10 Best Biden Put-Downs of Paul Ryan in Veep Debate

The vice president just couldn't seem to help himself: Ryan was an easy target.

October 12, 2012 |

At Thursday’s vice presidential debate in Danville, Kentucky, Vice President Joe Biden went all in, playing the traditional role of a vice presidential candidate: the attack dog. At times his answers played a little loose with the facts, as when he claimed that personnel at the U.S. consulate in Benghazi hadn’t asked for increased security, but he hewed far closer to the truth than Ryan, who once again trotted out the false claim that that administration is cutting Medicare, and again offered no details for how he would pay for the 20 percent across-the-board tax cut that the Republican campaign is proposing. Biden, however, had his facts and figures at the ready, as well with an evident disdain for the arguments of his opponent, Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin.

During one exchange between the candidates over how close Iran was to obtaining a nuclear weapon, Biden took issue with Ryan's claim that Tehran closer to having an operable bomb than it was four years ago. After a tussle over the distinction between having fissile material and an actual bomb, moderator Martha Raddatz of ABC News pushed back on Biden, who then served up what for Obama supporters would become the theme of the night. "But facts matter, Martha...Facts matter."

In a campaign that has been marked by a relentless torrent of mendacity, as evidenced in Ryan's acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention in Tampa this summer, Biden's assertion quickly became a catch phrase and hashtag.

But if last week’s presidential debate between President Barack Obama and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney disappointed for its lack of promised “zingers,” Biden more than made up for it, having entered the hall with his pockets clanking with rhetorical weaponry.

Here we offer his top 10.


http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/10-best-biden-put-downs-veep-debate