I refuse to listen to the pre-debate commentary on teevee, but you can begin commenting here if you like. I’ll start the live blog at 9 o’clock.
* Well, it’s 9 o’clock. Wish us luck.
* Joe Biden says the last thing we need is another war.
* There’s a split screen on MSNBC that shows Biden reacting to Ryan.
* I want Biden to call Ryan out for saying anyone is “apologizing for our values.”
* There is no subsidy of abortion in Obamacare.
* Well, Ryan was clear about something. He wants to criminalize abortion.
* Ryan is anti-abortion because of reason and science?
* I think Joe is doing well so far. I like the question to Ryan, how will you change minds in two months.
* 47 PERCENT! Joe got it in!
Sic ’em, Joe. He’s on a roll.
Ryan is saying the economy is getting worse, and I don’t think that’s what people are feeling now.
Is Ryan even making sense now?
*Show me a policy!
WE DIDN’T SPEND MONEY ON ELECTRIC CARS IN FINLAND!
No, Social Security is not going bankrupt.
Sorry I’m not posting; I’m having a good time watching this.
Privatizing social security!
Who do you trust.
Oh, is Ryan leaving himself open.
No, he doesn’t have the specifics. He has a framework, no details.
Push him on the math.
How is American foreign policy “unraveling”? Does it seem that way?
Ryan is smacked down on Afghanistan.
Ryan is not making sense. We’re supposed to work with our allies but he doesn’t want to wait for allies.
If we don’t get to women’s issues there is going to be a of griping, but that would be the moderator’s fault.
Ah ha! abortion!
Joe said “forcible rape.”
47 PERCENT!
Ryan has been neither a convincing wonk nor a convincing salesman. He comes across as a callow little twerp.
Well, Chris Matthews is happy. Should everybody be happy?
* Twitter is alight with calls for Martha Raddatz to take over Meet the Press. And with that I will sign off for the night. See you tomorrow!
Weird debate format. Munster Malfoy gets to say a bunch of factually fanciful crap and then get a different question from Raddatz, without letting Joe answer.
“With all due respects, that’s a bunch of malarkey.”
Yeah, let the old man talk!
Wait, doesn’t Joe get to deal with the “apology” question?
At least we got Ryan acknowledging that pissing on dead bodies is worth an apology, whatever he means by “standing up for our values.”
Yikes, Ryan on Iran’s nuke capability. Sounds like a bunch of malarkey to me! Even former security chiefs in Israel disagree with what he’s saying.
“We wanna prevent war.” Smug smirking little f*ck. Gawd.
Ryan claims a Romney administration will have “credibility” for a peaceful solution in Iran. Um, how? What?
Joe sounds like he knows what he’s talking about on Iranian weapons. Like the “loose talk” line.
What the Ayatollah sees… my friend Bibi (ecch)… well OK, go, Joe!
Joe slams Ryan on the view from the ‘ayatollah’s point of view”.
OOOh, “facts matter”. Nice.
YAY! 47 PERCENT!!!
Joe’s on fire!
47%! Drink!
From 8.5% to 10% all over the country?! Absolute, massive LIE.
Uh oh Paul, don’t talk about a family car-crash tragedy at Christmas. And how wonderfully charitable Mitt is.
Romney’s a car guy? WTF?
And then he’s a guy who pays for injured kids to go to college?
Upward mobility? Riiiight.
One word…JOEMENTUM!
“I wish he would just….be a little more candid” Nice way to obviously veer away from calling him a liar outright.
I don’t think Ryan is making any converts tonight, but he’s not a disaster like Palin. Raddatz seems to me to be interrupting Biden’s rolls, and letting Ryan’s go unchecked. Not consciously biased, but some.
Raddatz seems to me to be interrupting Biden’s rolls, and letting Ryan’s go unchecked.
I noticed that too. But Joe’s getting wound up now, and at times Martha just has to shut up and let him roll.
Biden’s tannin’ Paulie’s hide, GO JOE!!
I hope everyone is watching it split screen the way MSNBC has it. Watching Joe while Ryan is talking is priceless.
Joe looking at the camera, good idea. Interrupting and laughing, not so good. He needs to turn to the camera and say: “Everyone, fact-check the heck out of this guy’s claims. Write a note to yourself and do it in the morning! Medicare, Social Security, Iran, the stimulus, all of it. FACT CHECK HIM. He’s not being truthful.”
Biden is ripping this reptile a new bunghole!
Bill Maher just tweeted “Hello, 911. There’s an old man beating a child on my TV.”
Bill Maher just tweeted “Hello, 911. There’s an old man beating a child on my TV.â€
Nothing else. Just bears repeating.
Arrrgh. The “there aren’t enough rich people to tax” dodge.
AAANnd, he attaches the “small business” crap.
At least he’s “dancin’ with the one what brung him”, and not disavowing all knowledge like Romney.
And now Raddatz is asking for the details. Good for her!
When is someone going to call these assholes on the lie that small businesses pay the highest tax rate? They don’t!!!
Lloyd Bentsen moment! DRINK!
Joe: “I was there when Reagan …” Nice. And then he points out the hedge funds are “small businesses”.
Joe’s getting a lot of mileage out of having been in the room back when Reagan and Tip O’Neill did their mythic deal. And I’m going to believe the old man on what has happened historically instead of that teenager.
Damn! Can’t anybody, meaning obviously Biden, just mention a little bit the the difference between top tax rate and the percentage of total income you pay? It does make a difference, and pointing it out would make it a little hard for Ryan to get away with back-to-back cites of top rates here and a world average percent of total income paid in tax.
Yikes, now Martha is debating Ryan! About military “cuts.”
One nuclear aircraft carrier is worth more than the entire US Navy before WWI. This making the Navy smaller line is complete cr*p.
What? They agree with the timeline, but they don’t want to give the enemy a date. Riiight.
And what is this whole “unravelling” meme he keeps mentioning? Does anyone understand why they believe that things are just coming apart in our foreign policy? Does the Arab Spring freak them out that much? From where I sit, the Obama foreign policy seems much more coherent and organized than the Bush one.
Goshamighty, here’s a guy arguing against plunging into a war for the fun of it. It seems Syria is not the same as Libya! Hoodathunk?
What is Ryan talking about? Russia and the UN and Syria?
“We would not be going thru the UN.”
YAH! BOOYAH! YOU ESS EH! YOU ESS EH!
wtf?! Unilaterally do what to Syria, dimwit?!
Munster Malfoy thinks he’s found his very own personal Saddam! Every worthless leader needs a bete noire, like the Bushes had.
Oh Joe, nail him on the contraception insurance versus practice of faith lie.
“Bean”? Is he calling his daughter a vegetable?
I find the whole discussion of people’s personal faith distasteful in the political context, but I have to say I find Joe’s discussion seems more heartfelt and honest than Ryan’s.
Biden has left Ryan looking young and inexperienced. Ryan is doing a good job, though on letting the Pope establish Vatican sharia in the USA. He sounds so sincere about his concern for the unborn from conception. Of course, I’m reminded of Monty Python’s “Every Sperm Is Sacred” song, with infants falling out and being kicked to the side until the house is so full that the children must be sold for “medical experiments” because Da cannot have a vasectomy, as that would be a sin.
Ryan summation: Lie lie lie, lie lie lie lie lie lie lie….
Simon & Garfunkel fan! I never would’ve guessed.
Yeah, just as Kerry’s talk of his religion had real content and feeling. And the unanimous choice of Winner in that one was Bush, whose platitudes were Sincere.
Oh lordy, 1950s style hokey Vote-for-My-Running-Mate speech in Ryan’s closing. AWFUL!
Wow, Biden mopped the floor with Paulie…
Now it all depends on whether the Prez can carry the baton next Tuesday.
Well, night y’all, it’s been fun. Hasta manana!
I thought Joe scored when he emphasized that he personally accepted the doctrine of the Catholic church that life starts at conception, but he would not impose that doctrine on all Americans, many of who are NOT Catholic.
Joe missed a shot when Ryan said that he would take the issue away from unelected judges and let it be decided by popular vote – that the most democratic option is to let women decide – and only allow state intervention when the fetus is ‘viable’.
“…but he would not impose that doctrine on all Americans, many of who are NOT Catholic. ”
Right on!
Joe was SUPERB. I really, really, really thought he kick Ryan’s butt– and he did!
Hee-hee. Just saw an S.E. Cupp tweet that called it a draw, but said Ryan won on style, because Biden looked “unhinged.” Well, I guess she knows about looking unhinged! Haw!
Wow, watching the MSNBC scroll of tweets is hypnotic. The GOP spinmeisters are hard at work, but not very convincing.
From now on Ryan will be strapped to the top of the campaign bus.
They sent poor little paulie out to do battle armed only with a script..I almost felt sad for him. Every dodge,home spun tale, diversion and deceit that Paulie threw up was knocked down or swept aside with a fury.. Paulie recieved the rod of correction.
I liked the ending where the moderator asked what do you “personally” give to the American people.. and Paulie launched into his Obama routine..Talk about going off on a tangent. Paulie got his mask really, really, ripped off.
I hope the people of Wisconsin were paying attention. How did the Bean relate to anything?
I think Paulie is going to be strapped to the front bumper.
Paulie didn’t even mention John Galt..Oh, the humanity!
I thought Joe scored when he emphasized that he personally accepted the doctrine of the Catholic church that life starts at conception, but he would not impose that doctrine on all Americans, many of who are NOT Catholic.
Yeah,Doug..Big score for Biden and the American public.
“Oh so you Kennedy now?”….clean up isle 2!. Paulie should not have worn sponge bob square pants panties to a boxer / brief discussion.
Just one thing about the life starts at conception thing..I have been thinking(heaven help us) that up to this point it has been acceptable to point the finger at
women..and I have come to the conclusion that when men are forced by law to stop masterbating because they are killing life all this f’ing nonsense would be OVER THAT DAY.Make them baby killers to everytime they want to “release the hounds” anyplace that could not end in conception. In one occurance one could become a mass baby killer…but suggesting THAT would be an outrage now wouldn’t it? Men , ask yourself, how many innocent lives have you taken(or left) by this insane logic? Welcome to our world.