Politics & Government
Who Won the Vice Presidential Debate?
Did Joe Biden and Paul Ryan impress you or were they full of malarkey?
Talk about a debate. Vice President Joe Biden and Rep. Paul Ryan came out swinging and never backed down during the Oct. 11 vice presidential debate.
In contrast to the much more staid presidential debate, Biden and Ryan went toe-to-toe in Danville, KY, in a debate split between domestic and foreign issues. The men interrupted each other frequently, sometimes raising their voices — and in Biden’s case, throwing up his hands.
Biden and Ryan challenged each other at almost every turn, accusing the other of misrepresenting facts, budget calculations, past records and pretty much anything else they could disagree about. (Fact-checkers, of course, are already parsing the statements.) While moderator Martha Raddatz, ABC News chief foreign correspondent, exercised more control in keeping the candidates on point, she allowed them to debate directly with each other as well.
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Big Bird stayed out of the conversation this time, but the infamous "47 percent" came up, unlike in the presidential debate. Also addressed were the terrorist attacks in Libya, Syria, job creation, pulling out of Afghanistan and even how the candidates' Catholicism affects their position on abortion rights.
While Obama and Romney were allowed to talk at length—drone on, some said—Biden and Ryan lobbed one-liners at each other with aplomb.
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“Mr. Vice President, I know you're under a lot of duress to make up for lost ground …” Ryan said to Biden at one point, referencing President Obama’s poorly received debate performance.
Meanwhile, Biden busted out “malarkey”—twice—and at one time retorted to Ryan, “Oh, now you’re Jack Kennedy.”
What did you think of the debate? Was it a good mix of issues? Did you get the information you wanted from Biden and Ryan?
Tell us, Patch readers: No matter who you support, who turned in the better performance in the vice presidential debate?
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