A Few Thoughts on the VP Debate: Biden Took no Malarkey

There was no post from me last night, since I was participating in Rumproast's most excellent live blog (if I may say so) of the event, and finished up just a bit too knackered to get all my thoughts in a row.

Now that I've slept on it and tried for the most part to avoid post-gaming pundits--I'm still calling it a win. The trickle of commentary from RW commenters that Biden was rude or "uncvil" (isn't that what they call it when a lliberal sticks up for their ideals, anyway?) is a sign that Biden made a good effort to aggressively confront Congressman Ryan's rehearsed talking points.  The above picture nicely captures the big grin and occasional chuckle with which the vice president greeted malarkey he'd clearly heard before and been prepared for.

Here's the kind of dichotomy I'm talking about: when Biden got in his talking points (and I don't mind calling them that), he addresses letting Detroit go under, let the housing foreclosures go on, 47%— all positions that came directly from Mitt Romney.  He can disavow them if he likes, or have his running mate pretend he never said them--but they are real things said by the candidate.  What does Paul Ryan dish up? Death panels and the $716 billion dollar "cut" story--one of which was, as Vice President Biden pointed out, a pants-on-fire favorite fib of Sarah Palin, and the other which is a wholly misleading statement regarding what that cut means. They weren't real.  

Rep. Ryan has acquired a reputation as a serious, sincere young politician.  VP Biden's job was to expose the insincerity and unseriousness of his positions, and make him look a little wet-behind the ears. I think that was accomplished.