THE 2012 VICE-PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE
By: Hope Wilkos, Writer/Blogger Photographer: George Whylie Videographer: Maxine NolanTwo more debates to go and the American public will be equipped and ready to cast their votes for our next President.
This past Thursday, October 11, 2012, there was a very enthusiastic debate by the two Vice-Presidential candidates. The position of Vice-President is just as crucial as the President with the possibility of taking over the responsibility should anything happen to the President.
Vice-President Joe Biden was ready to take on his opponent and there is no question that he came through. He was confident and feisty and aggressive in his statements. Perhaps his expressions said it all as the camera fixated on both men during the entire debate.
There were nine segments related to domestic and international issues and the hot topics were taxes, Medicare and National Security.
Both candidates opened the debate with their view of the most recent terrorist attack in Benghazi which took place on the anniversary of 9/11. The first question was whether they felt this attack was a massive intelligence failure.
Although in ads it appears that the Romney/Ryan ticket have a different position than Obama/Ryan on ending the war in Iraq and bringing our troops home, this evening unveiled a closer agreement on the issues of the war for both parties. Ryan, to an extent, agreed with an end in 2014 but our continued military presence abroad is critical to sending the world a message.
The most important goal of the evening was for each man to sell their vision for the future. Biden seemed to do a better and more forceful job of that.
Paul Ryan had a calmer demeanor and stated the facts of the Republican campaign. He had to defend Romney’s tax policies including the ‘47% controversy’. He was very assured about his foreign policy and proved that he had competence in that area.
Both candidates gave their viewpoints on the auto industry bailout and the foreclosure crisis of which under President Obama’s administration there are some positive results with the recent announcement of a lower unemployment rate .
Each candidate had to get more personal on the issue of abortion. It was evident that they had opposing views.
The debate took place at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky and ABC News Chief Correspondent, Martha Raddatz, was moderator. She pressed both men, Biden and Ryan, in many instances to explain themselves better.
There are a couple of facts that are for sure. Vice-President Joe Biden was prepared for the evening and came armed with statistics and spirit. Paul Ryan proved that he is ready to accept the challenge of the job.
The big question of the evening was whether the Vice-Presidential debate really had a large influence on the campaign and if a clear cut winner for the night really even mattered. It has been determined through past research and opinion polls that the vice-presidential debates do little to change the decision of the American public on which Presidential candidate gets their ultimate vote.
PHOTO CREDITS: Reuters, Getty Images
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