Friday News Roundup - Domestic

Friday News Roundup - Domestic

Vice President Joe Biden and Rep. Paul Ryan debate in Kentucky. The presidential race tightens in swing states. And the Supreme Court hears arguments on affirmative action. Ron Elving of NPR, Sheryl Gay Stolberg of The New York Times and Naftali Bendavid of The Wall Street Journal join Diane for analysis of the week's top national news stories.

Vice President Joe Biden and Rep. Paul Ryan debate in Kentucky. The presidential race tightens in swing states. And the Supreme Court hears arguments on affirmative action. Ron Elving of NPR, Sheryl Gay Stolberg of The New York Times and Naftali Bendavid of The Wall Street Journal join Diane for analysis of the week's top national news stories.

Guests

Ron Elving

Washington editor for NPR.

Sheryl Gay Stolberg

Washington correspondent for The New York Times.

Naftali Bendavid

national correspondent for The Wall Street Journal.

Friday News Roundup Video

"Clearly, there was an attempt to learn the lessons of the last debate," Naftali Bendavid, national correspondent for The Wall Street Journal, said. Our panel weighed in on last night's vice presidential debate.

Comments

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climate....

Grover Norquist, Ayn Rand, Tea Party.....phooey on Ryan's war against federal government spending.

The fact is Paul Ryan is a multi-millionaire thanks to his family's business which made its wealth mainly from GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS....
including railroads, interstate highways, airport, a GOLF COURSE on Andrews Air Force Base, and most recently $3.1 billion to Ryan, Inc. from the Obama stimulus for Illinois highway project.

October 12, 2012 - 10:40 am

Is there really a public demand for mere "zinger's" as the panel member suggested? Are the spin doctors trying to further dumb down the public with the focus on the debates which are merely a data point when we consider the candidates performance in their jobs on a daily basis?

October 12, 2012 - 10:40 am

The answer, sadly, seems to be "yes".

October 12, 2012 - 10:42 am

Nope - wasn't bothered at all. BTW - Bentsen wasn't the top of the ticket, so he didn't loose anything, and Quayle had to have been the most itellectually dull VP ever. Thank God we never had to swear him in as president.

October 12, 2012 - 10:43 am

I would feel much better if the same Republicans trying to fight voter fraud were also interested in upping voter participation.

October 12, 2012 - 10:46 am

I like that VP Biden does not have a poker face. I believe we emphasize the wrong things in these debates. I appreciated his passion over being frustrated with the non-factual information being put out by the Romney campaign. I felt that Mr. Ryan appeared re-hearsed and fake.

October 12, 2012 - 10:49 am

Why not to concentrate on contents and misrepresentation on both sides ,rather than debating style and zingers? Unfortunately Mr.Ryan had lot to answer and media is missing out on this.

October 12, 2012 - 10:50 am

It was to my understanding in a debate that you respect the basic rules of the game and that is not to interupt the speaker who is in the debate. Clearly the Vice President did not learn the basic lessions in manners. If we accept this as proper conduct then we are in trouble. Rude, that's what the world feels about America and Biden sealed that with his performance last night in the debate.

October 12, 2012 - 10:50 am

It was to my understanding in a debate that you respect the basic rules of the game and that is not to interupt the speaker who is in the debate. Clearly the Vice President did not learn the basic lessions in manners. If we accept this as proper conduct then we are in trouble. Rude, that's what the world feels about America and Biden sealed that with his performance last night in the debate.

October 12, 2012 - 10:50 am

I beg to differ, as I feel Martha Raddatz was clearly not in control of Joe Biden's constant interruptions time and time again, Rather than gently reminding him of the understood rules of the debate process, she would offer him control of the question, even though Paul Ryan still had time allowed to finish his response/thoughts.

October 12, 2012 - 10:54 am

@ Partisan Politics

Romney was respectful. Who are you kidding. He rode roughshod over Jim Lehrer and the President allowed him to speak over him. I found it interesting the split screen did not always allow us to always get Ryan's reaction to what Biden was saying.

October 12, 2012 - 10:51 am

When asked about reasons for going to war Ryan made clear that his America would not respond to a humanitarian crisis. I found this very disturbing.

October 12, 2012 - 10:52 am

@ Gary

Yet you had no problem when Mitt Romney ran over Jim Lehrer and President Obama last week. Take off your rose-colored glasses.

October 12, 2012 - 10:53 am

seblack wrote:
"My absolute favorite Biden comeback:

“I think the vice president very well knows that sometimes words don’t come out of your mouth the right way,” Ryan said.

Biden laughed and retorted: “But I always say what I mean.”

And I add....as opposed to Mitt Romney..."
--------------------------

Now we know that the endless list of Biden uttered inanities that were chalked up as gaffes are really intentional inanities. Too bad Ryan didn't roll off a few examples of Biden's bizarre utterances. Examples:

"Romney wants to let the – he said in the first hundred days, he is going to let the big banks once again write their own rules. Unchain Wall Street. They are going to put y’all back in chains.”

"You cannot go to a 7-11 or a Dunkin' Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent.... I'm not joking." --Joe Biden, in a private remark to an Indian-American man caught on C-SPAN, June, 2006

"Stand up, Chuck, let 'em see ya." –-Joe Biden, to Missouri state Sen. Chuck Graham, who is in a wheelchair, Columbia, Missouri, Sept. 12, 2008

"Look, John's last-minute economic plan does nothing to tackle the number-one job facing the middle class, and it happens to be, as Barack says, a three-letter word: jobs. J-O-B-S, jobs." --Joe Biden, Athens, Ohio, Oct. 15, 2008

"My mother believed and my father believed that if I wanted to be president of the United States, I could be, I could be Vice President!" --Joe Biden, campaigning in Youngstown, Ohio, May 16, 2012

October 12, 2012 - 10:58 am

Fully 99% of Mitt's charitable contributions go to the Mormon Church; 50-60% direct contribution and remaining thru his charitable foundation. This is per his tax return.

October 12, 2012 - 11:01 am

Paul Ryan's car crash story made me cringe--but Romney bestowing gifts (sort of like on that old tv show "queen for a day") doesn't work as a national policy. That is one of the many problems with the Romney-Ryan plan. What about all the other families in impossibly difficult circumstances? The Romney plan would most likely gut services for those they perceive as "takers" and "moochers," and individual Mormons won't be jumping in to fill the gap.

October 12, 2012 - 11:02 am

1dondraper wrote:
"@ Gary
"Yet you had no problem when Mitt Romney ran over Jim Lehrer and President Obama last week. Take off your rose-colored glasses."
-------------------------

Mitt Romney wasn't invited to Jim Lehrer's wedding. What does that mean? Raddatz married a Harvard law school student in 1991, one of the wedding guests was her new husband's fellow Harvard student and future president Barack Obama.

October 12, 2012 - 11:05 am

During the first Presidential debate Mitt Romney came out swinging. He made fun of Obama, bulldozed the moderator, interrupted, and was generally a bully. This was highly applauded by everyone. During the VP debate, Biden gave tit for tat and was criticized by all. Double standard here? I found Romney's performance very unpleasant...especially how he steamrolled over Jim Lehrer.

October 12, 2012 - 11:07 am

@Clifford: you wrote: "When asked for their plan on anything it`s always the same......WE`LL GET BACK TO YOU?"

Question: Is that kinda like Pelosi saying "We have to pass the bill so we can find out what's in it"?

October 12, 2012 - 11:10 am

Ruth Boshkoff wrote:
"During the first Presidential debate Mitt Romney came out swinging. He made fun of Obama, bulldozed the moderator, interrupted, and was generally a bully. This was highly applauded by everyone. During the VP debate, Biden gave tit for tat and was criticized by all. Double standard here? I found Romney's performance very unpleasant...especially how he steamrolled over Jim Lehrer."
----------------------

Unless you also found Biden's performance "very unpleasant," you are the one embracing the double standard.

October 12, 2012 - 11:10 am

seblack wrote:
"My absolute favorite Biden comeback:
...
Biden laughed and retorted: “But I always say what I mean.”

I know! I laughed out loud at that one. Here are some of my favorite statements of his that he MEANT:
"I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy. I mean, that's a storybook, man."
"You cannot go to a 7-11 or a Dunkin' Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent.... I'm not joking."
I think he MEANT he's a racist
"Hillary Clinton is as qualified or more qualified than I am to be vice president of the United States of America. Quite frankly, it might have been a better pick than me." Yeah, probably.
"Stand up, Chuck, let 'em see ya." –-Joe Biden, to Missouri state Sen. Chuck Graham, who is in a wheelchair.
Maybe what he meant by this one is that he's just an idiot.

October 12, 2012 - 11:14 am

mellifluous wrote:
"I would have liked to see the VP use some brass knuckles to bash his lying teeth out. "
"Mellifluous" language in that lovely image of street violence - the last resort of the left when they know they are going down.

October 12, 2012 - 11:21 am

It never ceases to amaze me that no one ever seems to counter the Romney-Ryan argument about taxing the small percentage of Americans who will be taxed more under Obama-Biden by simply stating that it is a false argument to say that this revenue stream will not help decrease the deficit. Ryan said that "you can tax the wealthy up to 100% of their income, but it will only run the government for 98 days". The Democrats are not talking about doing anything close to that. Obama and Biden should simply state that they know tax increases alone won't eliminate the deficit, BUT THEY WILL HELP. Romney-Ryan's argument is that since tax increases won't completely eliminate the deficit, there should be none at all. This is a FALSE ARGUMENT that simple logic contradicts.

Martin

October 12, 2012 - 11:23 am

@ Phil

Do you really want us to drudge up all the gaffes, since the beginning of the year, by Romney?

I like to fire people

Let's make a bet, $10K

They will self-deport

That is just for starters

October 12, 2012 - 11:25 am

Joyce in Arizona wrote:
"The fact is Paul Ryan is a multi-millionaire thanks to his family's business which made its wealth mainly from GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS....
including railroads, interstate highways, airport, a GOLF COURSE on Andrews Air Force Base, and most recently $3.1 billion to Ryan, Inc. from the Obama stimulus for Illinois highway project."

A recent meme of the left and patently false. Ryan's grandfather had the business, his father did not participate - he was a lawyer, and Ryan did not work in it. He became a "mult-millionaire" working at McDonalds and Oscar Meyer driving the weiner-mobile before getting into politics. (Yes, that's sarcasm). After his father's premature death, his mother went back to school and started her own business. Get your facts STRAIGHT.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_ryan#Early_life_and_education

October 12, 2012 - 11:27 am

Garyalvarezproj... wrote:
"It was to my understanding in a debate that you respect the basic rules of the game and that is not to interupt the speaker who is in the debate. Clearly the Vice President did not learn the basic lessions in manners. If we accept this as proper conduct then we are in trouble. Rude, that's what the world feels about America and Biden sealed that with his performance last night in the debate".

Exactly correct. In a word, Vice-President Joe Biden was a bully last night. Think about it. The way he behaved is exactly how bullys act.

October 12, 2012 - 11:30 am

1dondraper wrote:

@ Phil

Do you really want us to drudge up all the gaffes, since the beginning of the year, by Romney?

I like to fire people

Let's make a bet, $10K

They will self-deport

That is just for starters
---------------------------

But Biden says his remarks are not gaffes, he means what he says.

BTW: The "like to fire people" is out of context. No gaffe at all in context.

"I like being able to fire people who provide services to me. You know, if someone doesn’t give me a good service that I need, I want to say, “I’m going to go get someone else to provide that service to me.”

October 12, 2012 - 11:34 am

On the Diane Rehm show today, there was considerable discussion of Mitt Romney's 30% of income donations to charity. It totally centered on whether most of that went to his church. No mention was made of the fact that VP Biden gave less than 2% of his income to ANY charity. Such bias is disappointing.

October 12, 2012 - 11:36 am

When someone "mis-speaks", it's a situation in which one meant to say something and MOMENTARILY uses the wrong turn of a phrase or swaps terms improperly.

But when someone drones on and on for 30 minutes, repeating charges about 47% of the populus being "victims" and "dependent on government" and similar phrases, that's no longer a malaprop - that's repetition of a position. Congressman Ryan has chosen to use 30% as his figure for those "takers" - the numbers are less significant than the basic stance of both Romney and Ryan that a huge portion of our citizens are hangers-on rather than contributing members of society.

Practising Catholics know that the Church devotes vast attention to the poor - regardless of the religious affiliation of those being helped. In fact, Catholic Charities and St. Vincent de Paul Society and local parish food pantries and Archbishop Annual Appeals and Catholic missionaries all over the globe and many other smaller local ministries go far beyond what the Church itself does for the disadvantaged - in addition to tithing. And pastors encourage parishioners to engage in other outside non-religious charities as well. This makes Congressman Ryan's expressed devotion to Ayn Rand, supported by his drastic budget cuts for the disadvantaged, a direct contradiction to his comments about his "Catholic" faith. Ryan's stance is especially ironic and cynical considering that his family history includes a period of dependency on government - prior to "making it" in business.

The American culture is NOT some Petri dish for experimenting with the economy - it is the lives of real humans - all just as precious as his "bean".

October 12, 2012 - 11:41 am

How about we talk about something of substance?

Why lower the income tax rate 20% on high incomes and then remove their deductions and credits to the point they are paying the same amount of tax? Looks like a publicity stunt to me: We lowered everyone's rates 20%!

October 12, 2012 - 11:37 am

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