Politics & Government

Vice Presidential Debate to Air Thursday Evening

Rep. Paul Ryan and Vice President Joe Biden will talk domestic and foreign policy.

Vice President Joe Biden and Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan will discuss domestic and foreign policy at the vice presidential debate Thursday evening at Centre College in Danville, KY.

Expectations are running high for this debate. Biden has been holding practice sessions and reading briefing books to prepare for Thursday night, The Washington Post reports. The pressure is on Biden after President Barack Obama’s lackluster performance at Wednesday’s first presidential debate. Reuters reports that Democrats are relying on Biden to deliver. Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus told the Washington Post that he expects Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan to do well, but Vice President Biden is a “gifted orator.”

Vice presidential debates rarely make any difference in the elections, George Mason University Professor Mark Rozell told Patch.

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"So whoever has the better night on Thursday, I doubt it will add up to much more than some media hype of what it all means to the race," said Rozell, who teaches public policy. "In the end, voters vote based on the top of the ticket, not the running mate."

D.C. area residents have a host of issues they would like to see the candidates address. Sequestration will cause $1.2 trillion in defense cuts and other spending if Congress doesn’t make key budget decisions by January. It is a key issue being discussed by local legislators and candidates.

Find out what's happening in Georgetownwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell hosted a press conference call Friday with U.S. Rep. Randy Forbes (R-4th) and Ashburn defense contractor Joe Travez, saying the cuts could be “devastating” to Northern Virginia's economy. And some estimates say in all the cuts could cost DC more than 127,000 jobs (15,000 DOD jobs and 112,000 non-DOD jobs).

At a March fundraiser at Senator John Kerry's Georgetown home, Biden predicted the middle class would be at the core of the November election. He told guests at the time that Republicans are "not hiding their viewpoints" about their disdain for programs, like Pell Grants, that many middle class Americans like, according to a pool report.

“These guys don’t have a sense of the average folks out there,” he said in March. “They don’t know what it means to be middle class."

Rozell says Thursday night’s debate will be “a debate of contrasts.”

“The two men have very different styles,” Rozell explained. “Biden is good on the emotive side. Ryan is more about policy and details. They keys for Biden are to avoid a news-making misstatement, appear statesmanlike as the incumbent who is a generation older than his young and less experienced counterpart. For Ryan, it is important to present the arguments for the Romney economic plan in a way that especially connects with middle class voters still thinking about that 47 percent comment. He can build a bit on the momentum that Romney has from the first debate.”

Northern Virginians can watch the debate at the following watch parties:

Arlington County Democratic Commitee: Bailey's Pub and Grille, Ballston

Northern Virginia Tea Party: The Green Turtle, Fairfax

Veterans for Romney/Ryan Phone Bank and Debate Watch Party: Fairfax County Republican Committee HQ, Fairfax


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