I'm pretty happy with Biden's performance last night. Particularly
on foreign policy, I thought Ryan was out of his league. On Afghanistan Ryan’s repetition
of Afghan cities reminded me of the young person who learns a new word while in
High School and then uses the word 19 times in the next school paper he writes.
We get it, you learned a new word. This does not make you an expert on The Catcher in The Rye. Actually it does
not really even guarantee you read the book. In lock step with the polling
data, the Repubs support the 2014 withdrawal date from Afghanistan. This of
course is true for most all Americans, with the only exception being those, like me, who would like to see a faster withdrawal.
Romeny & Ryan have no specific proposals for Iran beyond sanctions
already in place, and they have no plans for Syria beyond what Obama is doing.
In general their entire thrust seems to be the use of tougher language, which
to me has made them look at times, undisciplined and dangerous. I was struck
that Ryan mentioned there would be no American boots on the ground committed unless
vital US security interests were at stake. When pressed by Radditz on
Humanitarian missions, he backtracked; which pretty much negated the first part
of his statement. Still it sounded like a pretty high bar. Not sure if this
leaves them committed to military action in Iran, which I am sure they will
soon discover would be really, really dangerous and opposed by the American people
looking for a jobs plan which is not limited to military enlistment. Not to mention that it would hamstring their agenda, basically limit their options on almost everything else on either the tax or
spending side. None of their blather means anything. Right now there is not a hair
width’s difference between the parties. Obama has picked up some of the most aggressive
Bush era policies. He’s been anything but a dove.
However, there is one looming political issue. Biden’s
answer on Libya was troubling. Yes, the Repubs have made dramatic cuts to the
Embassy security budgets. For the Repubs to make this a purely partisan game of
blame the President is ridiculous. That being said there are always, or at
least always should be enough resources to defend any particular embassy which
comes under specific threat. I refuse to believe that the Administration was locked
in, hands tied by the evil Republicans, to letting those people die in Benghazi.
Biden’s comments last night both in terms of when they knew that it was a
terrorist attack, and whether or not security was requested by the Embassy
prior to the attack, have not been substantiated by the recent testimony in
Congress. Chris Wallace on Fox last night did say there was some support for
the security request scenario, but that there were many conflicting stories
there and that the facts have not fully come out. That seems pretty fair and
about right to me. Regarding the issue of when the administration knew it was a
terror attack and specifically whether or not UN Ambassador Susan Rice went on TV
and lied to the American people seems far more problematic. While I will leave
room to acknowledge that more facts may come out, right now it seems to me,
that when the ambassador went on those Sunday shows, the Administration MUST
have known that the attack was not a spontaneous demonstration run amok, but
rather a terrorist act. In other words, she lied.
As a Democrat, knowing that the Repub budget, tax and
entitlement proposals don't add up, and suggestions otherwise are laughable,
Biden had a better debate performance. Some of what the Repubs are proposing is
just plain cruel, and by the way with a filibuster proof majority/minority in the
Senate will not pass. Even overturning ObamaCare
could be pretty tough, though they could defund it to such a dramatic extent it
would stand as an eviscerated shell.
But I have to wonder sometimes where the Repubs are really
going. The personhood amendment, which would criminalize abortion, if passed
would probably leave them out of power for a generation. The Medicare stuff
will never pass. I just do not believe that when the legislative sausage is
made in Congress-- here again, particularly the Senate because of filibuster --
will turn Medicare into a voucher program. The uproar would be tremendous and unlike
the corporate sponsored Tea Party outrage at the town hall meetings, grass
roots real. In general I am quite confident there is no appetite across the
country to let poor people die without Medicaid sponsored health care. Let me
restate that, there is no filibuster proof majority. Just as there is no
screaming desire to let millions of children go hungry without school lunch
programs, or cut spaces for Pre-Scholl education, or cut back on Veteran’s Healthcare
and rehabilitation benefits. For all the talk about PBS and Big Bird, it is such
a small amount of money it is just a silly distraction for both parties, things
they focus on because the real life and death issues, critical to people’s
lives, those issues they are afraid to touch. On budget matters Romney and Ryan
have shown zero courage. Obama and Biden deserve a little more credit, but not
much. Given the chance last night to state the obvious that the retirement age
will need to go up, Biden passed. The Republicans
talk about cutting the budget, but have offered even in the Ryan plan precious
few specifics.
But taken as a whole, and assuming the worst in November, I just
to do not think Americans are so cruel that when faced with the real impact of
what these cuts would mean, they will ever pass. Add in the tax cuts which will
absolutely benefit the rich—they are the ones paying for Romney’s election-- and
it’s really hard to see where this goes legislatively.
Still Biden had a good to very good night. That being said
those that think Biden ran Ryan off the floor are I think are drinking Kool-Aid
laced with hallucinogens. Republicans, I would think, are pretty happy their boy
didn’t crash and burn. (How could he? He was constantly, constantly, dousing himself
with water). I would guess independents
saw this through the prism of whomever they are leaning towards.
I do think Biden won from this perspective: The next debate is
next Tuesday, just a few days. During that time the narrative shifts again. For
the last few days it has been all Romney swept the floor with Obama, now there
is a new story for a few days. The bleeding I think has stopped and that is as
good as it gets right now. Moreover, Romney made progress in polls, but did not
close gap in all the swing states he needs to win. I think the president still has a slight,
slim edge, and I think this debate pretty much locked that in til the next
debate. Elections will come down to each party’s ability to turn out there
base, and Biden fired up Dems again.
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