Michael Medved: The VP debate was bad for politics
Oct 12, 2012, 8:53 AM | Updated: 12:29 pm
Republican vice presidential nominee Rep. Paul Ryan listens to Vice President Joe Biden during the debate Thursday evening. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
(AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Michael Medved thought the debate was terrible. It’s not because the left is praising the rough-n-toughness of ‘Uncle Joe,’ claiming he was the victor. Medved thinks the candidates tied.
What has the KTTH host riled up is all of Biden’s interruptions (82 by some counts,) and his snickering disguised as a laugh.
“I think it’s bad for politics and it’s bad for the country. And I think it’s also a tremendous miscalculation by Biden,” Medved told Seattle’s Morning News the day after the debate.
Biden’s laugh spawned Internet memes overnight, but while some have been referring to it as a chuckle, Medved called is a snicker, often posed and maniacal.
“There was not question of disrespect or rudeness,” said Medved. “This crossed the line of congeniality and decorum.”
He cited a long list of debates in which the Democratic candidate treated the GOP candidate as a joke. The behavior of Biden, according to the host, was unprecedented.
So appalled by the direction of the debate, Medved estimated that many viewers likely tuned out after the first 30 minutes.
But that’s not how everyone felt.
Tom Tangney thought the first presidential debate was far more dull and more likely to cause viewers to walk away. “I thought last night’s 90 minutes flew by and covered a lot of material.”
If Tangney had been Biden’s coach, he would have told him to tone it down a little bit, yes. But despite the affronting attitude of the Vice President, Paul Ryan clearly held his own.
In the light of day, Medved expressed concern. “I think the long term damage for both campaigns could be serious.”
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