It's clear Joe Biden won last night's debate. I'm not here to tear down his performance because it was, on balance, effective and successful in drawing the kinds of contrasts that will put undecideds in the Dem column on election day. However I do think Biden missed a couple of opportunities to draw those constrasts more boldly and by doing so, make the road easier for Democrats up and down the ticket.
First off: Medicare. Biden was clearly playing upon the fact that polls show the public putting their trust in Democrats when it comes to Social Security and Medicare. Still I feel this could have been done more effectively. While people of Biden's generation may recall the political fight over Medicare, younger voters do not and are not likely to know that Republicans opposed it originally and that in private conversations among themselves plot its destruction. A quick and pithy way of hanging the badge of Medicare Killer around their necks is to point out that Republican Hero Ronald Reagan himself called Medicare a "socialist program" and a threat to our freedom in 1961 spoken word album designed to scuttle Medicare in its infancy.
Furthermore Biden needed to mention Grover Norquist in this context. Adding to Reagan's quote calling Medicare socialism, Biden could point out that Ryan and (many? most? all?) Republicans in Congress have signed a pledge to a man who longs to return to the days before Medicare and even Social Security. By so doing Biden could have made the connection between the Republican party of old, and that of today and make it clear that this horse hasn't changed its spots one bit.
Secondly: Bipartisanship. Ryan was the one who no doubt had focus-grouped the term and was hoping to paint the Obama administration as too partisan to "get things done" for America. I don't feel that Biden countered this attack as effectively as he could have. When you have before you the leader of the Tea Party members in the House you have to point out that he's more responsible for inaction than virtually anyone else in Washington. Repeat the words of Mitch McConnell prior to the 2010 elections that his number one priority is to make Obama a "one-term President." Then talk about the fight over the debt ceiling and that this fight resulted in a slowing of growth that is visible on the GDP chart. That Republican obstructionism was called out by the S&P in their explanation for downgrading the US credit rating. That this downgrade will cost the nation billions of dollars to boot. Talk about the unprecedented use of the filibuster in the Senate. The bills that would create jobs that can't get through the House. This is absolutely critical for building a back story for why Obama has been unable to do more on jobs and the economy.
I think my overall issue here is that Biden's been inside the beltway so long he forgets that those outside of it aren't going to be immersed in this kind of minutia. He and all Democrats need to bring these details to the attention of the low information voter. These are the kinds of facts that sway people and for good reason. They expose the Republicans for who they really are: cynical politicians who care more about ideology and regaining power than helping America grow.