Vice Presidential Debate Prediction: Don't Expect Fireworks
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Expect to be a little disappointed after watching the debate tonight. (Center for American Progess, Creative Commons)
Romney’s fans would obviously like to see Paul Ryan build on the momentum the campaign has gathered since last week, while Biden will be asked by the Obama camp to just stop the bleeding. But I have a feeling both sides will go to sleep a little disappointed on Thursday night.
Don’t get me wrong; I think both Vice President Biden and his Republican challenger are more than up to the task of making effective cases for their respective administrations. They probably just won’t be able to, given the constraints they’ll have placed on them.
Take Joe Biden: the 69-year-old statesman served in the Senate for 36 years. He’s served as the Chairman of the Senate Judicial and Foreign Relations Committee. He championed the Violence Against Women Act, and he’s spent the last four years being a heartbeat away from the most powerful position in the world. The man was garnering government and policy experience when Paul Ryan was still in grade school. Anyone else with the resume and wisdom that Biden possesses would be let loose to make mince meat of the young Wisconsin congressman. The only issue is that Joe Biden is Joe Biden, and as such, he has a little bit of an issue with saying the wrong thing at the wrong time.
The list of Joe Biden gaffes need not be recounted here, but trust me, in a tight election in which the Obama campaign is still in the driver's seat, expect Biden to be on a short leash.
Similarly, I’d be shocked if we didn’t see a restrained Paul Ryan on Thursday night. Anyone who’s read my previous columns on the House Budget Committee chairman probably knows that I’m not a member of the Paul Ryan fan club. His social policies put him on the farthest right fringe of our political spectrum. His economic policies are overly ideological and fail to balance the budget. And his hypocrisy on issues of federal authority calls into question the choir boy image he’s somehow cultivated among conservative circles.
Those are precisely the reasons why we should not expect to see a roaring Paul Ryan face off with Biden. Governor Romney worked incredibly hard to pass himself off as a moderate in last week’s debate. He claimed he wouldn’t increase taxes on the middle class. He touted his experience working with a Democratic legislature while in Massachusetts, and he’s recently moderated his stances on the 47 percent and abortion policy. Does anyone think he really wants to let Paul Ryan – a man famous for wanting to eviscerate the social safety net – become the face of the Romney-Ryan ticket?
I wouldn’t hold my breath for fireworks on Thursday night. But, considering the fact that we have a few more debates left featuring the guys at the top of the ticket, at least we'll have something to look forward to.
Read more of Neon Tommy's coverage of the Vice Presidential debate here.
