Even as Vice President Joe Biden made three gaffes on the campaign trail on Tuesday, the Obama campaign is confident he can take on Paul Ryan in the vice presidential debate.
On Friday, Biden told a Danville, Virginia audience (half of the attendees were black) that Republicans were “gonna put y’all in chains.” While those comments were in reference to Wall Street regulations, they were an unmistakeable dog-whistle and explicit reference to slavery in an attempt to gin up the black vote for Obama.
Biden also forgot he was in Virginia and said he and Obama would win in November if they won “North Carolina” and mocked a sign language interpreter to complete the trifecta.
Yet, The Hill reports that “Obama’s campaign is brimming with confidence about the match-up between Biden and Ryan, arguing that” Biden is the heavyweight:
Senior aides close to Biden insist the vice president can attack Ryan and Romney with force and his characteristic folksiness, all while charming a crowd with humor and self-effacement.
Granted, the debate between Biden and Ryan is curiously being moderated by the liberal Martha Raddatz, who is a foreign policy correspondent. But Ryan has been one of the best debaters the Republicans have had and will be a formidable opponent for Biden, especially since Ryan’s persona makes it hard for Democrats to demonize him easily.
However, Biden may well have an advantage going into the debate because it will be impossible for Ryan to prepare to debate a candidate in Biden who himself most likely does not know what he will say at any given moment.
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