First off, a spoiler: Neither Vice President Joe Biden nor Congressman Paul Ryan won the debate. That honor went to moderator Martha Raddatz, who, after last week’s sweat-sock-in-a-jet-engine-blast performance by Jim Lehrer was a breath of knowledgeable bad-assery. Rachel Maddow was stoked for her before the debate even started.
Ahead of the debate, have to say how cool it is that such a hard-nosed well-traveled foreign correspondent like @martharaddatz got this gig.
— Rachel Maddow MSNBC (@maddow) October 11, 2012
In fact, she didn’t just moderate a debate: According to Twitter, she launched her own candidacy. My personal favorite Raddatz moment was when she asked Ryan for specific numbers on his plan and after three attempts at vague evasion, Raddatz cut in with “So no specifics, then.”
She was great, but several women noticed that it took a while — a long while — for us to get mentioned.
10:13 pm: Reproductive rights haven’t been mentioned. #WTF #vpdebate
— Zerlina Maxwell (@ZerlinaMaxwell) October 12, 2012
As much as I’m enjoying this debate, I am STILL waiting to hear about my clitoris, my citizenship, my WOMB, you shits
— Susie Bright (@susiebright) October 12, 2012
…And once the topic did arise, well, Melissa Harris-Perry producer Jamil Smith brought up an excellent point.
Here we go on the abortion question. At last. But brought up in the context of religion, and personal experience? THEY’RE DUDES. #VPdebate
— Jamil Smith (@JamilSmith) October 12, 2012
In one of his best moments, Joe Biden explained that he didn’t feel the need to impose his personal pro-life beliefs on every woman in the nation while Ryan invoked science and then zoomed straight into the land of really, really, really not science. Ryan also took shots at birth control for good measure. “Religious liberty,” in his parlance, means “An employer’s ‘right’ to make you conform to his religious views whether you share them or not.”
Before the debate was even over, the delightful Mansplaining Ryan Tumblr was all the rage.
Words of the night:
In addition to saying “my friend” every time he meant “I am about to purple your nurples beyond all recognition,” Joe Biden brought the word “malarkey” back into the mainstream. And talked about… uh… “Stuff.” I’m pretty sure Biden didn’t want to say “stuff” when he said “stuff.”
Joe Biden just said “Bitch Please” and you didn’t realize it. #VPdebate
— emokidsloveme (@emokidsloveme) October 12, 2012
Biden also had a pretty great I-can’t-believe-I’m-hearing-this-“stuff” face.
I thought that if you just listened instead of looking at the screen, Paul Ryan sounded like Urkel, but Paul Ryan Gosling showed me that I was mistaken.
Hey girl, if this VP thing doesn’t work out, I’m pretty sure I have a future as the voice of an animated weasel. #vpdebate
— Paul Ryan Gosling (@PaulRyanGosling) October 12, 2012
…While political writer Zerlina Maxwell passed along a tweet that took Romney’s bizarrely terrible workout photoshoot into account.
Omg ftwtwitpic.com/b3a14y
— Zerlina Maxwell (@ZerlinaMaxwell) October 12, 2012
And, yes, Ryan got in one good line about Biden’s history of gaffes.
Which was a nice little break from watching Biden pummel him for much of the night.
100% difference between Biden’s approach to Palin and Ryan. He had to keep gloves off Palin. He treats Ryan like a chump.
— daveweigel (@daveweigel) October 12, 2012
Do you want some fact-checking? Yeah, you do. Salon ran an impressive live fact check, and more have been popping up all over the web ever since. And PoliticsUSA just went with Paul Ryan’s five biggest lies from the first half of the debate.
…Overall, one or two people on Twitter thought Biden won the night.
Biden leveled the playing field alright, leveled it right through Paul Ryan’s milkshake. Which he then drank.
— Ana Marie Cox (@anamariecox) October 12, 2012
Sources tell me that Biden will forgo the final question and spend his two minutes doing “stop hitting yourself” on Paul Ryan.
— Wil Wheaton (@wilw) October 12, 2012
Ryan is a nervous Walmart manager. Biden is an irate customer with the receipt, the warranty & he’s friends w/ the store owner. #debate
— Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) October 12, 2012
@pareene Can’t spend years pretending Ryan is some sort of Boy Wonder and then admit he folded like a cheap suit.
— Teresa Kopec (@TeresaKopec) October 12, 2012
What did you think? Hit the comments and let us know.
