These are a few considerations that have emerged in the quite interesting thread following my post on watching the Vice Presidential debate for the second time. First is something I wrote myself.

In my view the difference in the debate and which affected Paul Ryan is the difference between talking to an audience that knows the facts and the general public that does not. Ryan’s experience comes from discussion in the House where it is difficult to get away with untruths and misstatements for very long. The unemployment rate went down below eight percent for the first time in 43 months – hardly a worthy test of economic competence – and even then the number had the look of a fiddle as has been noted. Anyway, as the Washington Post further noted, the data also showed “the biggest increase in so-called underemployed Americans since February 2009, during the depths of the Great Recession.” Loved the “so-called” since it is a stat in the same league as the unemployment rate.

Meanwhile Iran really is moving closer to the bomb and whatever nonsense there may be about Iran being “more isolated” than ever, it will make hardly an ounce of difference since even North Korea has the bomb and no one is more isolated than they are. And if you’re not scared about that what does scare you? Romney often talks about a suitcase bomb in New York against which there would be no defence.

And the bit about tax cuts for the rich, it is necessary to understand the American system which means that to raise this rate will raise taxes on a multitude of small firms.

Ryan’s problem – a general problem for Republicans – is that they assume a higher level of knowledge and a better comprehension of the issues. The Democrats, like all the parties of the left, stick to the P.T. Barnum Principle, there’s a sucker born every minute. With population growth being what it is, we’re down to one every ten seconds and the numbers are growing.

James K also found quite a quite interesting article which is more or less summarised in its heading:

Palin To O’Reilly: ‘My Buddy Joe Biden Has A Penchant For Making Shhh—Stuff Up’

Not only is that exactly so, but these lies are also being exposed. This time even the media will be somewhat less forgiving nor will they be able to cover up as much as they may have preferred. And as the falsehoods seep out, it will do more and more damage to the Obama campaign. Most importantly, as again JamesK points out, the lies about the Libyan ambassador are major issues, not just because they are lies but because they display a level of ineptitude that really ought to be unforgivable. This is from an article by Jennifer Rubin:

Vice President Joe Biden served up the worst gaffe of any of the 2012 debates, in a moment that will harm not only him but also his boss. Sure, the obnoxious grimacing and the mannerisms will be mocked relentlessly, but it was his egregious misstatement on Benghazi that will now plague the Obama-Biden ticket….

That’s about the size of it. The Post’s Glenn Kessler reamed Biden: “Biden’s bold statement was directly contradicted by State Department officials just this week, in testimony before a congressional panel and in unclassified cables released by a congressional committee.” NBC’s Andrea Mitchell likewise called out Biden

Biden’s flub illustrates why Obama deputy campaign manager Stephanie Cutter on Thursday said Benghazi was only about politics; apparently for the Obama-Biden team that’s about the size of it, thereby alleviating them of the need to figure out what happened and to speak truthfully to the American people.

Foreign policy has now become a liability for the Obama campaign. This will make it even more so.

And speaking of which, Token has now found the video of Mitt Romney which will no doubt be a major part of the final debate with Obama on foreign policy as well as in every speech Romney makes right up to 6 November. This is an issue from which they cannot hide and for which they can find no refuge. They may have been able to hide Fast and Furious in the shuffle but (i) the death on 911 (ii) of an ambassador who (iii) had asked for more protection (iv) for reasons unrelated to a trailer of a film released on Youtube (v) but which Biden and Obama have lied about, all this will be part of the campaign no matter how often Biden or his president choose to try to lie and deceive.

And lastly, there is this from Michael Medved

I watched the proceedings on a big screen together with 250 listeners from the Seattle flagship station for my radio show. In the discussion afterward, one of the women present said that Biden made her cringe by reminding her precisely of her abusive ex-husband. Another 23-year-old came up to me afterward and emphatically agreed, saying she had just left her own abusive relationship and that watching Biden’s antics gave her the creeps in the same way that her former boyfriend’s dismissive snickering always made her feel inadequate.

In these days of misogyny and all, there may have been no greater sin.