On balance, I've liked Dana Milbank ever since he first appeared on the original Countdown. That said, I'll happily admit I've wanted to hit him upside the head more often than not the last four years as he got in deeper and deeper with the false-equivalency crowd (not to mention reflecting the ridiculously mushy editorial policy of his employer, the Washington Post.
But this morning, Milbank stepped up to the plate and hit it out of the yard like another Washington heavy hitter, Jason Werth, did later that night. Three quotes stand out above all others, and they're below the socialist tangerine beignet:
The last quote shall be the first quote, as Milbank sticks in one last knife after listing all the ways Biden knee-capped Ryan's mindless blathering, regardless of subject:
An indignant Biden accused Ryan and his fellow Republicans in Congress of tanking the economy. “They talk about this Great Recession as if it fell out of the sky, like, ‘oh my goodness, where did it come from?’ ” he said, then pointed at Ryan. “It came from this man, voting to put two wars on a credit card, [and] . . . a trillion-dollar taxcut for the very wealthy.”
Raddatz turned to the challenger for a response. “Congressman Ryan?”
After Biden’s barrage, the honorific sounded like an epithet.
Perfect. Even more perfect when you consider the beginning of the article:
In the hours before Thursday night’s vice presidential debate, word leaked that the Romney-Ryan campaign had instructed moderator Martha Raddatz to address Paul Ryan as “Mister” rather than “Congressman.”
To her credit, Raddatz ignored such instructions and referred to the Republican vice presidential nominee by his more relevant title. Not that it mattered anyway: Vice President Biden was not about to let people forget that Ryan, and by extension Mitt Romney, are inextricably bound to the unpopular House Republican leadership.
Last but not least, there's the quote that was just excerpted on
Morning Joe (where they're wearing a brave face, but they know they lost this one, and lost it big-time):
Many will criticize Biden’s antics on the debate stage: loud guffaws, grimaces, raising his arms and looking heavenward, interjecting with “Oh, God,” and “this is amazing.” But all of the scoffing and incredulity was to an end, and one that Obama would be wise to emulate: It indicated outrage.
Exactly. The GOPhers can rattle on about Biden's "odd behavior" (Yertel McConnell had the nerve to compare Biden to Al Gore in 2000), but tonight Biden wasn't just Everybody's Favorite Uncle; he was Everybody's Favorite Uncle with a sawed-off shotgun, telling Eddie Munster Haskell to take his lies and his smirk and his dehydration issues and get off our lawn!
Dana Milbank nailed that moment, and nailed it right to the wall. Credit where credit is due.
UPDATE:
Wrote this and went to work; came home and found it on the Recc List! THAT'S the way a Friday ought to run! :) Thanks much, folks, for the reccs and the comments! And, may I say, the only way Biden's performance could have been better is if he ended it this way:
Sophomoric, I know, but I couldn't find a short video of Drew Barrymore from Charlie's Angels saying, "And THAT'S kicking your ass!"