After his strong debate performance last night, Vice President Joe Biden delivered a rousing campaign speech in La Crosse, Wisconsin earlier today. He was introduced by his wife, Dr. Jill Biden. Below is a partial transcript and video:
VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: I'm sure you observed last night, we had a little bit of a debate... [CHEERS]
... with a gentleman from Wisconsin, Congressman Paul Ryan ... [BOOS]
VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: I hardly agree with anything he says .... We have a fundamentally different vision for America and ... a fundamentally different value set. The fact is, the differences that we have about the future of this country are profound. They're as profound as any differences in any presidential campaign that I've observed, that I've been involved in....
One of those differences is Afghanistan. I made it absolutely clear on behalf of the President and I that we are leaving Afghanistan in 2014 PERIOD. [CHEERS]
... Folks, on taxes, if you go back and take a look, Paul Ryan saying his budget cut isn't really a budget cut is like Governor Romney standing in an unemployment line and saying to a guy, "I didn't out-source your job, I off-shored it." [LAUGHTER] That's the distinction they make.
... When I point out Governor Romney, who's a great businessman, did it the Bain way, ... even as Governor of Massachusetts sent a call service, that people in Massachusetts would pick up the phone to call to see if they were entitled to unemployment benefits, they got someone in Asia. He out-sourced that. Imagine the guy saying, "How about my unemployment check," knowing he could have that very job the person he's calling has.
ABOUT LAST NIGHT ...
Ed Schultz called it a "knockout." Matt Taibbi of
Rolling Stone called Vice President Biden's performance "absolutely right."
ABC News wrote that THE BIDEN "drove a shot of adrenaline into the heart of the Democratic Party."
The Daily Beast's Andrew Sullivan noted, during the debate: "This is a calm, strong forensic refusal to accept any of the bullsh** being delivered by [Paul Ryan]." Chris Matthews declared Biden "the clear winner." Even the ridiculously partisan hack
Jonah Goldberg had to admit, "I think on substance it was a draw." According to a
CBS poll, Biden delivered a decisive victory, with 50 percent of respondents electing him as the winner and 31 choosing Ryan. This poll was done among uncommitted voters. As
The Hill blog reported, social media turned out for the Vice President as well. "Malarkey" is now clearly and indelibly associated with the GOP policies and candidates:
Last week, following the first presidential debate, Mitt Romney's reference to Big Bird featured in post-debate conversation for much of the week. This week's first and only vice presidential debate might not have had a Big Bird moment, but on social media, "malarkey" got the most buzz.
Although Twitter reported that the moment prompting the most tweets of the night was Biden's "Jack Kennedy" line, Biden's repeated use of malarkey early on propelled the latter to become and remain a nationally trending topic for most of the debate.
THE NEXT PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE ...
The next presidential debate is scheduled for Tuesday, October 16 at 9:00 pm (Eastern) at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. The moderator will be Candy Crowley, Chief Political Correspondent, CNN and Anchor, CNN's State of the Union. According to the Commission on Presidential Debates:
Second presidential debate (October 16, 2012, Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY)
The second presidential debate will take the form of a town meeting, in which citizens will ask questions of the candidates on foreign and domestic issues. Candidates each will have two minutes to respond, and an additional minute for the moderator to facilitate a discussion. The town meeting participants will be undecided voters selected by the Gallup Organization.
Link to Transcripts and Documents.