We Were Gonna Have A Debate Roundtable Again, But Local Broke So Only John And Ari Are Here

By Ari Lipsitz and John Surico on October 12th, 2012

JOHN: That debate actually wore me down. I came into it energized and left it ready for bed. That’s not my fault; it’s Joe Biden’s fault (and Twitter’s fault). This guy was everything the Obama campaign needed right now. He was like a doctor with a defribillator, screaming ‘CLEAR!’ and shocking his running mate back to life. He somehow was able to justify the past four years’ stagnation and do it without sounding like a career politician. Also, he smirked; he giggled; he raised his hands in fury - Biden was the human that Obama wasn’t last week. Also, it’s been known for some time that Biden is keen on the foreign policy game and tonight sure showed it.

Paul Ryan, on the other hand, was more visibly schooled. It’s just in his character: He’s the nerdy guy that can’t handle being straight-talked to (also, kudos to Martha Raddatz for, uhm, asking questions). And he fell way too hard into molds people living in 2012 do not want to hear right now: overturning Roe v. Wade, flirting with the idea of war in Iran and hesitant in leaving Afghanistan (FYI: Gay rights was not mentioned once). And, for the record, if Ryan does not answer the loophole question in the next few days, I give up.

ARI: This debate was like a 180 from the “talking points on stilts” debate last week. Then, pundits were so anxious to turn someone into a human that they made a compilation of “ums.”

But tonight Biden and Ryan weren’t just human. This is how I felt about them:

They talked real policy issues! (Real human being!)

They yelled at each other when they thought they were wrong! (And a real hero!)

They were condescending, rude, interrupting, and relatable! (Real human being!)

But also didn’t shy away from complicating landmine issues like Afghanistan, abortion, and taxes! (Real human being!)

By the end of the debate, I had a crush on Paul Ryan. I had a crush on Joe Biden. I had a crush on Martha Raddatz—bless her heart, she actually asked questions and challenged answers! Let’s watch my reaction again:

Joe Biden and Paul Ryan acted nice, but at the end both went for the jugular. They were like this:

Brutal but compelling! This was hands-down the best debate all year. The pacing, the content and the dialogue were all incredible. It’s amazing that Ryan Gosling didn’t get an Oscar nomination for it. Wait, what were we talking about?

(Image via)

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