or "grins." They reminded me of those pictures of wolves just before they attack their prey -- fangs bared for the kill. In fact, there was something predatory about the whole performance. BtB readers who are old enough will recall that these were the same lupine leers we saw on Biden's face years ago, when he chaired a couple of Senate committees at hearings for Clarence Thomas and Robert Bork. Again and again back then, we saw the same smirking delight in toying with his victims, the same rapacious satisfaction in destroying -- or trying to destroy -- another human being. Biden is a nasty piece of work -- a politician with more than a hint of the depraved. If the American people weren't convinced before, they should be now: The time has come to evict the adolecent brat and his debased henchman from the White House -- and replace them with a couple of mentshen.

[Elan]

Ryan was a mensch and Biden was a buffoon, but we already knew that. What struck me was the lie about Libya and the proud desertion of Afghanistan by a fixed date, without reference to conditions on the ground. In 2001 the U.S. sent troops to remove the Taliban and in 2003 sent troops to remove Saddam; the country in between Iraq and Afghanistan was Iran, which promptly suspended its nuclear program, while Libya abandoned its own. With Obama removing all U.S. forces from Iraq and announcing an absolute withdrawal from Afghanistan, it is no wonder that Iran is now approaching the finish line of its nuclear program and al Qaeda murders the U.S. ambassador to Libya on 9/11 without fear of any response other than an investigation. Perhaps Obama will put Biden in charge of it.