Biden: 'There's Never Been A Day In The Last Four Years I've Been Proud To Be His Vice President'

◼ Joe Biden, at a campaign event today said, "There's never been a day in the last four years I've been proud to be his vice president." - Daniel Halper/Weekly Standard

Momentum

__________________
MittRomney.com

Reapply them

◼ Another new ad features Ryan-- on the subject of America's founding principles. - Ace Of Spades

In case you missed it: Complete Vice Presidential Debate 2012: Joe Biden vs. Paul Ryan

The Vice Presidential debate between Joe Biden and Paul Ryan in the run up to the general election in November.

◼ FACT CHECK: TOP TEN WORST LIES BY JOE BIDEN IN VP DEBATE - Joel B. Pollak/Breitbart
◼ The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Responds To Inaccurate Statement Of Fact On HHS Mandate Made During Vice Presidential Debate - Wake Up America

CNN POLL: Ryan 48% Biden 44%

◼ Biden, Ryan at each other on everything - AP via Drudge

"I know you're under a lot of duress to make up for lost ground, but I think people would be better served if we don't interrupt each other," Ryan later scolded his rival, referring to Democratic pressure on Biden to make up for President Barack Obama's listless performance in last week's debate with Mitt Romney.

◼ TENSE - FOX
◼ CNN POLL: R 48% B 44% - CNN
◼ Chris Wallace: I've never seen a candidate as disrespectful as Biden - Business Insider
◼ Borger: Came Off As Condescending
◼ Hume: 'Cranky Old Man' - Real Clear Politics
◼ Biden Interrupted Ryan 82 Times? - Breitbart
◼ RNC AD: THE LAUGHTER... - Weekly Standard
◼ Grinning Biden Fails to Throw Ryan Off Course - Newsmax

A grinning Joe Biden became the overwhelming image of Thursday’s vice presidential debate as he made a conscious effort to undermine virtually every point his rival Paul Ryan made.

“Malarky,” “bunch of stuff,” “loose talk,” “not true,” “let me translate that” “not mathematically possible,” “this is amazing,” he said of various points Ryan made during the 90-minute debate.

But Ryan refused to be bowed by the older man’s attempts to talk down to him and belittle his points, hitting Biden with a torrent of detailed figures.

◼ JOE BIDEN FLAT-OUT LIED ABOUT HIS VOTES ON THE WARS IN AFGHANISTAN AND IRAQ - Ace of Spades
◼ Biden Claims He Voted Against Afghanistan, Iraq Wars - Washington Free Beacon

“I was there, I voted against them,” Biden continued. “I said, no, we can’t afford that.”

Then Sen. Biden voted for the Afghanistan resolution on Sept. 14, 2001 which authorized “the use of United States Armed Forces against those responsible for the recent attacks launched against the United States.”

And on Oct. 11, 2002, Biden voted for a resolution authorizing unilateral military action in Iraq, according to the Washington Post.

◼ Post-debate thoughts - Neoneocon
◼ Vice President Jerk: The return of Smirky Malarkey McSmirk - Michelle Malkin
_______________



◼ Paul Ryan, Mission Accomplished - Larry Johnson/No Quarter

Paul Ryan had one job tonight–prove to the vast majority of Americans that do not know him that he could be trusted to be President. What did America see? An intelligent, measured man who treated a buffoon with respect. He was knowledgeable and articulate. He did not say anything stupid. He did not say anything ignorant. He looked at the camera and did not have to constantly glance down at notes. Not the same for Joe Biden. Biden played well with Democrat partisans. But flash polls of independent voters–the key demographic for the upcoming election–found Biden rude and bizarre.

Vice Presidential Debate LIVESTREAM & More

Will be updated as links go up:



◼ Live video streaming and blogging at WPTV

◼ Live at CSPAN

◼ Debate Thoughts: Lower Expectations - Ace of Spades, who will be live-blogging at ◼ http://ace.mu.nu/

Because I'm hearing a lot about how Ryan's going to "destroy" Joe Biden. Let's look at reasons why that won't be so...

◼ Vice Presidential Debate Drinking Game: Because Biden vs Ryan VP Debate Is Only Tolerable With Beer Goggles - PolicyMic
◼ Literally the Best Debate Drinking Game In the History of Alcohol or Debates: Reason’s 2012 Vice Presidential Debate Drinking Game - Reason

Format: The debate program starts at 9 p.m. ET (6 p.m. our time) and will be divided into nine timed segments of approximately 10 minutes each. The moderator will ask an opening question, after which each candidate will have two minutes to respond. The moderator will use the balance of the time in the segment for a discussion of the question.

LIVE BLOGGING:
◼ Live-blogging the big VP debate. - Althouse
◼ Open thread: The VP debate - Allahpundit/HotAir
◼ WATCH & CHAT LIVE: BIDEN & RYAN FACE OFF IN VP DEBATE - The Blaze
◼ Vice Presidential Debate Night - Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion
◼ VP Debate Liveblog - Ace of Spades
◼ Drunkblogging the 2012 Vice Presidential Debate - Stephen Green/Pajamas Media
◼ PAUL RYAN SCORES CRUSHING VICTORY OVER BIDEN IN DEBATE - The Other McCain

VP DEBATE TONIGHT: Where and When to Watch

◼ TIME mag runs Ryan workout photos... (Slideshow) - TIME

◼ 'AMERICA'S FAVORITE PUNCH LINE' Yahoo

◼ 5 THINGS TO WATCH FOR DURING TONIGHT’S VICE PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE - Billy Hallowell/The Blaze
_______________
The Vice Presidential Debate is on Thursday, October 11, 2012, 6:00pm–7:30pm PT.

◼ When and where to watch - Washington Post

Where and when? 9 p.m. Eastern time at Centre College in Danville, Ky.

Who is moderating? Martha Raddatz of ABC News will be in the moderator’s seat for the first time and will be the third woman to moderate a vice presidential debate.

What is the format? The debate will cover foreign and domestic policy in nine 10-minute segments. The candidates will have two minutes to respond to the moderator’s opening question, then will use the balance of the time for follow-up discussion.

Where can I watch it? The Washington Post will live-stream the debate in its entirety on ◼ The Grid. Major broadcast and cable news networks will also carry it live.

How can I follow it on social media? The official Twitter hashtag is ◼ #debates. (Follow the Romney Response Team here ◼ @RomneyResponse, the entire team is ◼ here, follow them individually.

Tumblr will again “Live-Gif” the debate with The Guardian ◼ here. Each candidate has a page dedicated to the event, too: (Here's ◼ the Romney debate page.)

UH O: OBAMA ATTENDED WEDDING OF VP DEBATE MODERATOR

◼ ABC News scrambles to downplay Obama’s attendance at VP debate moderator’s wedding - Josh Peterson/Daily Caller

President Barack Obama was a guest at the 1991 wedding of ABC senior foreign correspondent and vice presidential debate moderator Martha Raddatz, The Daily Caller has learned. Obama and groom Julius Genachowski, whom Obama would later tap to head the Federal Communications Commission, were Harvard Law School classmates at the time and members of the Harvard Law Review.

After TheDC made preliminary inquiries Monday to confirm Obama’s attendance at the wedding, ABC leaked a pre-emptive statement to news outlets including Politico and The Daily Beast Tuesday, revealing what may have been internal network pressure felt just days before Raddatz was scheduled to moderate the one and only vice-presidential debate Thursday night.

Both Politico and The Daily Beast jumped to ABC and Raddatz’s defense. The Huffington Post, a liberal news outlet, joined them shortly thereafter, while calling “unusual” ABC’s attempt to kill the story before it gained wide circulation.

Paul Ryan: The Middle Class Has Been Buried Under Obama

Young Voters Looking for Solutions, Not Celebrity

◼ ...if nothing else, Paul Ryan has solutions. He has a plan to make Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security fiscally sustainable for generations. He has ideas to make the tax code more conducive to job growth. He has a strategy to reform the health care marketplace to actually reduce costs. You name the problem, he’s though critically about it, and had the guts to propose a solution. - College Republican National Committee

“I don’t believe the fact that Ryan is relatively young himself has that much of an appeal,” Levine said. “There a tendency to think young people are just into superficiality, but I tend to find they vote based on their policy views.”

Either way, adding Paul Ryan to the ticket has given Romney a significant boost among one of the toughest demographics. A new poll conducted by John Zogby found that 41 percent of 18-29 year old likely voters support Romney while 49 percent support Obama. Although that may not sound like news, it is a huge shift from 2008 when McCain lost the youth vote 66 percent to 32 percent.

“This is the first time I am seeing Romney’s numbers this high among 18-29 year olds,” Zogby told the Washington Times. “This could be trouble for Obama who needs every young voter he can get.”

Paul Ryan: Medicare Shouldn't Be A Piggy Bank For Obamacare

Must see: Paul Ryan, mom appear in Florida



◼ VIDEO: Paul Ryan Addresses The Villages With His Mother - Real Clear Politics

◼ Medicare in focus as Paul Ryan, mom appear in Florida - Phillip Elliot/AP/USA Today

Ryan on Saturday told a mostly older audience in a large Florida retirement community that Republicans will protect those in or near retirement from Medicare cuts if Mitt Romney wins the White House.

Ryan pointed to his 78-year-old mother who joined him. He says he isn't going to hurt his mother's financial security and wouldn't hurt others, either. He says he saw first-hand Medicare's benefits as a child when his grandmother, with Alzheimer's, moved in with his family.

However, the 42-year-old congressman says the program needs to be overhauled during his generation so his children will be able to count on it, too.

◼ In Florida, Paul Ryan Makes an Emotional Pitch for Medicare Plan - Rebecca Kaplan/National Journal

◼ RYAN IN FL: MY MOM'S MEDICARE IS WHY I'M HERE - Breitbart

◼ Ryan Draws Huge Crowd at The Villages - Mandy/DeepFried Manatees

"Run, Joe. Run"

◼ HOPE AND CHAINS: WH hasn't released Biden transcript in 2 months? Aides acknowledge that Biden was vulnerable to a "gaffe-watch," given his reputation. - Michael A. Memoli, Washington Bureau/LA Times

The White House press office has not released a complete transcript of any Biden speech, whether campaign or official, in more than two months. Transcripts for all of Obama's speeches, however, are distributed quickly, as they are for many of the first lady's events.

◼ Palin calls on Obama to dump Biden in favor of Hillary Clinton – as Giuliani questions the vice president's 'mental capacity' after 'put y'all in chains' scandal - Toby Harnden/Daily Mail
◼ REPORT: HILLARY SAID "NO." - Paul Bedard/Washington Examiner
◼ Democrats Stuck with 'Old Joe'; No Evidence Hillary Would Take Any Deal. - John Fund/National Review
◼ Obama Has Plenty of Time to Drop Biden - Daniel Halper/Weekly Standard

President Barack Obama has slightly more than 22, 21, 20 19 days to drop Vice Presidential Joe Biden from the 2012 Democratic presidential ticket, according to lawyers familiar with the party nominating process. That is, Democrats have until September 6 to formally nominate their presidential ticket which will then be qualified for the 50 state ballots.

Senior Citizens Greet Paul Ryan: ‘Good Luck! Kick Ass!’

◼ The well-wisher, Erma from Howland, Ohio, told me later that she's not worried that Ryan and Romney would end Medicare. "I don't believe it," she said. "Because Obama has a bigger plan to rob Medicare of $617 billion." - John NcCormack/Weekly Standard

"He's going to save Medicare," chimed in Eleanor's friend Karen Combs from Cortland, Ohio. "There's $700 billion under Obamacare coming out of Medicare, and seniors should be more frightened over that."

Janna Ryan steps lightly into national spotlight

◼ Paul Ryan’s wife — a former tax attorney, lobbyist and congressional staffer with degrees from Wellesley College and George Washington University Law School — is taking careful first steps into the harsh spotlight that comes with a run for the White House. = Krissah Thompson/Washington Post

Ryan pick presents new challenges for Biden

◼ Unlike four years ago, when Biden squared off against an unknown and largely untested Sarah Palin, the vice president is competing against a longtime congressman known for being a quick-minded policy expert. Now, unlike then, Biden must defend the Obama record while, associates say, keeping an eye on a potential 2016 White House bid of his own. - Washington Post

In recent weeks, the campaign has expanded Biden’s portfolio beyond his familiar outreach role to working-class whites, dispatching him to Hispanic and black audiences, as well, where strategists think Biden has established a connection.

“He’s able to talk in clear, personal terms,” Obama campaign manager Jim Messina said Wednesday.

Giuliani Wonders Whether Biden Has ‘Mental Capacity’ for Presidency

◼ link - Robert Costa/National Review

"It's the economy. We need to elect somebody that understands business, that understands the economy, can do a strategic plan and get us moving again"

◼ Guess who's pumped about #PaulRyan? Small business owners: - CNBC via #DefendRyan

Small business reaction to Paul Ryan's place on the presidential ticket is rolling in, and some of the feedback so far is positive.

"I like his passion," says Marc Schupan, chief executive of Schupan & Sons, a small business based in Michigan that handles aluminum orders and industrial scrap metal recycling. Leadership qualities he's looking for in a candidate include integrity, tenacity and compassion. "And I believe he has all three," said Schupan on CNBC's "Street Signs" Monday.

"The important thing right now is, what's wrong with our country," says Larry Mocha, chief executive of Air Power Systems, an Oklahoma-based small business that manufacturers air-cylinder controls.

"It's the economy. We need to elect somebody that understands business, that understands the economy, can do a strategic plan and get us moving again," said Mocha.

Schupan said he likes the fact Ryan is looking ahead to solutions.

"You don't wait to dig a well until you're thirsty," said Schupan... More at the link.

Videos surface of Dems, including President Obama, praising Paul Ryan

◼ Before Paul Ryan was pinned as an "extreme" and "radical" ideologue, Democrats actually kind of liked the guy.

Several clips of prominent Democrats -- including President Obama -- praising Ryan have surged through the Internet in the days since Mitt Romney tapped the Wisconsin congressman as his running mate. They once called his ideas "serious" and "honest," which is not what the Obama campaign and its affiliates are saying about him now.
Arguably the most robust praise came from Erskine Bowles, the White House chief of staff under former President Bill Clinton who recently co-chaired President Obama's deficit-reduction committee.

In a late 2011 talk at the University of North Carolina, Bowles told the audience "this guy is amazing."

◼ Exclusive: Bowles on Ryan: ‘I’m not going to act like I don’t like him’ - Jamie Weinstein/Daily Caller

Erskine Bowles is not backing away from his previous praise of Rep. Paul Ryan now that the Wisconsin congressman is on the Republican presidential ticket.

“I like him,” Bowles, the former chief of staff to President Bill Clinton and co-chairperson of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, told The Daily Caller in a phone interview.

“I think he’s smart. I think he’s intellectually curious. I think he is honest, straightforward and sincere. And I think he does have a serious budget out there — it doesn’t mean I agree with it by any stretch of the imagination. But I’m not going to act like I don’t like him or that I don’t have some real respect for him.”

Enthusiasm

◼ Romney campaign: $7.4 million raised online since Ryan was named VP - AllahPundit/HotAir

In 72 hours, @mittromney & @paulryanvp raised $7.4 million online with over 101,000 donations — Andrea Saul (@andreamsaul) August 14, 2012

It’s a testament to the phenomenal excitement that greeted Palin’s selection in 2008 that Team McCain raised $8.8 million in just 48 hours after she was named VP. As for Ryan, Ed noted on Sunday that Team Mitt collected $3.5 million on 41,000 donations during the first day after he was introduced, which tells us two things. One: As you might expect, the bigger donations from more ardent Ryan fans came flooding in right away. Over the first 24 hours, the average contribution was north of 85 bucks. Two: Although it took them two more days to raise just a bit more money than they did on day one, they’re still averaging 30,000 donations per day over the last 48 hours. That’s the smaller-money donors flowing in now to show their support too, which has driven the average contribution down to a shade above $73.

3 things every voter needs to know about Paul Ryan’s Medicare reform plan — in 100 words

◼ The Paul Ryan veep pick — and the truth about his Medicare reform plan

1. No one over the age of 55 would be affected in any way.

2. Traditional Medicare fee-for-service would remain available for all. “Premium support”—that is, government funding of private insurance plans chosen by individuals—is an option for those who choose it. No senior would be forced out of the traditional Medicare program against his will.

3. Overall funding for Medicare under the Ryan-Wyden plan is scheduled to grow at the same rate as under President Obama’s proposals. Is this “gutting Medicare” and “ending Medicare as we know it”? In reality, it’s the market giving seniors cheaper, higher quality choices they can take if they wish, with the traditional program remaining an option.

◼ TOP DEMOCRAT: RYAN BUDGET IS “SENSIBLE, HONEST, SERIOUS” - Stephen Hayward/Powerline

Erskine Bowles, former chief of staff to President Clinton and a leading Democratic grandee, calling Paul Ryan “amazing,” and saying his budget proposal is “sensible, serious . . , and honest” (and also admitting that Obama’s budget proposals are neither serious nor honest).