I am a trial lawyer. For nearly 30 years, I have been in the heat of the battle. In the battle for civil rights. In the battle for justice. In the battle on behalf of the consumer. These battles get tough. Sometimes--they get emotional. And yes--sometimes they get confrontational--with sharp words--emotional--passionate--and yes, sometimes in courtrooms, they can get pretty damn brutal.
This lawyer is damn proud of the Vice President of the United States for standing up for the weak--the poor--the vulnerable--and his example is one for not only the President--but for each and everyone of us in the days and weeks to come...
Ever since the President's lackluster performance in the first debate, I have seen a number of pundits and even folks who write on this blog express weak and sometimes embarrassing posts about the state of this race. I have been sick to death by these folks--and I admit to you--I have been more than a little bit angry at some of the writers on this great blog. It kind of reminds me of a classic scene in The Godfather Part One. The scene depicted the singer who visits Don Corleone.
The singer wanted the part in a movie, but the director would not give him the role. The singer visits Don Corleone and openly weeps as he expresses his frustration at not being able to get the part.
Don Corleone slaps the shit out of the singer and tells him, "You can act like a man!"
This is what Joe Biden did last night--he acted like a man in battle. He acted like a man who was in the proverbial good fight--where the stakes were high--consequences severe--and he was confronted by a lying, goofy kid who is your classical "Eddie Haskell" type of character. For those of you too young to remember Eddie Haskell--this was a character in the old Leave it to Beaver TV Show--who would say whatever he needed to in order to score points for the Beaver's parents. But--once the parents were gone--he reverted back to his true self--a lying, jack ass, weasel. You know the kind--the Paul Ryan kind.
I was proud of the emotion that Biden displayed--because that is the true Joe Biden. He is not programmed like the robot we know as Mitt Romney.
And let me dispel these crackpot pundits who are being critical of his style this morning-- as a trial lawyer--I can attest that juries like it when two opposing forces clash in a court of law. They enjoy a good fight. They like it when lawyers get in each other's faces--when a lawyer tears into a witness on cross examination.
Lets be frank--people who would honestly decide to vote for Mitt Romney solely because they were "offended" by Joe's confrontation with Ryan are dumb asses who were in all likelihood probably going to vote for Romney anyway. They folks who claim to be "undecided" in many cases know who they are going to ultimately vote for--they just want to give the appearance of being "independent."
For the sliver of the electorate who truly are undecided--deep down, I believe the majority want a fighter. They want the titular head of the government to give a damn about them. In the immortal words of the classic song--to be willing to march into hell for a heavenly cause.
This was a Harry Truman display of emotion--who was often referred to as "Give 'em hell Harry." President Truman often used to say that he didn't give 'em hell--he just told the truth to the Republicans--they just thought it was hell.
GOD BLESS YOU VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN!