An aggressive Vice President Joe Biden went after Rep. Paul Ryan on the economy, taxes, foreign policy and more throughout their 90-minute debate in Danville, Ky., on Thursday night.
Frequently scoffing and smiling at Ryan's claims, Biden several times explicitly cast doubt on the GOPer's veracity and command of the facts.
Unprovoked, Biden brought up Mitt Romney's devastating 47% remarks, in which the White House hopeful dismissed nearly half of the electorate as government moochers—and which President Obama failed to mention in his own debate last week.
"It shouldn't be surprising for a guy who says 47% of the American people are unwilling to take responsibility of their own lives," said Biden. "My friend [Paul Ryan] recently said in a speech in Washington said 30% of the American people are takers. These people are my mom and dad, the people I grew up with, my neighbors. They pay more effective tax than Gov. Romney pays in his federal income tax. They are elderly people who in fact are living off of Social Security. They are veterans who are fighting in Afghanistan right now who are not quote, not paying taxes."
WATCH THE CLIP ABOVE OF BIDEN'S 47% ATTACK
That testified to a combative approach throughout from the vice president, who, in a likely successful effort to re-enthuse Democrats after Obama's limp performance last week, repeatedly sought to challenge Ryan on everything from social programs to jobs to national security.
Of course, Ryan got a zinger of his own in when he referred to the interruption-laden debate.
"I know you're under a lot of duress to make up for lost ground, but I think people would be better served if we don't interrupt each other," Ryan said, referring to President Obama's poor debate performance last week.
The high-stakes faceoff kicked off with a discussion of the deadly attacks at the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, with Ryan criticizing Obama's initial unwillingness to call the violence terrorism.
Biden promised to pursue the attackers, and vowed that any mistakes in the original assessment of the attack would "not be made again." He also ripped Ryan for not laying out a clear plan on foreign policy.
At one point, Biden declared that Ryan was full of "malarkey" after the Republican accused the president of advocating "devastating defense cuts."
The two also traded blows on Iran, with Ryan insisting the U.S. was failing to stop Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. Biden countered by insisting that his team has implemented the "most crippling sanctions in the history of sanctions."
The debate got personal —and serious—when moderator Martha Raddatz of ABC News asked the two candidates how their Catholic faith has played into their personal views on abortion.
Biden said his religion teaches him that life begins at conception, but would not impose his beliefs on all Americans. "I do not believe we have the right to tell people, women, they can't control their body," the former Delaware senator said.
Ryan said he is against abortion, but would include exceptions in cases of incest, rape or when the life of the mother is at risk.
One of the night's most memorable lines came during a discussion of tax policy. Ryan insisted that Mitt Romney could make good on his promises to lower tax rates without increasing the deficit.
"Not mathematically possible," Biden quipped. "It is mathematically possible," Ryan insisted. "Jack Kennedy lowered taxes and raised revenue."
Biden shot back, "Oh, now you're Jack Kennedy?" That evoked memories of the famous moment in the 1988 vice presidential debate in which Lloyd Bentsen schooled Dan Quayle. After Quayle brought up JFK, Bentsen replied: "Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy, I knew Jack Kennedy, Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy."
Leave a Comment:
Joe spanked the little bad Ryan baby. ;-)
Go Joe go! Re-energized!
joe came across as an ignorant blowhard
im not a dem or repub,im a independent & a pesky fact checker cause they do matter.i disagree with you though Biden came out fired up aggressive and on the ball calling Ryan out on malarkey.mostly facts few discrepancies here and there.as for Ryan....alot of what he said was untrue.id say in the debate category Biden won here,last week Romney won.guess the playing field is up for grabs 1-1.
bill-1455818 just don't know the facts. Sounds like you listen to Fx Nws for your misunderstanding of the world.
Joe, looks like you bought the " Republican Handbook Of Catch Phrases To Avoid Intelligent Political Conversation"...
Paul Ryan's voice was a problem. He does not project and there was no depth to it. So beside missing a heart perhaps he’s missing his Adams Apple too. It was not even close. Biden cleaned his clock and made him drink a lot of water. Why did he not ever answer the "30% welfare state" quote? Biden threw that at him twice.
Excellent debate, Joe Biden showed that he's not to be played with. Mitt and Ryan have shown that they aren't even on the same page. Ignorance and stupidity aren't what our country needs,wants or deserve. Thank you Mr. Biden,and I am looking forward to the next Presidential debate on Tuesday....Go get them Mr. President and Mr. Biden.... Kansas City, Kansas is with you..All day everyday...
Nice to hear the facts being put out to the public. How many watched the debate? My guess is that the polls will move in Obama/Bidens direction. Much better debate than expected. Facts presented with passion va Malarkey presented with no feelings or compassion. Surprising that the brains of the GOP and the person with all the numbers sure could not answer the questions, present specifics, or do anything except parrot talking points he memorized. My guess is that this debate sealed the deal for Obama for many people.
Joe Biden never gets the credit he deserves!
Superb debate for VP Biden!
Absolutely superb!
Ryan looked like a complete amateur next to Biden. It wasn't even close.
Way to go Joe!
Way to go!
I thought it was impressive when he backed Ryan into the corner during the Iran portion. Used Ryans words to basically say they would go to war with Iran. Brilliant and i believe true. Great job Joe across the board. He set the table nicely for Obama and the next two debates. Go figure the strategy that worked wonderfully was to throw FACTS at them.
Joe Biden was superb in this debate!
He crushed Ryan and made him look like a complete amateur.
It wasn't even close. I guess it's easy to win when you're genuine and the other guy's not. Joe Biden made Ryan look like a slick, used car salesman on his first day.
It was almost sad.
Way to go, Joe!
Way to go!
Biden kicked butt tonight! I wasnt surprise at the gusto that Biden had tonight. Ryan is such a fool! He double talks on issues concerning women rights, Medicare and foreign policies. The GOP just dont get it! They all live in a make believe world where women, the poor,the elder are mooching off the govt and they have to step in and control them. They refer to the programs setup to help/assist people as ENTITLEMENTS". Do know the first thing the Republicans did when they won the house in the last election? Start the process to cut unemployment benefits for the unemployed. That was main reason that they were elected in the first place (mainly by the unsatisfied unemployed worker) to replace the DEM that they thought wasnt doing enough with the putting them back to work. Republican convinced them that they could do a better job, and their way of helping the unemployed out was to cut how long they receive unemployment benefits. That was hilarious! The people was bamboozle! That says a a hellva lot about how they see the hard working and struggling American citizens who keep American running! GOPs and the teabaggers want to go back to the way it was when blacks knew their place and stayed in it, women couldnt vote or had any rights, the elders would slowly die away and forgotten because they r no longer r useful. This is the 21st century and we r still struggling with the issue of voting, women getting paid the same as a man in the same position, women having the finally say over their own bodies and taking care of those who have trouble taking care of themselves! This is crazy!! We have gone to the moon, have cellular phones, the world wide web and finding cures for diseases that in the past devastated millions of lives...what is wrong people! Dont they see that change is inevitable. Only those who wont let go of the past, fight the hardest against change. Racism and fear is the biggest culprit! The rich white man is doing everything he can do to gain back the control and power that he sees slipping away slowly. He has lost control over his woman, the minorities r in position of power now and knowledge is readily available to anyone who wants it. Now if he can convince a few (1% of rich) that the rest r worthless and lazy, maybe he can steal another election. Because thats the only way Romney/Ryan gonna win the Presidential election in November!
Hey MsBye - couldn't agree more with you. It is insane. Make no mistake, these right wingnuts wrapped in the flag, thumping their bibles are fascists. They want a one party system and a society comprised of 2 classes: the ruling class and the rest of us serfs. Some of these teabaggers are hate-filled sociopaths who society should be protected from. Instead they're in Congress making our laws. Please tell everyone you know to vote. This election is so important.
Joe won hands down in a language we all understood.. a down to earth man who knows his stuff. :)
good debate last night - both sides made points- winner is the american people we got insight into real substance
just to add further- joe was on fire, but ryan showed hes not ready to be president yet - but look out he will be a force in the gop for years to come - last night was just his baptism- he will learn
btw im an independent from wisconsin
You know the other side has lost when the only thing they talked about is how Joe Biden chuckles through out the debate. Do they expect him to "cry" each time Ryan lies?" Biden did what he had to do by laughing off each of Ryan's lies.
Lyin Ryan's nose grew more each time Joe caught him fibbing. He's a snot-nosed lying punk. Biden knew his facts and wouldn't let fakin Ryan steal the action with his deception.
Typical leftwingnut impressions mostly seen in the above comments.
Biden was aggressive to the point of being boorish...his smiling, scowling, and constant interruptions reminded me mostly of the style Al Gore brought to his debate in 2000. It didn't serve him at all well according to the vote by a focus group of undecided voters assembled by CNN, especially with the women voters. As a group they wound up voting 1/3rd in support for Ryan winning the debate, 1/3rd for Biden, and 1/3rd still undecided on that overall impression, so no clarity again.However, they registered in their own positive-negative simultaneous tracking impressions measured throughout the debate that Biden only had 5 high points in the debate, while Ryan registered better with 8. And as to low points, they assigned 8 to Biden, and only 1 to Ryan.
It was quite evident that Biden again made the cardinal mistake of trying to take his arguments to the Moderator, instead of the TV viewing public. Biden, like Obama last week, even delivered his closing remarks to the Moderator. He was trying to rally the Democrat base. Ryan was speaking to the Undecided Voters primarily, and secondly to the Republican base. He closed the debate speaking directly to the viewing public, making his case there, and not to the Moderator. On debate style points, Biden lost, Ryan won.
Especially telling was the continued lack of taking any responsibility for the fiasco in Benghazi, Libya last month that resulted in our Ambassador and three colleagues being assassinated by a terrorist militia linked to Al Qaeda on the 11th Anniversary of 9/11. Biden continued the dissembling position of the Administration that they had not been aware of the requests for more security at the Consulate and the Embassy in Tripoli, and he refused again to tell the truth that there had been ample evidence within 24 hours of the attack on our consulate that there had been no "spontaneous popular protest that grew out of hand" as had been this Administrations weak attempt at a coverup for their lack of preparedness. I for one was looking for this VP that had been chosen by Obama to be his foreign policy expert within the administration, entrusted with many responsibilities on the military preparedness policies and intelligence services from his long years as Chair or ranking minority member on the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee to step up. To admit that they had screwed up, were unprepared, and misjudged, and promise to make sure that nothing like that ever happened again if they were given another 4 years. But instead Biden doubled down on the lame excuses that they never knew that requests for more security had been made prior to the 9/11 anniversary and the Ambassadors visit to Benghazi, and that the now fully exposed lie that the intelligence they received for two weeks after the killing by terrorists was the line they were spinning about a protest outside the Consulate that never happened. So FORGET YOU! There needs to be a change, folks. Aggressive lying we don't need from our most senior elected officials...out with them in November.
Yep, the whole parade is out of step but Grandpa Fuzz... BTW, there's a line down below you'll probably want to steal. I should probably give my permission, since you will, anyway...
Paul Ryan should go back to being a wienie salesman for Oscar Mayer.
CNN is owned by Turner Broadcasting. Ted Turner has openly supported Romney. There is clearly bias. As for Libya, if you follow international news, was subject to daily protests the weeks leading up to 9-11. What is different about this "alleged" terrorist attack is that no group is taking responsibility. Romney was criticizing the present administration prior to knowing any facts, or did he know the attack was coming. Setting up an attack seems like an appropriate conspiracy theory. The truth will prevail.
Cabbie,
Sure you don't want to go for the " My Bologna has a first name" song?
Hey Keith - I agree Romney and Ryan only lie half the time. The rest of the time they withhold their magical plans and calculations and ask the public to just trust. They'll let us know their secrets after they're in the White House. And Mitt's taxes....there's no problem, trust him. If you have no problem with that (because a politician NEVER lies and disregard the bus of nuns calling out Ryan as a shameless liar), you're what's referred to as perfect cult material.
Cabbie - If Oscar Meyer would have him...they've got their standards.
Best tweet of debate: Ryan is a nervous Walmart manager. Biden is an irate customer with the receipt, the warranty & he's friends w/ the store owner.
Fortget the style and the comebacks, for once we have heard the downright mendacity that pemeates the Republican rhetoric exposed. It is about time somebody called them and Biden did. Now Obama has to follow suit and there lies the rub!
Biden won the debate, hands down. why are we still discussing this. He was right, strong, and clear and anyone or anything that says different is just republicans conversation money!
JOE BIDEN GREAT JOB. The only thing I saw was Ryan was thirsty,thats what happens when you really dont know what youre talking about. I get very angry when ryan talks about s.s and medicare,Im on both. Ive worked since I was 16 yrs old,I not YOU PUT THAT MONEY THERE, thats not an entitlement its money I saved for my old age,do you understand I PUT IT THERE. you on the other hand took SS when you probably didnt need it.What I would like to say is you go back to JANESVILLE maybe you could open that plant that you lied about. Ryan say romney would make a great leader, when he received his DRAFT NOTICE AND PUT ON A TUTU AND RAN TO FRANCE,that not the leader the AMERICAN PEOPLE are looking for.
Poor Ryan It was like having a discussion with a Grumpy Drunken Fool!
Wait until the truth is finally exposed about Libya. This administration is involved a coverup that will make Watergate look like Sesame Street.
What do you base that statement on? Watergate: Republican, Richard Nixon had some chronies break into the DNC Headquarters to try to steal an election. Libya:
Infomation was given to the public that didn't started with an assumption and finally a conclusion "terrorist attack" .
Where is the cover up> We all heard the same thing.
I agree and as a mother I would want everything clarify.
When a wise person debates with a fool, the fool rages and laughs, and there is no peace and quiet." . . . Proverbs 29:9.
I thought the Joe Biden did a wonderful job in the debate last night, he was passionate and truthful and he was right to the point with his answers and exposing the lies that Romney and Ryan are telling, He just did a damn good job.
I think Joe left Paul Ryan in the dust! People think it was a draw, I don't see how when Joe had the facts and the truth unlike the Republican team who makes things up every time they get in front of a microphone!! It is easy to give a different answer everytime you are faced with the same questions!! That's all they got!!