This evening’s vice presidential debate showcased what a debate is meant to be about: policy, competency and passion.
Vice President Joe Biden was the clear victor tonight. He was substantive on each issue and authoritative in his answers.
To be sure, Biden’s grinning throughout was strange and distracting. But Ryan underperformed. He was competent at best and his performance was made up of a series of talking points, not clearly articulated policies.
Indeed, Ryan was the clear victor on the situation in Benghazi where Biden was on the defensive. He showcased why this issue should be important to Americans and that it was a major misstep, and cover-up, by the Obama administration.
But overall, Ryan lost out to Biden on the economy and on Medicare, two of the central issues of this campaign. Biden was able to effectively and persuasively argue that he and President Obama have been working for the middle class the past four years to ensure that they pay no more in taxes and are given the best shot at an even playing field by increasing taxes on the wealthy. He was authentic and aggressive. His passion for the middle class shone through while Ryan struggled to explain his plan.
Ryan was unable to answer Martha Raddatz on the specifics of the Romney/Ryan tax cuts. These cuts have been discussed for months and yet we still have no answer as to what loopholes they would close to raise money or how they would pay for their proposed 20% across the board tax cut. The Romney/Ryan plan came across as vague at best.
Biden was also effective in debating Ryan on Medicare. While Ryan was clear on the details of his plan, Biden turned his words against him. Biden was able to argue that the Romney/Ryan ticket would privatize both Medicare and Social Security. And they would create a voucher system. Biden came out as the defender of the average American.
And while Ryan did well on the situation in Libya, he flailed on Afghanistan. He would not fully commit to leaving Afghanistan in 2014, but did not put forward his ticket’s plan for withdrawal.
Beyond the policy issues themselves, there was one major area that Biden was able to clearly and decisively win: trust. Biden did what Obama should have done himself which was to look into the camera and say, “do you trust me or do you trust him?”
It remains to be seen if Barack Obama can muster as much passion and energy for his own agenda as Biden did for it tonight. Indeed, Biden’s message and passion underscored how truly weak and lacking the President’s performance was last week. Similarly, Paul Ryan’s sober and occasionally deflating performance underscores how compelling Governor Romney was last week–and the enormity of the challenge he faces next week in the town hall debate.