June 19, 2013

Politics

Biden wasn’t ‘too polite,’ for sure. Will Obama be so overbearing?

BY: TIMOTHY P. CARNEY OCTOBER 11, 2012 | 10:49 PM
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President Obama lost the first debate pretty badly, and his excuse was, ”I was just too polite.”

Tonight, Joe Biden was the opposite of “too polite.” Biden was an overbearing boor, repeatedly interrupting, constantly laughing, and generally condescending. It rallied the liberal base. It may have turned off woman voters, according to the early readings I’m seeing.

So here’e the question: Is Obama planning on replicating this strategy? Will he condescend to Romney and cut him off like Biden did?

There’s no doubt Obama is comfortable being condescending (think “You’re likable enough, Hillary”). But a running mate has the leeway to be an attack dog in a way that a presidential candidate doesn’t.

I expect Obama to seek a more respectful, more grown up way of being aggressive. But I wouldn’t be too surprised if he decided that showing disdain for Romney was the winning strategy.

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Timothy P. Carney

Senior Political Columnist
The Washington Examiner

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