V.P Debate.No Clear Winner, Plenty of Smirks

President Obama's campaign strategists denied that Biden's laughter was part of a premeditated strategy, even if it appeared to be a tactic intended to get into Ryan's head during the debate.

First the smirks: 

"It was the vice president having some fun," Obama campaign manager Jim Messina said. "It was the vice president being a fierce advocate for the middle class, and I think that's who the vice president is.

There was a lot for both sides to like in Thursday’s vice presidential debate in Danville, Ky., and each appears to have viewed the evening as a win, or at worst, a draw for the home team.

A few other quick observations on the first and only debate between Joe Biden and Paul Ryan:

Biden’s favorable rating

While Democrats loved Biden’s attacking posture, the frequent interruptions, laughing and smirking at Ryan’s answers won’t help his favorable rating with voters. Gallup reported before Thursday’s debate that the vice president is already underwater: 44 percent of Americans view him positively and 45 percent negatively. Among independents, his numbers are even worse: 37-47.

Biden’s debate demeanor probably won’t improve those numbers with conflict-averse indies and might even deepen the hole a little.

Biden 2016

The vice president delivered the combative performance many Democrats wished Barack Obama had given in the first presidential debate. That will win him some points with the party base, which will prove useful if he’s indeed interested in running in four years.

Biden might be popular among Democrats, but he’s not popular enough to clear the field, so anytime he endears himself to the grassroots he bolsters his 2016 prospects.

Ryan meets the bar

In his first national debate, Ryan held his own against a seasoned pol who was elected to his first public office the year Ryan was born.

He didn't deliver a bravura performance but the stature and experience gap, especially on foreign policy, wasn’t nearly as pronounced as it might have been. The Wisconsin congressman’s style was authentic, he didn’t get too rattled by Biden’s interruptions and, most important, he showed he belonged on the stage with the vice president.

No clear-cut winner

Unlike in the first presidential debate, there was no obvious victor in Danville.

Biden’s forceful performance accomplished its goal of reenergizing the campaign and will drive the narrative of the debate. But his over-the-top style – when contrasted against Ryan’s cooler demeanor and obvious preparation -- will detract from what was otherwise a solid evening for the vice president.

 Lying? yes

Both candidates took liberties with the facts and sought to call each other out for it. After the debate, they were reinforced and supplemented by reams of campaign press releases and third party emails elaborating on the opposition’s litany of lies.

As a result, despite the rise of independent fact-checkers, beefed up campaign research shops and an uptick in media interest in fact-checking, it’s harder than ever for the average voter to cut through the clutter and make sense of the claims and assertions made by the candidates – even the ones that probably rise above simple evasion and customary exaggeration to qualify as outright lies.

Source (politico, yahoo, adamfoxie)