Friday, Oct 12, 2012
The debate between US Vice-President Joe Biden and Republican challenger Paul Ryan was an attempt by the former to seize back the momentum lost by his boss Barack Obama in the first of the three presidential debates against Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney.
There was little to separate the two combatants but, if anything, the face-off provided a glimpse of things to come when Obama and Romney meet next. There is likely to be the usual skirmish with regard to foreign policy — the US’s approach to smouldering issues in Iran, Syria and Libya; the tacit pandering to Israel’s maverick approach in the Middle East and lack of empathy for the Palestinian people — and domestic issues. America’s image is floundering internationally while internally, the administration is making frantic attempts to put out the fires of recession while trying to shore up policies on national security, health care and taxes. The stakes for White House have gone higher. It would behove Obama to take a page out of Biden’s book and provide a sprightlier display in the second round instead of gifting his opponent another advantage.
The key to clarity, however, is substantive discourses and so far there has been little to separate the Republicans and Democrats in terms of essence, so far as policies are concerned.
There is a school of thought that suggests that vice-presidential debates rarely alter voter preferences in America. It has been so from 1976 to 2008. By that logic has very little in it for the rest of the world to take home.
Gulf News
Gulf News 2012. All rights reserved.
