A Review of the Vice Presidential Debate

Vice President Biden said it was a tragedy and promised to make sure these mistakes will not be made again. He said that the most important responsibility of a president is to care for the security of the country. The best way to do that is to look at how the president handles the issues of the day.

Congressman Ryan said we mourn the loss of the four Americans who were murdered. He criticized the president for taking two weeks to acknowledge that this was a terrorist attack. He said the events in Bengasi was symbolic of a broader problem with the weakness of President Obama’s foreign policy. Ryan suggested that this foreign policy was making the world more chaotic and less safe.

Ryan said the United States cannot allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons capability. He said that it is moving faster toward a nuclear weapon because the Obama administration has weakened and delayed sanctions against Iran. The only way to solve this situation peacefully is to have credibility.

Biden responded that these are the current sanctions against Iran are very strong. He felt quite confident that the United States could deal a serious blow to the Iranians. He said Israeli and American intelligence communities are in the same place in terms of how close Iran is to getting a nuclear weapon, which is still many years away.

Biden said the unemployment figures would fall under 6%. He said that when Obama took office, the economy was in severe decline and soon 9 million people lost their jobs. Also $1.6 trillion in home values and stock market retirement funds declined, hurting the middle class. Biden said the administration immediately went out and rescued General Motors and made sure to cut taxes for the middle class. Biden criticized Romney for pushing the continuation of a tax cut that will give an additional $500 billion to 120,000 families.

Ryan said that the economy is barely moving and that the nation needs real reform and recovery, as outlined in Mitt Romney’s 5-Point Plan. Ryan criticized the Obama administration for borrowing $831 million in a stimulus package, promising that the economy would grow at 4%. Instead, Ryan claims the economy is only growing at 1.3%.

Ryan said the best way to save Medicare is to reform it for his generation. He said Obamacare took $716 billion from Medicare. He said that choice and competition is the best way to offer these types of benefits to future recipients. He stressed that there would be no changes for those 55 and above. He also suggested raising the start age of those who participate over time.

Biden disagreed with Ryan’s description, instead stating that the Obama administration saved Medicare $716 billion by eliminating areas of overpayment within the existing regulations. Biden also stated that the American Medical Association and the AARP endorsed the Obama plan. Biden claimed that the reforms have extended Medicare’s operations to 2024. He opposed a voucher program and the privatization of Social Security.

Biden said the middle class will pay less taxes. He also said that those making $1 million a year or more will begin to pay slightly more. He said the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy need to be allowed to expire. He said that the Obama/Biden ticket wants to permanently extend the middle class tax cut, easing financial burdens on this important segment of the country.

Ryan said he and Romney have three bottom lines on this issue: Don’t raise the deficit; Don’t raise taxes on the middle class; & Don’t lower the share of high-income earners. Ryan said the Romney/Ryan ticket would work with Congress to close loopholes on higher earners so that more of their income is taxed, creating a broader base of taxation so overall tax rates could be loaded across the board.

Ryan said that cuts in defense spending invite weakness and that the country doesn’t want to lose the gains already achieved. He agrees with the Obama administration on their commitment to remove U.S. troops in 2014. But he wants to make sure the transition is successful–which means making sure the military commanders have the funding they need.

Biden said the nation went to Afghanistan with a goal: to punish those who killed Americans. He said the U.S. actions have almost wiped out al-Qaeda forces in the country, killed Osama bin Laden, and trained Afghans to better maintain peace when the U.S. leaves. Now it is Afghanistan’s responsibility to take over its own security. Biden said 49 of our allies agree.

Biden said it’s a different country, and in a part of the world where more military involvement could develop into a regional war. He said that the Obama administration is working with the Turks, the Jordanians, and the Saudis to identify the right people so that when current Syrian president Bashar al-Assad goes, an al-Qaeda government doesn’t take his place. He said the last thing America needs is to get into another ground war in the Middle East.

Ryan said that Mitt Romney is not proposing to send troops to Syria. Instead, Ryan said the nation shouldn’t refer to Bashar al-Assad as a reformer when he’s killing his own civilians with Russian-provided weapons. The United States shouldn’t be “out-sourcing our foreign policy to the UN and giving [Russian president] Vladimir Putin veto power over trying to deal with this issue.”

Biden said that we only have one truly sacred obligation, to protect those we send into harm’s way and to care for those who come home. He said that there are things that occur in every campaign that he is sure both candidates regret–especially due to the influence of independent campaign groups that can raise all the money they want, not have to identify themselves and say things about the other candidate.

Ryan said he’d thank [that soldier] for serving his country. He also said that the Romney/Ryan team would not impose devastating cuts on our military which compromise their safety. He said that [President Obama] ran four years ago promising hope and change, but who has turned his campaign into attack, blame and defame.