How do people like this find their way into positions of power? I intentionally chose not to write a snap analysis after last night because a) I was feeling a little too strong a fit of anger over what I'd just watched; and b) Verlander was dealing. Come to think of it, maybe I switched A and B there. But I really did think it would be wise to sleep on it and see how I viewed things with a little more rest and a clearer head.
So here we are at the morning after, and all I can think to say is: Joe Biden has to be about the biggest ass on the face of the Earth.
It wasn't just his behavior - the smirks, the forced laughing, the yelling, the dismissive condescension. That was bad enough. But the far worse part is what informed it. These clowns have failed in every conceivable way. And yet here is Old Joe, letting us know during every second of the debate what a total drag it is that he has to sit here alongside this unworthy challenger and put up with such indignities.
I don't think Biden is a stupid man. I don't think he really believes the crap he says about Obama's policies working. He's been around this country long enough to know what better times look like. What is really appalling about Biden is that I don't think he cares. Yeah, Team Obama has run the economy into the ground, run up the debt, shoved government health care down the nation's throat, gotten their own ambassador to Libya killed, stunted job creation and royally screwed up hundreds of other things. Yeah? So what? Joe's going to spew whatever bull**** he needs to in order to keep these same jerks in power - because that's what you do in politics.
Joe's main accomplishment in life has been to survive in politics, and he survives by playing the game well enough to keep winning elections. Joe doesn't know how to solve problems. Joe knows how to play the game.
Since the Democratic/media narrative after the first debate was that Obama was too passive, Joe figured he needed to go out there last night and act like a street fighter. So that's what he did. He interrupted. He yelled. He waved his arms. He mocked. He shook his head. He muttered. I'm sure he made his base feel better, because he was a "fighter" or whatever, but he shed no light on anything and offered not one single solution to any problem. His entire objective last night was to make his aggressiveness the next day's headline, and absolutely, whatever he needed to do, make sure that Ryan's substantive arguments were not the headline.
Perhaps the fact that even this piece is focusing on his behavior demonstrates that he succeeded to a degree. Democrats are scared out of their minds by Ryan precisely because he understands the nation's problems and presents the facts to the American people in a clear and understandable way - and he offers solutions. They realized what a big problem it was last week when Mitt Romney actually had the opportunity to show his real self without having to go through a media filter or the obfuscations of the Obama campaign. When people actually saw and heard from the real Romney, they liked him a lot better than they had been led to believe they would.
The Democrats had to do whatever it took to make sure that didn't happen with Ryan. They had to distract. They had to scream. They had to make faces. If Ryan was able to be heard loud and clear, they would be finished. Fortunately for the execution of this strategy, they had the right guy for the job - a man perfectly willing to beclown himself if that was what it took to manufacture this cacophony. What is anyone talking about this morning? Not entitlement reform. Not the deficit. Not Libya. Not unemployment.
We're talking about Joe Biden's behavior. Joe the unhinged jerk if that's your inclination. Joe the gritty street fighter if you're so inclined. But not solutions to the nation's problems. And that was Biden's intention all along.
I'm not so sure that's a good strategy for the Obama campaign. In fact, I suspect it will not play well with undecided voters. But the mere fact that this was Biden's intention tells me that he is truly a detestable man. I am appalled that he holds high political office in this nation, and I'm appalled that Barack Obama chose to put such a total ass a heartbeat away from the presidency.
A night of peaceful rest only served to affirm this. I hope the rest of the nation saw it the same way.