FeedVintage Joe Biden Hits a Home Run for the Team
October 14, 2012 in 2012 Obama-Romney Race, Presidential Debates
Round Two of the four presidential and vice-presidential debates is over and we head into Round Three on Tuesday. This time President Obama and Mitt Romney will face off in a town hall meeting setting at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. After the first debate, media coverage was deluged with talk of style – how President Obama was passive and Mitt Romney stole the show with his aggressive and appealing style, and his “new found” moderate image.
After Thursday night’s vice-presidential debate, the media chatter focused again on style – Vice President Joe Biden’s embullent grin, his animated gestures, and his aggressive interruptions of Congressman Paul Ryan versus Ryan’s steady, serious presentation. With all of this focus on style, one would think we were getting ready to hire a leading stage actor for the latest Broadway play rather than elect the leader of the most important nation in the free world. Whatever happened to considerations of substance – the significant differences in the policy agendas of the Obama-Biden and Romney-Ryan teams??
Let me say that I have known Joe Biden personally since he was a freshman Senator in the United States Senate back in the 1970’s. As Joe stated so well at Thursday’s debate: “I say what I mean.” What you see is what you get with Joe Biden. He is passionate about his beliefs, smart as a tac, and compassionate about other people, particularly working class folks. He has inexhaustible energy and will fight for what he thinks is right. He is sincere, candid, and genuine. I have watched him up close sway the positions of other U.S. Senators time and again on the floor of the Senate by the persuasiveness of his arguments and his natural charm and personal charisma. And, I have watched him from afar serve as a wise and experienced advisor and partner for President Obama during the last four years as Obama charted his presidency.
Sure, whenever I have been in Joe’s presence, it is often hard to get a word in edgewise because he often has a lot to say! And, maybe he did smile once too often on Thursday night. But, come on, had Vice President Biden sat there looking down and taking notes and nodding like President Obama did during the previous debate, he would have been blasted for being too reticent. Joe is Joe. He may be over the top at times in his expressions. That’s vintage Joe Biden. But, he is effective and knowledgeable. And, he has the experience required to be one step away from the Oval Office.
In my opinion, Biden hit a home run Thursday night – holding Ryan’s feet to the fire on the Ryan/Romney Medicare cuts and their vague tax cut plans, chiding Ryan for Romney’s opposition to the auto bailout and his 47% comment, taking Ryan to school on several foreign policy issues where Ryan’s inexperience showed, and using his feistiness and assertiveness to stand up for the Obama/Biden Administration, re-energize the Democratic base, and redirect the media focus away from Obama’s poor debate performance.
As my previous post on the “Two P’s” that are key to this election – program and performance – states, the Obama-Biden ticket is still ahead in terms of the balance and fairness of their economic plans for the next four years. But, in the first debate, President Obama allowed Mitt Romney to highlight his effective leadership skills and drape his more conservative policies in moderation with appealing warmth if not details. Voters want more rapid progress in reviving the U.S. economy. Next Tuesday, President Obama needs to re-take the helm and convince voters that he can lead more effectively during the next four years if he wants to prevail in November.
In the meantime, I, for one, give kudos to Vice President Biden for a job well done.
