Ryan, Biden to debate Thursday

The men in waiting, the vice presidential candidates, will debate Thursday, but it might not make much of a difference in the end, Leslie Lenkowsky, professor of public affairs and philanthropic studies said.

Thursday is the one and only time vice presidential candidates Joe Biden and Paul Ryan, R-Wis., will debate publicly. Following a presidential debate where the main takeaway was the future of Big Bird, the vice presidential candidates have a lot of potential ground to cover.

Lenkowsky has studied presidential races for decades. He said presidential debates, let alone vice presidential debates, rarely have a decisive effect on the electorate.

“The fireworks of debate are always fun, and good debates put on a good show, but ultimately, for the American voter, is just a piece of info in the large scheme of things,” Lenkowsky said.

ABC’s Martha Raddatz will moderate the debate at Centre College in Danville, Ky. The debate on foreign and domestic policy will air at 9 p.m. on most major news networks.

After last week’s presidential debate, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is up in polls. A Pew Research Center survey of 1,511 adults puts Romney four points ahead of President Barack Obama among likely voters, a change from a mid-September survey showing Obama up by eight points.

“Biden is under more pressure than Ryan, not only because of the consensus that Obama had lost, but he didn’t put on a good fight,” Lenkowsky said.

IU Students for Barack Obama President Jon Sutton said he’s looking forward to the debate as a chance for Biden to show off his foreign policy experience and help Obama regain favor in the polls.

“Everyone can agree the first debate did not go off as well as the president and the vice president wanted it to go,” Sutton said. “There’s a narrative out there that Romney is running away with the race, but it’s anything but.” 

Vice presidential debates are not typically the most memorable. For that matter, neither are vice presidents. History records John Nance Garner, Franklin Roosevelt’s vice president, as calling the office of vice president not worth a “bucket of warm piss.”

But these debates do, occasionally, leave their mark.

In 2008, Biden debated then-Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. Her debate performance was critiqued, even lampooned in the national media.

Ryan has been known to debate, as he did with Obama on the topic of health care reform back in 2010.

Daniel Cheesman, vice president of IU College Republicans, said Ryan will be able to hold his own in the debate, as long as he stays on point.

“I think in this debate there’s going to be a lot more red meat thrown out,” Cheesman said.

Biden also has a good deal of debate experience after years in Congress.

“I think you might see much more aggressive Biden,” Lenkowsky said. “First of all, he’s naturally more aggressive because of his lengthy Senate career. He’s a pretty argumentative guy.”

And while both candidates have been prepping for the debates, Biden has memorably blundered before in public appearances, like back in August when he said people would be put “back in chains”under Republican economic policies.

“People’s gaffes are part of the process and they can always happen, but Joe Biden is pretty experienced,” Lenkowsky said. “It’s very unlikely he’ll put his foot in his mouth. It’s more likely when he’s talking off-the-cuff in a speech.”

Lenkowsky said he expects the two to skip personal attacks and qualification questioning and instead focus on how they will each support and defend their running mate’s agenda for the country.

Topics of the nation’s financial situation under Obama, Ryan’s ideas on Medicare reform and Romney’s 47 percent comment are likely to make an appearance,
Lenkowsky said, while social issues most likely will not.

Regardless of the debate’s outcome, close polling indicates a close election come November.

“It’s ultimately going to be decided on which candidate is more successful on getting their supporters out,” Lenkowsky said.