Vice Presidential Matchup

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s debate victory last week helped add new energy to his campaign, which has been hit hard in the past few weeks by embarrassing leaks and falling polling numbers.

That means the stakes for Thursday’s vice presidential debate are higher than ever for Vice President Joe Biden and vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan, R-Wis.

Although not all of Romney’s debate assertions last week were entirely truthful, he appeared assertive, controlled and presidential. If Ryan performs well tonight, he can help add to the new momentum in Romney’s campaign.

Ryan has been preparing heavily for this debate. Although Biden is known for his verbal gaffes, Ryan pointed out recently to Fox News Sunday’s Chris Wallace that Biden “doesn’t do that in debates...He’s a very disciplined person when he speaks in these kinds of situations.”

Ryan has said several times that he expects Biden will be a strong adversary. Moreover, Ryan has little debate experience, none of which has been at the national level. His last debate was when he first ran for Congress 14 years ago.

Being out of practice clearly hurt Obama during last week’s debate.

Ryan will have to work hard to show that he is capable and in command on the debate stage.

Even though Ryan doesn’t have much debate experience, he is a career politician. He was first elected to Congress when he was only 28 years old.

In interviews, he can be light-footed and evasive. He is also widely known as someone who is sincere and proactive in his deeply held beliefs.

As chairman of the House Budget Committee, he is comfortable with number-based talking points and has a strong individual vision for what the direction of the country should be. In particular, discussions of taxes and the deficit will give Ryan a chance to showcase his economic credentials.

Ryan also has to reconcile his personal visions with Romney’s. Romney has pursued several increasingly centrist stances during the past few weeks. In the presidential debate, Romney publicly backed away from several elements of his tax plan.

Ryan will have to double down on Romney’s positions on the economy, healthcare and the size of government. It is a task that may be particularly difficult in certain cases in which Romney’s numbers don’t really add up or where Romney’s support has been mixed, discrepancies Obama pointed out without really driving home during the debate last week.

Biden will likely amp up the overall aggression in his performance, especially given Obama’s passivity on stage. Biden is a more colorful speaker than Obama, which can both help and hurt him. He can be witty and outspoken, leading to memorable sound bites for viewers.

But those traits have also been the cause of decades of gaffes.
 
Just recently, Biden remarked that the middle class has been “buried for the last four years.” Biden will have to work to maintain his overall dominance against Ryan, while avoiding moments of vulnerability that Ryan could act upon.

No matter who the victor turns out to be, Thursday’s debate will likely be a lively show.

Because vice presidential candidates face a little less scrutiny than the names on the top of the ticket, their debates are often looser and more energetic.

On a side note, it will also be the first time that two Catholics have ever debated each other in a televised presidential or vice presidential debate, an example of how this year’s presidential tickets are the most religiously diverse ever. However, Catholicism is one of the only things the two men share ideologically.

Thursday provides both a difficult challenge and a great opportunity for both
campaigns.

Ryan will have to overcome his lack of debate experience to build on the momentum Romney’s performance began last week, while Biden will have to fight to pin down specifics on several discrepancies in Romney’s plans without making any embarrassing gaffes.

­— gwinslow@indiana.edu