dagblog - Comments for "COME ON FOLKS; LIVE WIRE ON VP DEBATE FOR CHRISSAKES!"

Great opinion piece by

A Guy Called LULU — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 19:25:11 +0000

In reply to Rolling Stone: ...if you're

Great opinion piece by Taibbi. He showed brilliance in agreeing with me almost straight down the line. Even when he said that he was not that much of a Biden fan, although I just hinted at it. We, Taibbi and I, part slightly on the laughter. I also believe it was a good tactic because, although I didn't say it, it is the correct and natural reaction to what he was listening to. I just thought it was overdone a bit, but that is a completely subjective conclusion, all that it can be by anyone, even by the millions of Republicans who thought it was way overdone and offensive.

I thought his strongest bit was when he looked at the camera and asked, "Who do you trust on this". For the segment of our population that worries about losing S.S. that was an affective statement even though he really only said that Obama would never privatize any part of it, not that he wouldn't compromise its future.

Rolling Stone: ...if you're

NCD — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 18:25:41 +0000

In reply to Every single one of us has

Rolling Stone:

...if you're going to offer an across-the-board 20 percent tax cut without explaining how it's getting paid for, hell, why stop there? Why not just offer everyone over 18 a 1965 Mustang? Why not promise every child a Zagnut and an Xbox....

The Romney/Ryan ticket decided, with incredible cynicism, that that they were going to promise this massive tax break, not explain how to pay for it, and then just hang on until election day, knowing that most of the political press would let it skate....

The proper way to report such a tactic is to bring to your coverage exactly the feeling that Biden brought to the debate last night: contempt and amazement....if you're not one of those rooting gazillionaires, you should laugh, you should roll your eyes, and it doesn't matter if you're the Vice President or an ABC reporter or a toll operator. You should laugh, because this stuff is a joke, and we shouldn't take it seriously.

2010, 2008 & 2006 elections

Richard Day — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 18:18:38 +0000

In reply to Every single one of us has

2010, 2008 & 2006 elections demonstrated to me anyway that the 'public' (whoever that is) can be rather fickle? at times.

You are certainly right about me anyway. Hell we had a dem sitting in our Congressional Seat for over 60 years? and the people in my county voted in a goddamnable repub who voted for every single bill the repubs passed in the House for the last two years.

And I did not vote for the sumbitch and never could vote for a repub because that repub--the most moderate of repubs--will caucus with the repubs, vote repub 96% of the time; that repub in the Senate will filibuster 99% of the time with all the rest of the repubs and end up making the poor poorer, the rich richer and the middle class beholden to corporate monsters.

That repub will not even attempt to do anything for health care, clean air and clean water, Civil Rights, voting rights, or even real energy independence since FOX and rush and all the other fascists have done nothing but attacked wind and solar and geothermal progress in this country.

Yeah, I know who I am voting for before the election, but a good portion of the citizens in this nation do not.

It all boils down to salesmanship.

And Joe did a good job selling last night!

Every single one of us has

A Guy Called LULU — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 17:33:31 +0000

In reply to COME ON FOLKS; LIVE WIRE ON VP DEBATE FOR CHRISSAKES!

Every single one of us has known for a long time, probably at least thirty years on average, who we were going to vote for in this coming election. That is also true for almost every other voter in the entire country. It is also true for most of the self-identified undecided's.

Now, on to the analysis you have all been waiting for, mine.

First, no one here and no one anywhere who has been paying semi-attention to politics learned anything new last night. Most judgment is about presentation and the perceived or predicted affect that the different presentations would have on other people.

Both sides obviously had a strategy. Ryan's seemed to be to run out a long list of charges which Biden would never have time to refute and also make his own points. Expecting this, Biden had to have a method of showing his disagreement as Ryan droned on and looking down or looking over respectfully obviously wasn't going to work. What was left? He had to just smile or laugh whenever Ryan put out some B.S. so as to indicate that we were hearing b.s. Like we didn't already know that. Unfortunately, that led to too much smiling and laughing which started to look like smirking. To me anyway. I agree with the call. I think the execution was fairly poor because it was overplayed.

Early on I thought Ryan was winning big and he seemed to be doing all the talking and taking a lot more time, but I ended up thinking Biden won overall. Biden began shifting into quick short interruptions so that the false statements couldn't pile up unopposed. Not polite but effective and necessary and I didn't feel that he did it to any unacceptable degree.

Mostly in the final third or so, Biden started speaking very forcefully and with some anger. As a tactic, and because I wanted him to win, I think that was smart, but, when he was in this mode he was looking straight at the moderator and often seemed to be directing his anger at her. He should have been looking at his "dear friend" Ryan when he was morphing into alpha-dog macho man of principle that would stand, by God, for something, I forget exactly what.

Biden in a close win that will most likely change nothing.

I have seen at least five

Richard Day — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 15:17:58 +0000

In reply to This video of the reaction of

I have seen at least five repubs today all speaking the same sentences at different times. These folks even pause at the exact same phrases.

Joe was rude and Joe was crazy and Joe was lying and Joe is an embarrassment and...

Oh who cares.

I just find it the normal course of things for these 'experts' or 'pundits' or journalists to receive the same frickin memo every goddamn morning and spew out its contents onto the air like a college kid spews out his innerts due to a drinking binge the night before.

I didn't draw a conclusion.

Dan Kervick — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 15:01:46 +0000

In reply to You didn't watch the debate,

I didn't draw a conclusion. I said I was guessing. Believe it or not, for centuries people followed debates by reading about them.

"Quite" should be "quiet".

Ramona — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 14:57:23 +0000

In reply to Totally agree, Teri. To

"Quite" should be "quiet". Sorry about that.

Vote Romney/Ryan if you think

NCD — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 14:45:51 +0000

In reply to COME ON FOLKS; LIVE WIRE ON VP DEBATE FOR CHRISSAKES!

Vote Romney/Ryan if you think keeping our kids in RC-East forever, fighting the Taliban, is a great plan, and if you think 'government by voucher' and tax cuts for billionaires, is the road to prosperity and the way to run a country.

Ryan had that glassy eyed vacant stare I have seen from religious fundamentalists who smile and tell you the revealed truth is the earth is 6000 years old. Jesus rode on dinosaurs? Ryan has equal faith in the usual lethal concoction of GOP snake oil.

Maybe some deep pocketed lobbyist will buy Ryan another $700 worth of Jayer-Gilles 2004 Echezeaux Grand Cru French wine to dull his recollection of having his ass handed to him.

Michelle Goldberg does a good

Elusive Trope — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 13:04:48 +0000

In reply to Totally agree, Teri. To

Michelle Goldberg does a good job summarizing the abortion discussion during the debate, and what it means if Romney/Ryan get into the White House, including Joe's great response:

Americans are ambivalent about abortion, but they don’t want to make it illegal. By speaking in religious terms, Biden was able to combine his personal opposition to abortion with a strongly pro-choice stance.

This video of the reaction of

Elusive Trope — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 12:52:41 +0000

In reply to COME ON FOLKS; LIVE WIRE ON VP DEBATE FOR CHRISSAKES!

This video of the reaction of the focus group shown on Chris' Hardball last night is interesting. Of the 8, at least 2 were in Obama camp after the debate, 1 iffy for Obama, and 1 now in Romney's camp, with the remaining 4 still undecided. That probably is close in my opinion to how it played out in the swing states. Obama might see a point bump in the polls, but any surge Romney received from the first debate is over. Now everyone will focus on the second debate.

Overall, the Democratic base will see Joe as winning, the Republican base will see Paul as winning, and among the others it is mostly a draw. On a substance level, Biden hit home a number of points - Medicare, abortion, Afghanistan - that will respond well with many of those in the undecided camp at this moment. Moreover, he gave new energy to the Dem base, which is was one of his key goals.