The Nashville VP debate watch party

Prior to the debate volunteers made call for Republican candidates.
Courtney Holliday, campaign manager for the Ben Claybaker
running for the state house in District 53, makes calls for Claybaker.
Other volunteers made calls for Romney, calling undecided
voters in Ohio.

I just returned from the debate watch party at the Republican storefront office in Green Hills. I enjoyed food and wine and conversation prior to and after the debate and I had a great time watching the debate with like-minded people. On two big screen TVs about eighty people watched the debate.

I think Ryan did a great job tonight. However, I do not feel as elated as I did last week when I felt Romney knocked it out of the ball park in his debate with Obama.

Enjoying conversation. Left to right: Myself (Rod Williams);
Monty J. Lankford, Chairman Leaders of Tennessee; Tim
Skow, leader of First Tuesday; and Ann Skow Tim's mother.

I think Ryan won, but I am not sure undecided voters will think so. Not that I think Ryan did poorly. I just don't think this debate will move the polls one way or the other. Those already inclined to support Romney-Ryan will think Ryan won; those inclined to support Obama-Biden will think Biden won. The undecideds will still be undecided or will fall both ways. Also, I just don't think people care as much about the vice presidential debates and they do the presidential debates. I suspect this debate will have little impact.

Michel Sullivan, State Republican Party
Political Director, pitches for people to
sign up for the phone banks.

If the public were rational, I think Ryan would have won by a landslide, but unfortunately I think there are a large number of people who cannot and will not accept that our path of greater and greater spending and borrowing and government dependency is unsustainable. We are about evenly split as a nation between those looking for something from the government and those producing the wealth in this country. Those who want government to pay for their college tuition and buy their groceries and pay for their birth control pills and pay their house payment and pay for their cell phone, will simply not accept that the government can't continue to pay more and more.  They are convinced that we can tax the wealthy sufficiently to keep adding more and more free goodies.  There are a lot of people to whom Biden's vulgar populist pandering will appeal.

Beth and Bill Campbell are among those on the front row
watching the debate.

While I deplore Biden's politics, I myself cannot dislike Biden. The many stupid things he has said over the years only makes him more enduring in some way, even to those of us who do not like his politics. He is sort like the stereotypical uncle who thinks he has all of the answers. The whiz kid who really knows a lot more than the know-it-all uncle, must defer to the old blowhard because it would be unkind to be too aggressive in setting him straight. And, misguided as he may be, he means well.

 I think Ryan deferred to Biden by letting Biden constantly interrupt and hog the time, but I am not sure Ryan could have acted differently. People such as Biden must be deferred to and endured. One can only hope that others do not take them too seriously.

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