Smirk Til It Works
By Mitch Berg
The smirking? The 82 interruptions? The incoherent girly giggling?
No big deal. I expected that from Biden.
Biden’s approach to the debate was, in a conventional social sense, “rude” – but this is politics. Conventional rules, at least under the surface, are more or less irrelevant.
For starters, Biden is well aware that virtually nobody changes their mind over the Veep debates. The Veepstakes are all about getting bases jazzed for the final sprint. And what you saw was the comparison of the tactics the campaigns believed with reach their various bases.
Ryan was thoughful, on point, intellectually cogent, and stayed on the message – “we’re going to start making the tough choices, and get people back to work” – the sort of things the conservative base is concerned with.
Biden was arrogant, blustery, giggly, interrupting constantly – he was, in fact, the very model of the modern Liberal. The model of the lefty base is, in fact, Fast Eddie Schultz and Chris Matthews.
I don’t think it was just boorishness, though. Biden is a bobblehead, but he’s not stupid. I think he knows that if the whole country was talking about what a jabbering, smirking, inappropriately-giggling jag he was, they would spend less time talking about the past four years, Benghazi, four years of 8% unemployment (not to mention the most important issues of the past year, last Wednesday’s debate and Big Bird).
So far, it’s working.
But the part that I wanted to yell from the mountaintops? Bident’s closing statement. He stated his purpose, and the administration’s as making sure the “playing field is leveled, they, in fact, have a clear shot, and they have peace of mind”
Government-leveled playing fields are level. They are as clear as an IRS form. And government doesn’t give peace of mind (barring the bits and pieces of safety net that actually serve as safety nets, which we already paid for, thank you very much), it only takes it away.
Red meat tofu for a not-so-bright base? Absoluteley.
Deserving re-election?
Pfft.
October 12th, 2012 at 8:12 am
I give Biden credit – he did exactly what he was sent out there to do. (He also didn’t say anything racist which was a welcome surprise.) After last weeks debate, the Democrat base was demoralized and Biden was sent out to put the defibrillator paddles to the flagging Obama campaign. When your base is people who are as low information as one can be and still function, smirks, snorts and dagger eyes are highly effective. (Just heard Viking punter Chris Kluwe claim that Biden’s “dismissive looks” refuted the facts and numbers Ryan presented – the bar is really set low with these folks.) Perhaps the old PJ O’Rourke line works best to describe the state of the campaign – “The dog is dead but the tail’s still wagging”.
Best description of the event I saw last night (not sure if it was HotAir or Ace): Biden was the angry old drunk, Raddich was the put upon bartender and Ryan was the traveling salesman with the bad luck to wander into this particular establishment.
October 12th, 2012 at 9:13 am
I’m sure Biden had the Rachel Maddow wing pleasuring themselves last night, but he did nothing to counter the public’s conclusion that the country is one heartbeat away from the worlds first Cartoon Network President.
October 12th, 2012 at 9:17 am
Saw it pointed out elsewhere that Biden did a very effective “Chief Wahoo” impression. Considering the fact that Native Americans consider “Chief Wahoo” racist, my statement above that Biden “didn’t say anything racist”, while technically accurate, was in error. I regret the error.
October 12th, 2012 at 9:33 am
I, too, want a government leveled playing field. See…I got this idea for a solar panel. My company? It’s in great economic shape! So when can expect my half a billion dollar …ahem…”loan”. (wink, wink)
October 12th, 2012 at 10:14 am
Joe was being Joe. He’s as diplomatic as an earth mover. The “level playing field” is code-speak for government control and it sells well to their constituency. The Veep debates don’t win or lose elections. It amazes me that Joe had to rehearse for a week.
Bottom line: Joe is a boor, but we knew that. Ryan is a wonk, but we knew that. No points.
October 12th, 2012 at 11:00 am
With all due respect, gracious host, I don’t think that the government playing field is level, as Adrian ably demonstrates.
Now Adrian, if you want that half billion, you’ve got to get rid of that pesky “Business Plan.” How do you think you’re going to go Chapter 7 after receiving that half billion if you have a coherent business plan, silly? :^)
But seriously, I have the hope that people will see the smirks and boyish laughs and ask themselves “do we want the guy a heartbeat away from the White House to think major policy matters are a junior high boy’s joke?” That said, PT Barnum was correct in noting that nobody ever lost money underestimating the intelligence of Americans.
October 12th, 2012 at 12:35 pm
So now the PTR media is checking into Biden’s contradicting claims on Benghazi. Biden says he and Obama didn’t know that there were repeated requests for enhanced security as these requests apparently didn’t get to them.
So he’s saying that the State Dept. (ie: Hillary Clinton) was freelancing? How’s that going to go over with the Clinton’s, particularly Bill?
Hillary has claimed she’s done in ’13 regardless who wins, but who would want the potentially preventable death of an ambassador in their legacy as Secretary of State?
Also, how is Petreaus going to feel about his intelligence agency being held up for ridicule so these two bozo’s can posture about their foreign policy chops?
October 12th, 2012 at 12:58 pm
bubbasan, Chapter 7 was the whole business plan all the time for Soyndra. Don’t you know that those good folks at Solyndra planned to fail the whole time, but to spin off immense tax breaks for the folks who invested in them? You know, running the the whole corporate tax loophole scheme that Democrats supposedly are against? Except when they’re for it, like this time.
October 12th, 2012 at 1:08 pm
Joe was being Joe. He’s as diplomatic as an earth mover.
Many a liberal and media type has said that about Joe, as if it’s an excuse for being a boorish idiot. Ryan was a cool wonkish type, just as he was when he demolished Obama at the healthcare summit.
That’s probably why CNN’s poll showed Ryan more capable, more likable, and with better command of the subject matter. All the polls showed the same thing, except for CBS’s “instant” poll and the poll of HuffPo bloggers.
October 12th, 2012 at 2:53 pm
I heard a snippet on the radio this morning that a poll indicated women of both parties, were generally put off by Biden’s overall behavior.
October 13th, 2012 at 7:11 am
Biden got the side out in the eighth after the starter suffered a meltdown. Tie score, ninth inning. New game.
Or maybe we should think of the election as a marathon. Paul Ryan can knock one of those off in a couple hours. Honest.
October 14th, 2012 at 12:00 am
AC, if you are doing any collective endeavor, and you look up and see Biden near the high ranks, even if he is just delivering coffee or making sandwiches, you should turn the hell around and run the other way.
Just one human being to another.
October 14th, 2012 at 7:45 pm
Shoulda thought of that before your guy decided to run with Eddie Munster.