The Vice Presidential Debate: Five Takeaways

1. The debate moderator, Martha Raddatz, was a big improvement over Jim Lehrer, who moderated last week's debate. She maintained control of the debate while also allowing the candidates to scuffle a little. Her questions covered a wide range of important issues and she held the candidates to actually answering her questions.

2. The format may have added to the high quality of this debate. Having the candidates sit at a table rather than stand behind podiums created a more intimate feeling and conversational tone (the debate last week felt more like two speeches). The format also encouraged the lively personal exchanges and the candidates' proximity to the moderator likely allowed her to maintain better control over the debate. (Jim Lehrer was so far from the candidates that it contributed to his irrelevance during the debate.)

3. Both candidates showed up ready to play ball! This was an energetic, feisty, and quality debate. Both men are capable, informed, and eager public servants who laid out two strong and very different visions for the nation. Although Paul Ryan is a young man without much experience on the national stage, he did well and showed that he belongs in national politics.

4. After being dismissed during the run-up to this debate as a gaffe-machine who would likely lose the debate (CNN polls revealed that the public expected Ryan to win by a margin of 55%-39%), Joe Biden gave a command performance and won the debate. "Scranton Joe" connected with average folks and, most importantly, the middle class through his passionate and clear answers.

5. The big question, of course, is did this debate make a difference? The answer is: Yes, a little. The game is even at 1-and-1 going into the second half. Romney won last week's debate but Biden won this week's debate. While no one delivered a knock-out blow, had Biden lost the debate or given a lethargic performance it would have helped Mitt Romney close the gap in the polls.

After watching this debate, I can't help but to think: Who are the folks who are still undecided?! After two years of campaigning, well over a billion dollars in spending, countless speeches, and two debates, voters have two dramatically different choices.

Robert Watson, Ph.D. is the author or editor of 34 books on American politics and history, and serves as Professor and Coordinator of American Studies at Lynn University, site of the final presidential debate

 

Follow Robert Watson on Twitter: www.twitter.com/professorwatson

Comments

[dreamretirer]

11:24 AM on 10/13/2012

If you are still undecided at this point, perhaps you shouldn't vote. Uninformed voters might be even worse than non-voters. Poor, lower income families, women, gay, seniors who still vote for Romney are the examples of this. Rich and wealthy people is only 1 %, who are these 46% of people voting for Romney?

[Stewart J. Lawrence]

07:32 PM on 10/12/2012

Are we living in the same country? To paraphrase Joe Biden, there isn't a single thing in your piece that find " accurate." Minimal impact from this debate -- but each side did what it needed to do. Ryan went head to toe with Biden on foreign policy, Joe's wheelhouse, and emerged unscathed. Even Chris Matthews gave Ryan the edge on foreign policy. So the issue of "succession" is settled. He can be president. That's a boon to the Romney ticket that you are underestimating.

Biden recharged the liberal base, which has been demoralized. Your piece tries to do the same. But Biden did nothing to move indies or undecideds - zilch. If anything his bipolar mannerism and brusque behavior alienated some folks, especially - ta-dah - women.

Overall a draw - and a draw, on top of last week, is a Romney-Ryan victory.

Bottom line: If Obama "loses" next Tuesday, he's GONE. FINITO. TOAST. All of the pressure is on him now, even more so, because Joe, like Clinton, like just about everybody else has outclassed him. Hopefully, Obama will remember not to mention Big Bird?

[Billy Liar]

11:29 AM on 10/12/2012

The "Undecided" aren't necessarily undecided. I imagine they are either ready to vote for a candidate other than Obama or Romney, but the pollster doesn't have that box to check on their form; or, having had to answer the phone during dinner, only to hear the background noise of a call center and someone mispronounce their name and read them a two paragraph question quickly in a monotone voice, answers with a pronounced sigh, "Oh, *I* don't know...."

[lizpiper]

11:08 AM on 10/12/2012

It's infuriatingly baffling to me why any lower or middle income people will vote republican, yet a big part of Rmoney's base is those very people. My own brother accepts medicaid and medicare for his disabled wife, has no insurance and would go to the emergency room if injured, paid no income taxes for years because of low income/multiple kids. His daughter had a medical emergency and got money from FMLA. If anyone should be in favor of safety nets, it's him, yet he's a staunch republican.

[wordsalad12]

11:35 AM on 10/12/2012

it seems like many of us have such family members/friends. Completely dependent or nearly broke, and yet supporting Republican policies. The only way (and the hard/dangerous way for others who do the right thing) is to actually have Republicans in power all over and see how quickly this country becomes a morbid morass.

[irie1029]

11:59 AM on 10/12/2012

As astounding is how can anyone vote for dem or rep and not say they are pro-war.

[newleaf]

11:37 AM on 10/12/2012

Tell me. I have an ex-friend, repub, Rush listener, takes a disability check, hates the government, and works under the table for cash. Yet she rails about the "entitled", and "government handouts", and is in effect talking about herself, yet she's too dumb, I guess, to admit it.

[cjkcmo]

10:23 AM on 10/12/2012

In my opinion, undecided voters are uninformed voters. Those who do not pay any attention to what is going on in the world. Then when they are asked as to thier opinion on political matters, their answer is I am undecided. Meaning, I have not a clue, I will watch the debates five minutes before I go to vote.

[wordsalad12]

11:35 AM on 10/12/2012

well said!

[Lester & Charlie]

10:17 AM on 10/12/2012

Undecided voters are the people who are over 18, still can decided between Mayonnaise and Miracle Whip, and clog up the supermarket aisles.

[Mark Giovanni Sandore]

09:58 AM on 10/12/2012

My recent post should have said that Biden "....knee jerked noise just to drown out Congressman Ryan....." and not [Biden].

[Tyrone Harvey]

09:37 AM on 10/12/2012

The 15 Republicans were in a sombre mood as they gathered at the Caucus Room in Washington, an upscale restaurant where a New York strip steak costs $51. Attending the dinner were House members Eric Cantor, Jeb Hensarling, Pete Hoekstra, Dan Lungren, Kevin McCarthy, Paul Ryan and Pete Sessions. From the Senate were Tom Coburn, Bob Corker, Jim DeMint, John Ensign and Jon Kyl. Others present were former House Speaker and future – and failed – presidential candidate Newt Gingrich and the Republican strategist Frank Luntz, who organized the dinner and sent out the invitations.

Bottom line after the worse recession ever in the history of America. Instead of working to fix the problem Republican created. The Republican Tea Party plotted against the country and the President of the United State! To sabotage and promote hate and divide across the country! And to do everything to stop the recovery of America! The meeting of 15 Republican the nigh before President Obama took office. Was a act of treason! Why is the HELL this is not a media story repeated daily!

[wordsalad12]

11:37 AM on 10/12/2012

can you link this article/book? easier to pass along...thanks.

[Sinkmyboats]

09:31 AM on 10/12/2012

Finally the issues have been clearly debated. Why any middle class, or any real patriotic American would vote for the Republicans is a mystery. Ryan had several deer-in-the-headlight moments as his rhetoric was shot down. Do you really believe Republicans will work to close loop-holes for the wealthy?
A chain is only as strong as its weekest link. The split is close to 50-50. Sundown on the Union!

[faith2hope]

09:11 AM on 10/12/2012

There are no "undecided" voters they all know exactly who they're going to vote for even if they don't say it out loud. They use the title undecided so they can win spots on silly panels like CNN and MSNBC as people who haven't decided but want some attention. Watch any CNN green/yellow line stupidity and it will tell you who they have decided on. It doesn't matter if the candidate is lying on telling the truth the all white male panel on CNN stops pressing the button for anything that is said by Obama/Biden and sends it through the roof on Romney/Ryan even when its a "fact check" lie they support it. The all white female voters often raise the yellow bar on things stated by Obama/Biden and rarely with anything said by Romney/Ryan. These people have made their decision, but hey it gets them on tv, a nice seat in the studio, coffee, what is left of the water after Paul Ryan has his fill, and perhaps a meal but they make good for media drama.

[enlightened45]

11:23 AM on 10/12/2012

Absolutely correct...and Erin Burnett of CNN took this "reality" show to new heights of banality last night.

[DonL]

08:46 AM on 10/12/2012

The undecided voters are the people who believed Ralph Nader when he said there was no difference between Gore and Bush and then later did a mea culpa saying "Who knew Bush was going to do what he did." Romney's prettier and Obama sounds like that college professor who caught you turning in a Wikipedia article so I guess Romney's the one. The undecided are people who really don't care about the election and will let the last ad they see make their minds up. The bigger question is why people vote Republican when they are not already rich?

[Frank Andersson]

08:43 AM on 10/12/2012

Fox TV has made millions of dollars selling advertising that accompanies biased opinion passed off as fact. In the end what the majority of Americans think they know about both domestic and foreign policy is based on media hear-say. Romney’s assertive and stylized lying fits well into this scenario. And his style also passes for strength and self-confidence.

Romney’s lying is so pervasive, so ever-present, that one starts to wonder if it is pathological.

There is a mental illness characterized by habitual lying. It goes by the name of Pseudologia Fantastica. Here are some of the characteristics of this ailment:

The lies told “are not entirely improbable” and “upon confrontation, the teller can admit them to be untrue, even if unwillingly.” In other words, the liar is aware that he or she is lying.

The lies told cast the teller in a favorable light.

The tendency to lie is a long-lasting one and not the product of the moment. It reflects an innate trait of the personality.

[NAMI]

08:37 AM on 10/12/2012

Prof Watson

You are absolutely right.

The undecided are i think 2 kinds.
One are the ones who really do not know anything.
The other are the ones that BECAUSE things are not 100% Great , they might be fooled by the ROSY PROMISEs of the BAIN vulture capitalist....Could he fix this??
BUT
THEY should ask themselves are the R & R Team TRUSTWORTHY after ALL the LIES and changes and ETCH A Sketches and last but not least.......all the TEAbaggers GOP obstructionist in CONGRESS would get even more POWER.

TRULY DANGEROUS combination.
As for the Dems, this is a GLASS half full situation. Housing is getting better , Jobs are getting better and LOOK the world is in serious trouble so AMERICA is doind OK and SLOWLY but SURELY we are MOVING FORWARD.
HOUSING will LEAD us to BETTER future . IF the OBAMA JOBS Act and Infrastructure BANK had been done , we would be WELL ahead of where we are .
Remember , Unemployment rate is 7.8 %

OBAMA DESERVES more time and a 2nd Term. After all If BUSH got a 2nd Term, why not Obama who is MUCH better and deserves it Much more !!!

[egaeus]

08:23 AM on 10/12/2012

The only reason that people perceive Joe Biden as a gaffe machine is because the media needs ways to pigeonhole people so they don't have to think when they cover the news. Biden has made gaffes in the past, but so has everyone else in the world who *doesn't* have a camera in his or her face. Biden has shown again and again--including in the 2008 debates--that he is a capable speaker who connects with people because, like Bill Clinton, he sounds like a real person. it's only the media, who have sipped their own Kool Aid, who are surprised that he was effective in the debate. If they instead covered those times when he's spoken to military families or given ceremonial speeches in which he touched people with his words rather than simply take Saturday Night Live's gross caricature of him as reality and thus portray him in that light, they might actually provide a more accurate picture of the vice president.

[Mark Giovanni Sandore]

10:15 AM on 10/12/2012

In Biden's case, the perception is the reality. He's a gaffe machine.

[lucky54]

08:13 AM on 10/12/2012

Romney only won last week debate on being more talkative.
But his talk was mostly about making noise, there was no substance.
I want my president armed with facts, substance and steady opinions in a meantime Romney has more positions on every issue then Kama Sutra ever listed.

My vote goes to Obama/Biden