Here are my impressions from listening to, but not watching, tonight’s debate.
Congressman Paul Ryan is a well-informed, fact-filled young man, an expert on the Budget of the U.S. His depth of experience is in the House of Representatives, with special expertise in budgeting. Mr. Ryan feels passionately about economics, debt, and numbers.
Vice President Joe Biden is an older man with a depth of experience in life, and nearly unparalleled experience in American politics and world affairs. Mr. Biden is passionate about people, particularly workers and soldiers.
Joe Biden may have appeared condescending to his younger challenger; Paul Ryan may have appeared to have a bit of a wise-guy attitude toward his more mature adversary. The two men — both Catholics — gave sincere and differing points of view on the abortion question.
Martha Raddatz is an outstanding debate moderator.
Which man, Paul Ryan or Joe Biden, or both, do you believe is prepared, if necessary, to assume the responsibility of commander-in-chief and president.
— John Hayden
Living Simply And Still On The Grid 
C. Martha Raddatz. Can’t stand smarmy career politicians – too entrenched, too in love with the sounds of their own voices, too accustomed to recitation of unsupported “facts”. This debate only looked interesting because the presidential debate was so painstakingly bland. But it’s still the same old song and dance.
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Term limits would do a world of good for American politics. I agree, Martha Raddatz would make a very interesting candidate. We can only hope.
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Raddatz would be interesting. But if we are talking real world, there is no imagining Ryan in charge of a nation in which real people live, breathe and suffer. He simply shows no sign of understanding what that means. He is an actuary who will balance the books for his masters no matter who has to choke or drown to get his columns to zero out.
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Yep, Ryan is one-dimensional. All his expertise is in one narrow area. As a president, he’d be a puppet for his “expert” advisers; or if he insisted on taking charge, he’d be an adolescent bull in a china shop.
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What stumps me is: to what degree do people like Paul Ryan really think they are Fighting The Good Fight? I think we can all agree that the Sarah Palin. shucks-y’all Tea Party types are just narcissistic idiots childlishly excited at the idea of driving the train despite zero knowledge of how to do so. But — taking into account Ryan’s own obvious narcissism (the BS and totally irrelevant marathon time, for example) — does he honestly think he is saving the country from something? How many people like him really do think that? And is it really doom they see themselves fighting, or just the horrible prospect of people who aren’t white and Catholic and wealthy having any leverage? (Cf. William F. Buckley.) I never know whether the right plan is to roll over them or hope to reason with them — not on the debating platform, but at some point when their power could be redirected for good.
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Stumps me too! I think the “fighting” probably boils down to class warfare. People like Ryan forget which class their family was in; people like Joe Biden remember.
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