Body language: Love or hate him, it was all Joe

Republican vice presidential nominee Rep. Paul Ryan, of Wisconsin, right, watches as Vice President Joe Biden, speaks during Thursday’s vice presidential debate at Centre College. Photo by The Associated Press.

By The Associated Press

Saturday, October 13, 2012

This time, they didn’t need Big Bird.

Because really, who needed a “Sesame Street” character to grab all the post-debate attention when there was Joe Biden’s smile— or laugh, chuckle, grimace, grin, smirk, or “goofy face,” according to various descriptions?

Whether you loved or hated his performance — a decision that seemed to split (surprise!) along partisan lines — it was Biden who dominated the conversation during and after Thursday’s vice-presidential debate, with his animated facial reactions to almost anything his opponent, Paul Ryan, uttered.

The vice president also came up with the two catchiest phrases of the night — “bunch of malarkey” and “bunch of stuff” — both of them employed (and tweeted, and retweeted) to paint his Republican opponent as untruthful.

Some impressions of the night, from political communication and body language experts:

WHATEVER YOU CALLED IT, IT WORKED

“I’m not sure what that was — a smile? Not really. Not a laugh, either,” said Katherine Hall Jamieson, a professor of political communication at the University of Pennsylvania. “And actually not a grin. It was really just something that said, ‘I have an answer to that and I’m holding it.”’

Was it appropriate?

That, said Jamieson, would simply depend on one’s allegiance. “The Republicans are trying to advance the argument that Biden was behaving in an unhinged fashion,” she said. The Democrats, of course, thought it was great.

Another expert in the field thinks that even if some viewers were offended by the smiling, for lack of a better word, it helped Biden control the agenda.

“I think it was part of an overall strategy to keep Ryan off stride,” said Jerry Shuster, who teaches political communication at the University of Pittsburgh. “He really couldn’t ever finish a thought.”

Jamieson echoed that: “Whenever you’re paying attention to the person reacting, it draws attention from the person talking,” she said.

In any case, it seemed to be just what President Barack Obama needed from his running mate.

“If I were the president’s doctor I would say, ‘This is just what I ordered,”’ Shuster said.

ENGAGING, OR A TURNOFF

While many found Biden’s grins infectious, some found them immature.

“That mugging, those condescending looks — it was a complete turnoff,” said body language expert Lillian Glass, author of the upcoming “Body Language Advantage.” “He was bullying, he was smug, he interrupted ... I think he lost a lot of his message based on facial gestures.”

Biden may have been deemed the winner by many, but “from a body language point of view, he did not win this debate,” she said.

A GOOD FIRST OUTING FOR RYAN

Even though he’s much less experienced than Biden, experts agreed that it was a first good outing for Ryan.

“He passed the threshold of being an acceptable vice president — through his command of foreign policy, which is a difficult threshold since he’s a domestic policy wonk,” said Jamieson.

“He was more gentlemanly,” said Glass, in Los Angeles. “He looked at the vice president, and didn’t ever mug, or make a face.”

REBUTTAL WITNESSES

Skillful moderator or not, this debate was much more substantial than the Obama-Romney face-off because the two men answered each other and really engaged in a give-and-take.

“Both candidates were effective in rebuttal,” said Jamieson. “But especially Biden controlled the agenda by rebutting EVERYTHING — both in words and in gestures.”

NOT HOLDING HIS AGE AGAINST HIM

At 69, Biden was debating a man 27 years his junior. That was not lost on many in the Twitterverse, who sent various tweets referring to Ryan’s tender age of 42.

But nowhere was Biden’s consciousness of the age gap clearer than when Ryan mentioned President John F. Kennedy as an example of a president who made certain cuts before.

“Oh, now you’re Jack Kennedy!” Biden quipped — perhaps eager to channel Sen. Lloyd Bentsen and his famous “You’re no Jack Kennedy” quip to then opponent Dan Quayle.

“I knew that was coming because of the age difference,” says Shuster. “I even told my students in class today to expect it.”

More like this story

wow 7 months, 1 week ago

BS...I think Biden expressed the same feelings President Obama fooolishly surpressed during his debate with Romney. Had the President expressed himself in the similar manner to that of VP BInden, then Romney and Ryan would have been pointed out to be the misguided, out of touch, snobs that they really are. Biden actually said....."use your own words...PAAALLEEESE" Mr. Ryan what you're saying just ain't so. President Obama only said "use your own words PAAALEEESE" with his silence. So even though both the President and VP know and said their challenger's are saying anything to win, as the incumbents they bothg have to portray a certain posture. In my opinion President Obama and VP Biden are on track to be re-elected and that is just fine with me. Romney nor Ryan have the moxy for the job. Obama/Biden, let's do it again!!!!!!!!!!!

connor 7 months, 1 week ago

Ya it was awful nice of Biden to make such a fool of himself that he has now become a laughing stock. I especially liked the one twitter feed I saw that sent a link that played the "denture Cream" commercial with the recommendation to play it in the background while he spoke.

Interrupting Ryan something like 82 times. It doesn't surprise me that the small liberal minority base approves of this type of behavior but most voters in this country do not, as was obvious with the CNN polls.

Had I been in Ryan's shoes I would have just stopped talking period and stated I was waiting until Biden would let me speak and for a moderator to be ushered in instead of a Biden shill debate partner. Then just calmly sat there until the thing was over.

But keep telling yourself it was some kind of victory. Liberal self delusion is a powerful ally for Romney and Ryan. The crowds showing up at Romney events and the swing polls are showing that now.

Look there goes another swing state red!!

tonto_goldberg 7 months, 1 week ago

Lotsa manly man-love for Ryan from you rightwing wannabe he-man types. The fact is he got thoroughly humiliated by a goofy old man. The Romoney campaign people will need to reboot after that debacle just like the Obama folks did after Obama's somnolent appearance in his debate. Life is tough like that some days. Still, how would you feel if Joe had just shouted bu##sh%% every time Ryan told a whopper? That was one of the other options.

tonto_goldberg 7 months, 1 week ago

Nope. The Huffington Post article actually reports mixed poll results. Only Fox News headlines an alleged Ryan victory, and cites the CNN snap poll repeatedly to support that claim.

Reuters, CBS, The Chicago Tribune, Business Insider, and CNBC report Biden the clear winner. Gallup didn't run a VP debate poll.

The Washington Post says all the VP debate polling results are bogus because of the shamefully bad methodology used. Fox News is the outlier, and you are engaged in wishful thinking.

wow 7 months, 1 week ago

Sooo Biden was disrespectful, but Romney's actions during the Presidential debate made him a superstar. Yeah right...Look folks say what ya will...Obama got bullied by Romney...Romney lied a lot but he was the clear aggressor during the Presidential debate. Like it or not, Biden handed Ryan his socks during VP debate. Forget the fact about Biden laughing...after all who wouldn'r be laughing at some poor smuck who can't handle women calling the shots for what happens to them? Who wouldn't be laughing at some some ja-moke who thinks he's so much better than everyone else? Why not laugh at some silly joke who calls himself a jock and thinks his stuff don't stink? Joe did what I'd do, he handed this fella a thourough beating and did it within the letter of the law. Joe beat the pants off Ryan and that's it. Foeget aboput all this disrepsaectfull stuff...IF RYAN WANTS RESPECT, HE BETTER EARN IT!

connor 7 months, 1 week ago

^^^^^Good example of Liberal attitude and the hysteria cracking out ^^^^^^^^^^

Biden said NOTHING. Well except that part about not voting for the Iraq and Afghanistan which he did vote for them. OH or the part about only taxing those who make above 1 Million more, which his handler had to deny the next day and put back down to $250K

Ryan acted with dignity and composure and the polls show it.

tonto_goldberg 7 months, 1 week ago

Deer in the headlights look is your idea of dignity and composure? Biden the clown beat Ryan the amateur.

connor 7 months, 1 week ago

I would certainly look at a Vice President of any country with a much more bewildered expression if they acted the way Biden did.

Now if WOW invited me over for a night of political discussion I might well come prepared for such rudeness but certainly wouldn't expect it from a Vice President on National TV in a obviously mis-represented as moderated setting.

It will be interesting to see in Obummer tries such an act and Romney replies in kind. Maybe they will just have their SS agents dook it out LOL.

os2hank 7 months, 1 week ago

"With all due respect, that’s a bunch of malarkey....not a single thing he said is accurate." At the outset of the debate, Biden tried to paint Ryan as a liar--when Biden, in fact, was the one lying. Ryan had pointed out: 1) that the White House had distanced itself from the Cairo embassy's apologies on 9/11; 2) that Obama had failed to speak up for Iranian protestors in 2009; 3) that the Obama administration called Syria's dictator a "reformer"; 4) and that the Obama administration is imposing defense cuts and projecting weakness. All of that is true.
"The president has met with Bibi [Netanyahu] a dozen times....This is a bunch of stuff." While they have met several times--not a dozen--that includes a meeting at which Obama made the Israeli prime minister enter the White House through a back entrance, refused to take a picture with him, and left him on his own for dinner. Specifically, Ryan had criticized Obama's refusal to meet Netanyahu in New York last month, and to tape talk show interviews instead--a clear snub that sent the wrong signal, again, to Israel's enemies.
"Just let the taxes expire like they’re supposed to on those millionaires." Biden's "millionaires" are actually households earning more than $250,000 a year, which includes many middle-class families with two earners, and small business owners in particular who report business earnings as personal income. Biden and Obama have repeatedly labeled those earning over $250,000 as "millionaires and billionaires," distorting the actual impact of their tax plan on the non-millionaires it would hit hardest, who create a vast proportion of small business jobs.
"You know, I heard that death panel argument from Sarah Palin. It seems that every vice presidential debate, I hear this kind of stuff about panels." Biden's cheap shot against Palin was an attempt to diminish both her and the man sitting across from him. But Palin never talked about "death panels" in her debate with Biden, for the simple reason that Obamacare had not yet been proposed. Nor did Ryan mention "death panels"--he had addressed the undeniable fact that Obamacare proposes a board to impose cost controls.
"The congressman here cut embassy security in his budget by $300 million below what we asked for." Biden's lie about Ryan's budget was an attempt to dodge responsibility for lax embassy security--and to cover up that the Obama administration called for new cuts to embassy security just days after the 9/11 attacks. Ryan's proposal, which called for a 19% overall decrease in non-defense discretionary spending, does not even mention embassy security--the Obama campaign merely made up that number by applying 19% across the board.

os2hank 7 months, 1 week ago

"No, they are not four years closer to a nuclear weapon." Biden's attempt to lie about the glaring reality of the Iranian nuclear program fell flat. Iran is indeed four years closer to a nuclear weapon, and the Obama administration--believing it knew better than its predecessors--tried to reinvent the wheel on talks with Iran, causing frustration to our allies in Europe and the Middle East. Meeting after meeting this year has failed to produce results, and the loophole-filled sanctions, while hurting Iran somewhat, are not stopping its nuclear program.
"No religious institution, Catholic or otherwise...has to be a vehicle to get contraception in any insurance policy they provide. That is a fact." No, it is not a fact--it is the opposite of a fact, and saying "that is a fact" does not make it any less a blatant lie. The Obama administration is forcing religious institutions to provide contraceptive and abortion drugs through their insurance policies. That is the reason several dozen religious institutions are suing the administration to defend their First Amendment freedom of religion.
"It came from this man voting to put two wars on a credit card...I was there. I voted against him." Biden voted for both the Iraq war and the Afghanistan war. He did not vote for George W. Bush's plan to extend coverage of Medicare to prescription drugs (though he voted for an earlier, similar proposal), nor did he vote for the Bush tax cuts. But he voted for both of the wars he derided last night. To quote Bill Clinton's speech to the Democratic National Convention: "It takes some brass to attack a guy for doing what you did."
"What we did is we saved $716 billion and put it back -- applied it to Medicare." Biden repeated the lie the Obama administration has been telling since before Obamacare passed in 2010: that cuts to Medicare today were savings that extend the life of the program. They would be--if the same $716 billion wasn't also being used to pay for Obamacare. As Ryan pointed out in 2010, and again last night, you can't double-count the same cuts. Taking $716 billion out of Medicare means exactly that--and hurts, not helps, the program's solvency.
"Well, we weren’t told they wanted more security again." Biden lied through his teeth about the fact that the administration--specifically, the State Department--had been told again and again that security on the ground in Libya, and in Benghazi in particular, was inadequate. The day before, in Congressional hearings on the Libya attacks, former regional security director Eric Nordstrom described his frustration with having those requests turned down by the government bureaucracy: "For me the Taliban is on the inside of the building."

connor 7 months, 1 week ago

Well Said os2hank

RobHunterJohnson 7 months, 1 week ago

`Ryan still collected stimulis monies for WI. 8900 pages of requests to the executive branch?so RYAN the wonder boy is for smaller goverment! If he was representing his constituents, which it sure looks like from all the 8900 requests, it sure sound like he likes PORK PIE himself as well. RYAN and Romney will say anything to get elected! The newest tv add, the POOR HUNGARIAN WHO IMIGRATED FROM A SOCIALIST COUNTRY his name is Thomas Peterffy he is worth 4.6 Billion the 59 richest man in the US, and 77th in the world? THESE REPUBLICANS ARE TRYING TO WELCH ON THEIR TAXES! THEY CAN PAY THEIR FAIR SHARE JUST LIKE THE REST OF US! Rob

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