Memo to Joe, Re: Debate with Rightwing Zealot by Robert Reich

[Cosmocat]

6. It is going to be interesting - IMO

He is different from Romney in that he won't play issues on both sides.

The budget, yes, the bizarro world where you can have massive tax cuts but it somehow balances, he will absolutely try to sell that BS. He will try to say that privatizing medicare will save it.

On the economy/budget, he truly believes that extreme right policies somehow will magically make the world better.

Cutting through that nonsense is always a challenge.

But, he won't, for instance, try to flex to the middle on abortion.

He is a right wing ideologue and he won't try to pretend to be anything but that.

I think we have seen that he just punts when the specifics of his economic/tax policy are scrutinized beyond the banal right wing platitudes.

I think that is the key to the debate. I think a good quip for Biden will be, "you refer to yourself as a NUMBERS MAN, explain ...."

Also, he has a voting record, I suspect that Biden will be able to hit him pretty hard on the disconnect between the charges he levies against the president and his record, and how he has voted in a manner to work against success for America.

Finally, Ryan is going to avoid foreign policy like a vampire avoids garlic.

I think game plan for Biden will be:

1) Drill at the numbers - hope to get Ryan into one of these moments he is prone to just punt
2) Highlight Ryan's voting record - hope to get Ryan into one of these moments he is prone to just punt
3) Pile on when they talk foreign policy