Obama sr. campaign manager David Axelrod defended Vice President Joe Biden’s bizarre behavior on Thursday night after the debate in Kentucky and told reporters, “I don’t see Congressman Ryan looking like the adult in the room. As I’ve said before, I think it looked like the school principal debating the class president. He came and he practiced his lines, but when it came to actually answering questions, he had no answers.”
Part of the strategy for Biden, apparently, was to make himself look like an elder statesmen to a seemingly naive younger Paul Ryan. This strategy was employed successfully by the Bush campaign when former vice president Dick Cheney debated former North Carolina Senator John Edwards in 2004. Biden, however, failed to do this properly and looked like a bully instead.
“I think Joe Biden is an authentic person. He speaks his mind. People know him. They expect that and Congressman Ryan, as I said, I know he’s been rehearsing a lot. He had his lines down—at least his first lines… he wasn’t so good, when he had to explain beyond his first lines, but I think that authenticity is something that people appreciate. Joe Biden is who Joe Biden is and people know that he speaks his mind and he tells it straight.”
Really? Mr. Biden wrongly claimed in front of millions of Americans last night that he did not vote for the funding of both the Iraq war and the war in Afghanistan, while pounding Ryan for doing so.
Vice President Biden also directly contradicted the State Department regarding the U.S. Consulate in Libya’s request for more security.
Axelrod also defended Obama deputy campaign manager Stephanie Cutter who claimed the reason the Benghazi attack is such a big issue is because of the Romney-Ryan campaign.
Aside from Biden’s loopy behavior on Thursday, his remarks on key subjects were just downright false or contradictory. Unfortunately for team Obama, the only authenticity Mr. Biden revealed was his disrespect for the American people on Thursday.
