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Writer, Blogger, Morris Township Resident

The Embarrassed Republican: Do Vice Presidents matter?

Posted on October 12, 2012 at 4:11 pm

The question as to weather Vice-presidents matter is probably best based on the Individual. Sarah Palin made a big difference to me in 2008, I really like John McCain but I just couldn’t have Governor Palin just a heartbeat away from the Presidency. Dick Cheney is another good example of a Vice-President that mattered, and a dire warning to us all. They can be silly like Dan Quale, a bit pompous like Al Gore or sometimes a matchless politician like Lyndon Johnson but that’s not a very common occurrence. Come voting time it’s very rare to base your vote on the Vice-presidential candidate.

So when we watch the Vice-presidential debates it’s kind of a “lower contest”, a battle of the second raters and usually not the seconds in command. Although they can suddenly become the commander in chief and you don’t always get a Lyndon Johnson or a Teddy Roosevelt. Still, mostly we don’t like to think about that possibility.

The debate Thursday night was pretty much what I expected. Joe Biden, old time politician slugging it out against the newer style of policy wonk Paul Ryan. Needless to say after more than 20 years at the game Joe Biden can blast away all night at his opponent and they’ll still like him at the end. Biden has the two thousand watt " Screen eating" smile, is very quick on his feet and even though he sometimes says things that are embarrassing, we still like him. He’s like the uncle who’s “had a few” at the party, basically a great guy who sometimes goes a little too far.

Paul Ryan did much better than I expected. He seemed almost “fluid” in foreign policy, which was surprising for someone with so little experience. If his campaign let him reveal just a smidgen of any planned policy he might have stood up a lot better. Instead, he walked right into several tough spots. While going after the Stimulus, Biden hammered him for asking for some himself. On Iran, and later Syria, it would have been much better had he any alternative to offer other than complaints. The worst part was it gave Joe a chance to say “What do you want to do...Start another war?”

But he didn’t get booed, which the members of the AARP treated him to during the summer. He remained cool, calm and collected even though he was out of his depth in that kind of debate. You don’t get a lot of points when you can’t explain how things like the 20% tax cut are going to work. Is that because it’s just too complicated to explain on national TV? He had a very tough job, fighting with very little ammunition against a skilled opponent. With that in mind, I think he did ok.

It still comes down to this: Do we care what the Vice-Presidential candidates think? Democrats do, they want to hear more from Paul Ryan, they think he’s the Republican campaign’s Achilles heel. Republicans want to hear more from Joe Biden as well, always hoping he’ll deliver a really good gaff. But do the real contenders in the race want to hear more from their running mates? I don’t think so.

Joe Biden is out stumping every day but rarely do we hear much about that. Paul Ryan is on the trail as well but a little more quietly and a little farther away. He’s no Sarah Palin but it seems the campaign is keeping his presentation to a more discrete level just in case. Of the two, Biden, an old time campaigner, certainly seems to be trusted little more rope.

Did the Vice-Presidential debate move any voters? Possibly one or two, but as I said it’s fun to watch the second placers because they tend to get a little wilder and it doesn’t matter as much.

Of course, that’s as long as we keep our thoughts away from the possibility that one of these two men could also be the next President.

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Patch Fan

9:24 am on Saturday, October 13, 2012

Hey Prentiss,

Not really getting the "Embarrassed Republican" thing in the title of your post. Is it you are embarrassed by Paul Ryan's debate performance? Or, you are having a kind of "buyer's remorse" about your party affiliation? Or, you simply fancy yourself a GOP gadfly and you are trying to brand yourself as a Patch Blogger?

Prentiss Gray

8:51 am on Sunday, October 14, 2012

Well, I've been a Republican for around 38 years, and the party has so shifted in the last 10 it's becoming increasingly difficult to recognize. Since Obama became president we've really got our crazy on. Imagine a republican house that has spent the last two years closing or re-naming post offices and blocking any legislation that Democrats support? A house whose single accomplishment has been getting our credit downgraded and setting the stage for draconian budget measures in January.

There are, I've found, quite a few moderate Republicans out there who are still embarrassed by supporter's t-shirts that read" lets put the white back in the White House." Sometimes you need to examine your base and see if this is the side you expected to be on.

VietNam Vet

3:34 am on Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Prentiss, you got that wrong lady jane, its because of odummers spending habit and that jerk he's living with illegaly in the WH, he has been trying to bankrupt this country and put more people out of work than any other Pres. in history. He's on a course to be the worse moron to ever grace those halls to date.

Sick of the trolls

9:35 am on Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Really, Mr. Brown, you make this too easy. I mean, I have to agree with you that this "odummer" will be the "worse moron ever to grace those halls," since I have no idea who this person is or of what halls you speak. What jerk is he living with "illegaly"? Finally, I don't know if you're aware of this, but the comment you're replying to is from OCTOBER and not only has the original poster moved on, but the rest of the world has as well. Try and keep up, Mr. Brown, I know it's difficult with you still having flashbacks to Khe Sanh and all, but there are new medications and techniques that can help with that. Please seek them out, I would hate to think that the tax dollars being spent on the VA are not going to the people who need them.

Maura Souki

3:05 pm on Sunday, October 14, 2012

Prentiss when you say "They can be silly like Dan Quale" do you mean his spelling errors?

Sweet of you cast the current VP Biden as "He’s like the uncle who’s “had a few” at the party, basically a great guy who sometimes goes a little too far."
Many who saw the debate do not share your view of the performance of VP Biden. I think it showed a lack of respect for the office the he holds to sit on a debate stage and cackle, howl and knee-slap while such serious issues are being addressed. As a nation we are facing many grave issues while many are suffering. There is nothing funny about it.

Prentiss Gray

9:10 am on Monday, October 15, 2012

I attribute his performance to his long time political style. Politicians of his era work that way. We should recognize that this is simply the way he "Plays the game". Of course you're right about the issues in this election being deadly serious, serious enough to allow almost any style of debate. Did he win? Possibly factually, Definately in "hearts and minds" but Ryan was at an extreme disadvantage here. He had to carry a platform and proposals that are very difficult to defend. You can only say the math works so often, without proving it.

The Stig

12:00 pm on Monday, October 15, 2012

Ryan at least offered some specifics. Biden kept saying, "trust us," but there was nothing to "trust," except more of the same failed foreign and domestic policies.

America needs Hope and Change, and it's obvious that Obama can provide neither.

VietNam Vet

3:39 am on Tuesday, January 1, 2013

It has since been proven now that your Joe "Bite-em" was the idiot and the lier here and the most disrespectful person on any debate, just like he was with Sarah Palin, wo would have been a much better VP than this jerk, what was he smoking that night?

Sick of the trolls

9:38 am on Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Mr. Brown, again, I don't know who Joe "Bite-em" is, but I seriously doubt that Sarah Palin would have been a better Vice President than a brain dead chimpanzee, much less Joe Biden. What have you been smoking?

Maura Souki

11:06 am on Monday, October 15, 2012

It seems like you are trying to incite and inflame the party that "you are not a member of" with your claptrap discussing your "own party's base" Prentiss!

Prentiss Gray

11:36 am on Monday, October 15, 2012

I think we need to look at our own party, much harder. Democrats have their own problems, which they'll have to deal with. However, while they are a much bigger organization and can absorb a lot of misdirection, we're on our way to "Third party" status if we don't figure ours out.

VietNam Vet

3:41 am on Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Prentiss we already have enogh RINOS and we don't need anymore.

patricia pignataro

12:39 pm on Monday, October 15, 2012

I admire Mr. Prentiss Gray's individualism. He's definitely one who thinks for himself and is not afraid to speak out. We've become so saturated with only one side party affiliation that nothing is getting accomplished for the US and its citizen.

VietNam Vet

3:44 am on Tuesday, January 1, 2013

You can blame that on the parties today, they are only looking at whats in it for them and the hell with the american people. Thats how the demoncraps look at it today, they will beg borrow and steal their way to whatever they want in this country and with no remorse about it.