It was meant to be a walkover. Old Joe was cactus said the scribes; Sir Paul's burnt offering to the Republican gods. But then something happened: someone gave Biden a shot of political Viagra and suddenly there he was, erect and ready, back straight, eyes bright and dentures gleaming. Paul Ryan - who manages to look old, young, cool and scared all at the same time - didn't flop, in fact the talking heads and vox populi mostly called it a draw, except for the ideological warriors from both sides who naturally declared their man the victor. It's just that he couldn't match the Biden sniggers and marlarkies. Chutzpah! Considering the age gap, Biden came across as every bit as vital as the new blood -Ryan, who was expected to overwhelm Joe with a gaffe free lesson in favourably twisting the facts to suit. | The Vice Presidential debate, just like it's presidential counterpart, is not about policy, however, it's about style and image. Neither of them disclosed anything the public hadn't heard already, in fact if you listen closely sometimes they made no sense whatsoever. But that's irrelevant. These are show debates where the winner is determined by whose body language and repartee is the most dazzling. In a country where people don't have to vote impressions are everything. John Kennedy beat Nixon with a suntan, Bill Clinton beat Bush senior with youth, and Obama lost last weekish because he looked as though someone had told him his dog had just died. Chutzpah - the prime ingredient for being a successful politican in the land of the free. The old man did good! And the furrow on P. Ryan's brow just got a bit deeper. |