There’s nothing funny about squashing the American Dream, Mr. Vice President
UPDATE: Revealing Politics has a brilliant video out on Biden’s inappropriate laugh. Check it out after the jump.
Yesterday, we wondered which Biden would show up to the VP debate tonight – master debater or drunk uncle? Last night, Americans witnessed Biden the Bully in arguably the most disrepectful debate performance we’ve ever witnessed. According to Fox News anchor Chris Wallace: “I don’t believe I have ever seen a debate in which one participant was as openly disrespectful of the other as Biden was to Paul Ryan.”And, Wallace was not the only one who thought so. Time‘s Mark Halperin criticized Biden’s style as “way too manic for most of the debate. Grinning, twitching, laughing, smirking, interrupting, blinking, sighing, stammering.” In contrast, Halperin had this to say about Ryan’s peformance: “Did a mini-Romney, throughout: firm and tough, presented his case as planned, unflinchingly hard on the Obama administration without self-consciousness or overt hostility. Waited patiently to answer questions (in contrast to his opponent), then replied cleanly with prepared statements.”
Pundits weren’t the only viewers who noticed Biden’s odd behavior. A post-debate CNN poll of registered voters found the following:
- Who won the debate: 48% to Ryan and 44% to Biden
- Better communicator: 50% to Ryan and 41% to Biden
- More likeable: 53% to Ryan to 43 percent to Biden
- More qualified to be president: Ryan: 60% qualified to 38% not qualified; Biden: 57% qualified t0 42% not qualified
This morning, the Colorado Women’s Alliance released this statement confirming CNN’s findings:
“Last night’s debate showed stark contrasts between the two VP picks for voters. A vote for Biden as VP is a double down on four more years of record debt, record poverty and chronic unemployment. Polls already show that Biden’s disrespectful, boorish, and openly contemptuous demeanor during the debate was off-putting for voters; our country desperately needs Ryan’s leadership.
If American women want financial security and independence, they won’t fall for the left’s scare tactics meant to distract from this adminstration’s unfortunate bungling of the economy and national security. Ryan’s moral clarity regarding fixing our economy for future generations is attractive to all women who care about our dismal economy and all their loved ones who are affected.”
Even worse, a Pew Research Center and Washington Post poll found that more people use negative words like “idiot” and “buffoon” when asked for a one-word description of Biden, according to Daily Caller. But, maybe they were just reacting to Biden’s frequent and bizarre fits of laughter throughout the debate. Daily Caller‘s Matt Lewis asked “Will Joe Biden’s laughs be the new Al Gore sighs?” The Republican National Committee quickly pushed out an ad noting Biden’s inappropriate laughter throughout the debate.
While Obama supporters may be high-fiving this morning, it’s only because Biden was comparatively better than the empty chair Romney debated last week. Biden’s distasteful performance last night did him no favors among independent voters.
11:00 AM Update: Check out Revealing Politics’ video “No Laughing Matter”
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