Did not see the entire debate, only parts of it rebroadcast on different TV channels. My impressions -- Ryan is not the raving lunatic I feared. I now take the view that, while I still dislike any number of his positions on the economy, in office he probably would not be a complete disaster. Biden actually has a brain that he actually uses every now and then. Think that the CNN poll probably had it right, viz 48 - 44 in favor of Ryan. In a debate it is the "whole package" that matters, not just the substance. Apparently Biden won the substance debate, but it was a close call. But on "style," specifically Biden's laughing, and condescension, and interruptions, even rudeness, Biden was the clear loser. As some people have said, both ordinary people and various pundits, Biden's demeanor and actions were major negatives. I can only guess that CBS primarily framed their questionnaire to focus on substantive matters and short-shrifted other considrations. Re : Viewer Responses-- True-believer partisans of either the Left or the Right are impossible for me to take seriously. Most, in fact, are complete asses. In case anyone might be interested Billy -------------------------------------------------------- Slate Insta-Polls Show Split Decision in VP Debate By _Josh Voorhees_ (http://www.slate.com/authors.josh_voorhees.html) | Posted Thursday, Oct. 11, 2012
We'll have more on who the pundits were calling Thursday's VP debate for in a bit, but in the meantime here are the numbers from a pair of insta-polls by news networks that suggest—unlike the first presidential debate in Denver—there's likely not going to be a clear-cut, no-doubt winner coming out of Kentucky tonight. A _CNN poll_ (http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/10/11/cnn-poll-on-debate-winner-ryan-48-biden-44/) of debate watchers released right after the debate showed 48 percent of respondents pegged Paul Ryan as the winner, compared to 44 percent who thought that Joe Biden had the stronger performance. That 4-point gap was within the poll's 5-point margin of error. For comparison, CNN's insta-poll from last Wednesday handed the win to Romney by more than a 2-to-1 margin. _CBS News_ (http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57531059/poll-biden-takes-debate-over-ryan-uncommitted-voters-say/) meanwhile surveyed self-identified uncommitted voters. They offered a different take, with 50 percent saying Biden won compared to 31 percent who gave the night to Ryan. Nearly 1 in 5 said they felt it was too close to call. -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org
