Bath-Salts Biden

Exactly why Joe Biden and the Obama campaign thought that independent/undecided voters would react favorably to Joe's act as a strange, insufferable jerk during the VP debate last night is a mystery to me.

Except for hard core liberal voters who already hold any Republican in contempt, I can't believe that there could have been any positive for Biden-Obama from this other than maybe the idea that by slinging lots of mud it would leave some on the other guy, not just him.  I guess that's something for them.

I thought the debate review from the Wall Street Journal this morning was perceptive.  A few excerpts:

"On nearly every specific issue on which Mr. Biden attacked, he was demonstrably wrong. The Administration's Medicare actuary really does say that 15% of hospitals will take on operating deficits as a result of ObamaCare's cuts in payments to Medicare providers. The American Enterprise Institute study doesn't say that Mr. Romney's plan will raise taxes on the middle class, and Mr. Ryan's Medicare plan doesn't raise costs for seniors by $6,400. Mr. Biden never even tried to offer a second-term agenda.

But this 90 minutes wasn't about an exchange of ideas or a debate over policies. It was a Democratic show of contempt for the opposition, an attempt to claim by repetitive assertion that Messrs. Ryan and Romney are radicals who want to destroy "the middle class." Mr. Ryan's cool under assault was a visual rebuttal of that claim, and we certainly know who looked more presidential."

When Paul Ryan was allowed to deliver more than a sentence or two without an interruption from Biden, he got a great response and high marks.

This debate was not a "game changer" but to the extent it makes a difference, I think it does more harm to Biden-Obama and allows momentum to continue for Romney and Ryan.

POST-DEBATE SNAP POLL RESULTS:

"Michael Barone reports Associated Press had Ryan up 51–43, CNN had Ryan up 48–44, CBS had Biden up 50–31 and CNBC had Ryan up 56–36."