They say different things, is what they do. The knowing say Ryan failed us with facts and policy and no showmanship. They say Biden was all showmanship, but that’s what counts. The hoi polloi say Ryan was marvelous, controlled and respectful, as he battled two opponents, not just one: the commentator and the VP playing the Joker with a little more charm.
I am glad there are many more voters among the hoi polloi. Yes, I know people do not really vote for the VP candidate, but for the front-runner. But the choice of VP counts as a matter of the presidential candidate’s judgment. People like the patient young guy who says things like, if we do nothing but what we have been doing, we are going to be stuck. Logos, ethos, pathos: Ryan won two out of three and that ain’t bad.
October 12th, 2012 | 9:31 am
fascinating comment. The many care more about ethos and logos than the few. The few care more about pathos than the many, or at least they think that the many care more about pathos. The many cling to their ethos and logos….The few, as george bush might have put it, misunderestimate the many…
October 12th, 2012 | 9:51 am
I’m glad Jim (Ceaser) immediately chimed in; I too want to applaud your use of the Aristotelian schema. Old wisdom + us = insight, perhaps wisdom. Kudos. (And kudos to Jim’s great line: cling[ing] to their ethos and logos.)
October 12th, 2012 | 10:31 am
Ryan’s likability numbers were about 10 higher on the CNN poll.
October 12th, 2012 | 10:32 am
Definition of HOI POLLOI
: the general populace : masses
October 12th, 2012 | 10:35 am
That said, he did not seen like the same Paul Ryan that I’ve seen trounce Debbie Wasserman Schultz on Sunday morning shows for the last several years. He seemed reticent to go after policy and principals and kept giving anecdotes, which hit me as weak. I am afraid his prep team led him astray out of fear he’d come off as wonkish.
October 12th, 2012 | 11:09 am
Mrsschiavolin — That seems possible. Therefore, perhaps, political wonks were disappointed? Non-wonks are not discussing the anecdotes, but the use of facts. The anecdotes might have an effect, but are not what folks talk and write about.
Jim, yes, but won’t the few who made their disappointed statements last night revise them as they see the effect on the many? That seems more likely than that the many will adjust their enthusiasm to suit the views of the few. At least I hope that’s right.
October 12th, 2012 | 11:57 am
I saw the Luntz focus group that was done, it appears that the hoi polloi were generally impressed by Biden but gave Ryan a B for effort:
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2012/10/11/luntz_focus_group_on_vp_debate_biden_was_arrogant.html
Just my opinion: When it comes to a debate like this, I don’t think anyone really knows what they think until it sinks in over time. I saw Biden’s performance as a cross between Al Gore’s sighing and eye-rolling in 2000, and Kerrey’s “Global Test” gaffe debate specifically regarding Biden’s claims about the White House not knowing about Benghazi.
My take is those two things are going to leave the lasting impression, to the extent there is one in this debate.
One more thing. I hope and pray President Obama believes his amen corner and tries to pull this on Romney. His base will love it, but the country in general will find it repulsive.
October 12th, 2012 | 3:13 pm
Kate Pitrone: “The knowing say Ryan failed us with facts and policy and no showmanship. They say Biden was all showmanship, but that’s what counts. The hoi polloi say Ryan was marvelous, controlled and respectful….Logos, ethos, pathos: Ryan won two out of three and that ain’t bad.”
Ceaser (Caesar?): “The many care more about ethos and logos than the few. The few care more about pathos than the many, or at least they think that the many care more about pathos. The many cling to their ethos and logos….The few, as george bush might have put it, misunderestimate the many…”
Sammy, whyd’ntcha bring me some Logos and Ethos with that shot-and-beer.
October 13th, 2012 | 10:32 pm
You can keep that Logos+Ethos that is some Greek Shit! Paul Ryan is going to destroy the Greek elements which have contaminated our fine culture. How he going to do this involves some sort of Shenanigans with power-point presentations. (the kind that make prof. Lawler shriek like a vampire caught in light of the sun…but apparently aren’t material enough to decide not to vote for users of such tech.) So it is either Paul Ryan or Windows 8. Personally believing in the free market, I think Microsoft in its war with viruses has finally developed a “Trojan” blocker to rid us of any latent greek influence.
That is why he carries on about not becoming like Greece in the first place! Biden agrees with him, that all of this is just a bunch of stuff. And as we all know a bunch of stuff is Irish.
The Shot is american, Jack Daniels, and the Beer is just plain Bud-Light. Ole Obama might be right that we didn’t build it, but I got me a liquor liscense from guvmint which gives a right to alienate it, which is more than can be said about folks pushing that Greek shit.
Insane as flipping hell that there ain’t a single bartender in the sticks that wishes harm to ol’ Jack Daniels or Bud Light, but given half a chance the very folks hawking Aristotle, gots a big smug grin for the elimination of the Greek peoples. That is one way not to pay the bar tab. An academic once told me that History is footenotes to Plato, to which I replied: Not if I ignore you. Which apparently is what some smart ass said to Socrates. But History is mainly a bar tab. That shot of Jack Daniels is $5, that Bud Light in $4. Logos and Ethos ain’t sold here, like Obama said, “I didn’t build that”. I don’t know who does own Logos and Ethos, but I suspect it is the Greeks and this accounts for why they are broke.
Thankfully I cooked up a free market solution to the Greek debt problem, that makes use of Western Union. You can send $20 to Athens for Logos and $15 for ethos, and western union will only charge you 9.95 and give you half off a shot of Jack.
You know shots and beer were created to keep the Irish away from positions of power, but even drunk I think our two VP candidates would object to “that bunch of stuff” showing up on a bar tab!
Thankfully Sammy clings to his american made rifleing to make sure the Irish pay the tabs. History is a bar tab, and justice consists in paying it.
October 15th, 2012 | 3:46 pm
“Dueling banjos” anyone?
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